This document summarizes usage of social networking sites (SNS) in Japan based on survey data. It finds that 34% of Japanese internet users actively create and post content, compared to 24% in the US. Mixi is the largest domestic SNS in Japan with 25 million users. Two case studies of large Japanese companies show they implemented intra-corporate SNS to improve communication across divisions and locations, facilitate knowledge sharing, and get employee feedback. Challenges for companies include increasing participation beyond 10% and getting top management involved to overcome hierarchical barriers. Overall SNS are helping Japanese companies become more learning-oriented and encourage self-organization and innovation.

1. ASTD 2010 International Conference & Exposition
Session TU119
International Perspectives and
Cultural Influences on Web 2.0
- Web 2.0 and Learning in Japan
Koko Nakahara
koko@instructionaldesign.jp
Instructional Design, Inc. Japan

2. SNS in Japan – General Information
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3. Usage status of Public SNS by countries
Countries No. of users Time length per
person
United States 142,052,000 6:09:13
Japan 46,558,000 2:50:21
Brazil 31,345,000 4:33:10
United Kingdom 29,129,000 6:07:54
Germany 28,057,000 4:11:45
France 26,786,000 4:04:39
Spain 19,456,000 5:30:55
Italy 18,256,000 6:00:07
Australia 9,895,000 6:52:28
Switzerland 2,451,000 3:54:34
December 2009, by Nielsen Company
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4. Participation Rate in Public Social Networks in Japan
Publish a blog or web-pages at least once a
Creators: 34% month, Upload created video, write an article or
stories and post them.
Post rating/review comment on others' blog,
Critics： 30%
online forums and various contents
Use RSS feeds, add tags to web pages for data
Collectors： 11% gathering
Visiting and Maintaining profile on a social
Joiners： 26% networking site
Use contents created by others such as reading
Spectators： 69% blogs, forum sites, and comments
None of the above
Inactive： 23%
Those categorized into higher ladder diagrams,
the more influence or stronger connection
Forrester‘s Social Techno graphics online survey
http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/profile_tool.html
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5. Japan USA UK France Germany Korea
Creators 34％ 24％ 15％ 12％ 9％ 49％
Critics 30％ 37％ 21％ 19％ 12％ 46％
Collectors 11％ 21％ 6％ 6％ 4％ 19％
Joiners 26％ 51％ 38 ％ 24％ 21％ 48％
Spectators 69％ 73％ 50％ 51％ 38％ 76％
Inactive 23％ 18％ 37％ 40％ 52％ 9％
2009 Techno graphics survey
http://www.forrester.com/groundswell/profile_tool.html
US: Forrester Research's Noth America® Interactive Marketing Online Survey, Q2 2009 (US), 4,766 respondents
Europe: Forrester Research's European Technographics® Benchmark Survey, Q2 2009, 25,932
Asia Pacific: Forrester Research's Asia Pacific Technographics® Survey, Q2 2009, 7,652
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6. SNS Population in Japan
Twitter : 75 million users (6.7% of worldwide
users) Creating 14% of Tweets of worldwide
Mixi
Mixi (Japan Origin SNS) : 25 million users
1 million Communities
Facebook : 1.6 million “pages” among 350
million worldwide users
Based on research data by Alexi Poliakov (SNS researcher)
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7. Resources Dedicated to your Social Media Activity : Data
Figure @
November 2009 report on Social Media and Online PR,
http://mashable.com/2010/05/17/social-media-ownership/
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8. Corporate usages of SNS in Japan
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9. Intra-Corporate SNS Usage
Beat Communication, a Japanese SNS provider has conducted survey twice
in 2007 and 2009, how organizations which adopted its corporate products
“ Beat Office” use in the form of a questionnaire on web site. The findings
indicated that SNS is no longer a tool just for communication, but various
purposes. The graph below shows the usage rate by industries.
Source : Beat Communication, Inc.
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10. Pre-adoption expectancy
The more than 80% of answerers said their
aims stated above were accomplished.
Source : Beat Communication, Inc.
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11. User percentage
by company scale of employee numbers
Source : Beat Communication, Inc.
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12. Access Frequency of averaged users
Source : Beat Communication, Inc.
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13. Intra-corporate SNS in Japan
Cases in Companies
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14. Case 1:
A case of an organization (Insurance Company)
Organization size: 15,000 Users: 2500 by the end of 2007
Purpose of SNS adoption
• Build up unity of community among the insurance agents across the country.
• Create open communication (bottom-up) culture
• Knowledge share
• Share customer voices from the agents in timely manner
Implementation features
• Nomination 1~2 from every branch + partial invitation
• Started from 850
• 4 SNS facilitators to literate usage of Internet and SNS
• Frequent feedback and follow up to the post by facilitators
• Members are limited only under line leader
• Under anonymity
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15. Case 1:
A case of an organization (Insurance Company)
Communication categories are broad
• Share the thoughts on company vision
• Raise business efficiency ・Exchanging tools
• Topics for certification exam
WHAT CAN BE DONE FOR SHAKEOUT?
• Discussion the way of business
• Opinions to HQ ・Tips for personal lives like
how to combine family life, career etc
• Job Day Book, inquiries
• Discuss about systematic issue ; as to rules
employees can hardly use, for instance .
• Personal Diary : meals and leisure
• Personal Diary : troubles and worries
• Communities for hobbies and leisure
Source:http://journal.mycom.co.jp/series/sns/002/index.html
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16. Images of Networking Communities
A community where knowledge, know-how and vision are vividly shared
Logistics
In-house
Sales
My new role
Tell us how to
as manager
educate
is bit tough for
Knowing jobs in Logistics freshmen?
me ….
another Those manuals
divisions is aren’t good
quite helpful ! enough…..
In-house
In-house In-house
Have we
complied with
regulation? Logistics Sales Our new product is
In-house
Sales excellent though how
Sales In-house come the sales figure is
In-house so dull? Do you have any
In-house idea how it is advertised
Sales sick leave
Logistics efficiently ?
Our office hasn’t
got enough
manpower so that
In-house everyone here is
How can we stressed out !!!
not to be
delayed
anymore?
Source:http://journal.mycom.co.jp/series/sns/002/index.html
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17. Case 2:
Intra-corporate SNS of a Electronic Company
Organization size: 250,000
※Referred from http://it.nikkei.co.jp/business/news/index.aspx?n=MMITs2000009032009
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18. As COMOREVY does not regulate subjects….
Concerns
• To activate self organization and diversity
of group companies, there are only three
rules:
• Do not disclose business
confidentiality
• Do not harass copy right
• Do not post inappropriate message
as a business person
?
※Referred from http://it.nikkei.co.jp/business/news/index.aspx?n=MMITs2000009032009
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19. Further challenges for better operation
※Referred from http://it.nikkei.co.jp/business/news/index.aspx?n=MMITs2000009032009
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20. Other Unique Usage of SNS by corporate
To retain people:
• Prospective employee SNS communities in Mixi
• OB, OG SNS communities in Mixi
Mixi
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21. SNS in Japan: Summary
SNS Demand in Japan:
• Re-establish communication and communities over the organization
in the silo culture
• Sense of urgency to be “Learning Organization”
– Needs to organizational change from “Control” to “Self –organization”
– Needs for Break through
• Leverage diversity of group companies to encourage new business
creation/ innovation
Challenges:
• Increase users (more than 10% participation a large scale company)
without compulsion
• Top management level participation ( overcoming hierarchal
limitation of communication)
• Balancing between “to be open” and “ruling” - Compliance / Copy
right issues
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22. Thank you
ありがとうございました。
6-58-1003 Honcho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, 231-0005 JAPAN
Tel: +81 45 228 6316 Fax: +81 45 228 6317
Homepage: http://instructionaldesign.jp
Mailto: innov_gr@instructionaldesign.jp
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