Watch Out for a New Scam on Twitter....

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

Probably not so many people in Japan have the same trouble with Twitter that I do  because, in Japan, Twitter is a new thing and still not that many people are using it (though it is doing well). Most Japanese follow Japanese people (of course) and, since Twitter is relatively new here, it isn't filled with so much noise like I've been noticing coming across Twitter from English speakers recently. I hope that today's short blog makes you consider and think about your own experiences.

I think that, if what is going on now with Twitter in the west continues to grow at the pace it seems to be growing, then Twitter will not be doing well in 3 years. If what is happening with Twitter in the west, starts happening here in Japan, then Twitter will have a very bad future very quickly.

I don't like what I am seeing from many Twitter users in the west.

I mentioned in a previous post how 60% of new Twitter users drop off in the first month and how that spells bad news for the future of the business. But today I'd just like to write a short blog about two things on Twitter that I really don't like and that I've been noticing more and more of in these last few weeks.

I'd like to think this information can be useful to anyone in marketing, bloggers, advertising, PR, Social Media, people who U-Stream, Pick, YouTube, video blog (vlog) and business in general people in Japan. Anyone who thinks or plans on using Twitter for any sort of promotion in Japan should think about this.

What's the problem? There seems to be a huge surge in what is being called "Twitter Junk Mail."  "Twitter Junk Mail and "Twitter Spam" seem to be different animals all together. Whereas Twitter Spam is malicious, Twitter Junk Mail is automated Twitter posts that are generated by computer and ask us to buy something or direct us to some sort of sales gimmick. Sometimes I will get 10 Tweets in a row, all within a few seconds of each other, all from the same person (no one can tweet that fast) and all asking me to buy something.

I always stop following those accounts immediately... Frankly speaking, I've been spending most of my time on Twitter recently canceling accounts that I followed. 

These things - from the west - seem to be exploding on my Twitter account. How about yours?

Most of these Tweets ask me to go see some new and exciting way to make money on Twitter. One recent one - that really motivated me to write this - was a sales method that guaranteed that I could get my Twitter followers up to 20,000 ~ 40,000 people by paying money. There have been several others that claimed that I could make $30,000 a month doing Twitter from my desk! They often ask me to watch a video or short presentation as to how I can make money convincing people to sign up for these pay-as-you-go membership drives. 

One of the pages that I clicked showed that if I wanted 1,000 new Twitter followers then it cost $400... If it were 2,000 new followers, it would be $500... The prices kept going up, with guaranteed results, to 50,000 followers.  

When I would check the Twitter page of the person who joined my group (why they joined my Twitter group is as much a mystery to me as it is to you) and told me about these wonderfully fantastic ways of making money with Twitter, I could see that they had, say, 8,000 followers and were following 8,000 other people. This, seems to me to be a sort of scam and defeating the purpose of Twitter.  

Why anyone would want to pay for a bunch of uninterested followers that have no connection or interest in them is beyond my comprehension. Also, what good is following someone on Twitter when you are also following 20,000 other people?

Junk Mail in your mailbox or Junk Mail on Twitter, what's the difference?

Is having 20,000 followers a sort of bragging right? Perhaps you could make money on this for a short time conning people who are unfamiliar with how this all works (yes, there's LOTS of those still) but this scam will not last long.

It's like getting high rankings on an Internet chart or something by sitting at a desk and clicking on your choice a few million times. Sure, the ranking is good, but it really means nothing.

The purpose of Twitter is to keep up on the latest news of your close friends and family and other topics that interest you. Following 20,000 other people and having 20,000 people following you seems like having a post box outside your home crammed and ready-to-explode with 20,000 pieces of crap direct mail that no one is ever going to look at.

Why would the postman keep delivering to a mailbox like that?

This reminds me of the early days of Myspace. I remember an artist named Cary Brothers coming to the studio a few years ago. Cary was a very nice guy and his music was contemporary.

Before he came to visit me at the studio his company record promoters (I think it was Warner Records) had told me that, "Cary Brothers was a sensation on the Internet and he had a million fans on Myspace!" 

That was his claim to fame and why they signed him. 

When I met Cary he told me that he had spent 8 hours every night, night after night, for over 5  years contacting people on Myspace and asking them to join his fans group on Myspace.

Now, not to detract from Cary Brothers at all as he was one of the earlier musicians to recognize what Myspace can do for an artist, and he is a very talented, intelligent guy (for at least recognizing that these record company executives still haven't a clue about the Internet), but I do want to trash the record company for being so dim about how Myspace works.

On Myspace, generally speaking, unless you are very famous, then you have to go looking for fans; they rarely come to you. What I mean to say is that Bono is not sitting at his computer trying to get people to listen to the new U2 record... But an unheard of artist like Cary Brothers at the time had to ask people to join him in order to get people to sit up and listen. Myspace is a reciprocal SNS service so it is generally as sort of, "You join my Myspace and I'll join yours."

That was in the early days of Myspace when everyone wanted tons of "friends." At that time, pretty much everyone accepted anyone as a friend.

So, I do not want to detract from Cary Brothers as he put in the time and made the effort to create a buzz... I hope that, if you are a good artist, and have great tunes, and you are willing to dedicate yourself fully to thousands of hours in front of a computer then you can get results... If you do, you vindicate the Long Tail.

But to think that someone on Twitter who has, say 10,000 followers, and is following 10,000 themselves is some sort of measure of popularity is, I think, nonsense.

In my opinion "Popular on Twitter" would be someone who has a huge number of followers and very few people they follow.  

Here's a good example of a serious, credible Twitter account:

Lew Rockwell has 3,625 Twitter followers, yet only follows 22 people 

Lew Rockwell has 3,625 followers and yet he follows only 22 people. These are the kinds of numbers that make sense. These other people who have several thousand followers and several thousand that they follow are here today, gone tomorrow. Trust me. 

This scam on Twitter, plus poor retention, is going to spoil Twitter's future. Can they do something about it? Or will they wind up another "Also-ran"?

I predict "Also-ran" like Myspace. 

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Keywords: marketing, Pick, Social Media, business, Twitter Junk Mail, Myspace, PR, advertising, Japan, Twitter, Japanese, Lew Rockwell, followers, bloggers, U-Stream, video blog, vlog, Youtube, Twitter Spam, 

Marketing Japan: No Medium Can Survive the Indifference of 25-year-olds...

By Mike Rogers
After talking to a very interesting fellow named Roger Marshall from Odgers Berndtson on the phone this morning, and after reading the article I want to introduce today, I was inspired to quickly write up this short blog. Hope you find it interesting and useful.

There is a great article in the Guardian UK today. It is mostly about online newspapers charging for services in a scheme called, Paywall, that Internet Guru Clay Shirky says is doomed to fail (You won't find me disagreeing with him). It's an excellent article and I strongly suggest that any read it.

Most people will not have heard of Clay Shirky but he is recognized as one of the world's top experts of Social Media.

But there is one part in the article that struck a chord with me. This one part should strike fear in the hearts of anyone who is working in the old media. It says;

...if you are 25 or younger, you're probably already reading this (article) on your computer screen. "And to put it in one bleak sentence, no medium has ever survived the indifference of 25-year-olds."

I found this particular point quite useful and timely as, if you read my last blog about the Long Tail, you'd know that I am now in discussions with one of the larger satellite TV stations as to what to do about their admittedly bleak future.

In the case of this music TV channel even they know that 20-year-olds today;

1) Do not pay for subscription TV (their parents do - and it's probably part of a package anyway). The 20-year-olds do not have the habit or thinking that they need to pay for music TV.

2) When 20-year-olds want to see their favorite new band's video, they won't wait through 20 other videos that they don't like in the slim hopes to see the one that they do like. They will just click on YouTube and see what they want, for free, right now.

The TV station people understand this. Yet they are stuck in a sort of denial and they hope that things will get better... 

Sorry folks, but I have found that "hope" is usually not a very good business plan.  Funny that.

The other interesting thing the TV station people have all said to me when I asked them, "Why do young people watch your TV channel?" They almost all invariably answered, "I think they search the Internet using Google Search or Yahoo for an artist that they like, then they turn on our TV channel..."

So, dear reader, bear with me for a second as I get this straight in my own head... 

Let's see.......A guy or girl goes on the Internet to find the music that they like... They do! Then the TV station people think that the young person, after finding what they like on the Internet, is going to turn off the Internet and turn on the TV and watch their channel!?.... 

What in the world are these people thinking!?

Yes. I found their thought processes quite amusing also. But it just goes to show the depths of denial that some of our good friends are in. And, don't forget, most of these kind people that we must convince are coming from a far different point-of-view than we are. They come from inside their companies, we come from outside...

It is often far easier to understand something like, say, one's own country when they are on the outside looking in. 

We need to convince our friends in old media, and in other businesses in general, how they can increase their business and protect their jobs (families too!) by opening up their minds to the possibilities that the Internet can offer them. We need to show them that the Internet is not a threat.

Clay Shirky Cognitive Surplus

In Japan, the opportunities are everywhere. Most companies seem to be running their web pages as a sort of company directory instead of a branch of a business that turns a profit by itself. From what I see today, 92% of the corporate web pages are still Web 1.0. So, opportunities abound!  

The companies that do embrace this new way of thinking will have a much better chance of survival and could even prosper.

I won't go into more about the article in the Guardian, but will say that I think you should read it. If you need ammo in convincing someone that they need to wake up and start acting, then it could help. 

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Keywords: Guardian, old media, Odgers Berndtson, Clay Shirky, Satellite TV, Internet, Google Search, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Paywall, Social Media, Japan, business, music TV, Yahoo, Google, online, newspapers, Roger Marshall, 

Get High Google Rankings: Blog and Write Everyday!...

By Mike in Tokyo Rogers

It is my purpose to get my name and the name of my company and service out to the public in the most effective way possible; and the best way to do that is to use the Internet. The Internet is targeted marketing and media and it allows me to focus my message to the audience; and it does it for free. I cannot think of a cheaper price than free, can you? 

I go to the Internet to get great information with a focused message; and I get that information for free. I hope that this is the same reason some of you good folks come to see me everyday. I'm trying to give you all tips on how to empower yourselves and increase your business in Japan everyday. 


One reader asked me how it was possible that I was able to get my name at #1 on a Google search if someone merely searched "Mike" and "Tokyo" (remember that there are millions of foreigners in this country and there's been many many famous Mike7s to come here; think Mike Tyson in Tokyo, etc., etc.) Well, let me tell you that you can do the same thing too! You can get high rankings on a Google or Yahoo search in the most cost effective way possible. But, just starting a blog or a vlog and letting sit there isn't going to do it.


You can either buy search words like BP did for "Oil Spill" etc., or, if you are on a limited budget, then you can put in the effort. Elbow grease is the answer, my friends!  


I believe that the only way to get great Google or Yahoo search results is to keep hammering away at putting out a lot of good quality stuff on a consistent basis. You must keep at the blogging and writing and to continually put up good quality, useful stuff, for your readers. You need to put up new information at least 3 times a week and you need to keep the message focused.


But how to keep the message focused? That could be tough, especially if there are so many topics that interest you. Like me. I'm interested in many things Japan. So I write for three different places; my blog, my company blog, and on wwwlewrockwell.com 


This blog (my blog) is targeted to foreign businessmen wanting to sell their products and services in Japan to the Japanese... Only. (If that seems obvious or absurd, realize that there are many foreigners in Japan trying to sell their products and services to the other foreigners living here. I do not deal with those). That's why this blog is called, "Modern Marketing Japan." 


On my company blog, Universal-vision.jp, I mirror items on this blog, but I also place Japanese language news releases there too. Here's a recent example. The final place that I try to blog consistently is at Lew Rockwell. Lew Rockwell is the most read Libertarian site in the world and ranked by Alexa in the Top 15 of the most read sites in the entire world. 


Blogging, making YouTube videos, Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Mixi and doing U-Stream are all important but remember that just setting up a blog or a YouTube channel and then putting up new information on it once a month or once every two months is just not going to get you the results you need. You need to put up new blogs, information or videos at least three times a week.


As David Meerman Scott wrote in the bible of new media marketing, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, when he quoted the president of The Concrete Network;


"You need to think about how a series of one hundred news releases over two years will benefit your business and then commit to it, understanding that nothing is an overnight thing." 

Of course, this is all a part of my ever continuing opinion that, if you want to succeed in Social Media, Marketing and the Internet, then you must continually produce content by writing and on your own blog and give it away for free. 


Write a lot but keep messages focused... By the way, I have another new article on Lew Rockwell about silly things in Japan here.


I hope you get a laugh.




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Marketing Japan: The Theory of the Future of Online Advertising by an Entrepreneur...

I like Shelly Palmer.

There's an extremely interesting Blog by Shelly Palmer about advertising goods and services in the future and her conversation consider it with a successful entrepreneur that I'd like to direct you to. Here is an excerpt from that article:

...Joe presented his theory of the future of online advertising empowered by social media. He articulated a future where traditional media and big brands were dead, and, just for good measure, he postulated a consumer-controlled, self-selected future of infinite choices of goods and services. His monologue was pervaded by phrases like, “advertising doesn’t work” and “people don’t want to be interrupted.” And, my favorite, “Social Media marketing is the only possible future … brands are completely out of control and marketers have to realize that. Consumers control everything! Besides, everyone wants targeted, measurable messaging, it’s all going to be online.” 

The rest of the article talks about Social Media and Social Media Marketing versus traditional media. I have issues with both sides, but it is interesting to read what "Joe" and Shelly think.  But there is one thing that Shelly writes that I thought was completely wrong:

You need to brush your teeth. You need inexpensive, nutritious food. You need durable goods, soft goods, hard goods and you need them packaged and delivered to a venue near you … everyday. In fact, the more organic, unpreserved, special and perishable the produce and goods are, the more time and energy must be expended to get them as close to you as possible. Not just in your town, nationwide — and in some cases, worldwide.

OK, it might sound as if I am nitpicking, but what I think Shelly is implying here is that organic, unpreserved, perishable produce needs advertising since this s not an article about food distribution. So, here Shelly is wrong. Generally speaking, basic foodstuffs do not need TV, radio or any other mass media advertising at all as they are basic to survival and are sought out by people. This is why is is unusual to see advertising for raw fruits or vegetables, etc... Processed food, and things that come in colorful boxes, on the other hand, are a different story.

But there is one thing that Shelly writes that had me howling:

most self-described Social Media-types are too into technology to understand real business. 

How true! If you get people to help you with marketing, advertising, buzz marketing and Social Media, including blogs, vlogs, U-Stream, Pick, Mixi, Facebook, Twitter, whatever - in the west or in Japan - especially in Japan - then get people who have true business experience.

Read the full article here. 

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Keywords: U-Stream, Twitter, intelligent marketing, marketing, TV, vlog, targeted, marketers, targeted message, vlogs, goods, services, message, Facebook, product, online advertising, radio, mass media, mass media advertising, Marketing Japan, technology, Mike Rogers, Mike in Tokyo Rogers, Marketing Japan, Japan, business, buzz, radio station,  Internet, Mixi, Social Media, intelligent, advertising, traditional media, blog, 

Twitter a hit in Japan as millions 'mumble' online

I just found this on AP and, since I post about Twitter and Social Media so much, I thought I'd post it as is.

Twitter a hit in Japan as millions 'mumble' online

Twitter a hit in Japan as 'mumbling' tweeters give micro-blogging a distinctly Japanese flavor 

Twitter is a hit in Japan, succeeding where other social networking imports like Facebook have foundered as millions "mumble" -- the translation of tweet -- and give mini-blogging a distinctly Japanese flavor.

The arrival of the Japanese language Twitter service in 2008 tapped into a greater sense of individuality in Japan, especially among younger people less accepting of the understatement and conformity their culture is usually associated with, analysts say.

A mobile version of Twitter started last October, further fueling the Twitter boom in a nation where Internet-connecting cell phones have been the rule for years.

These days, seminars teaching the tricks of the tweet, as the micro-blog postings are known, are popping up. Ending Japanese sentences with "nah-woo" -- an adaptation of "now" in English -- is hip, showing off the speaker's versatility in pseudo-English Twitter-speak.

A TV show features characters that tweet. A Tokyo bar has screens showing tweets along with World Cup games. And pop idols, a former prime minister and plain regular people are all tweeting like crazy.

The proportion of Japanese Internet users who tweet is 16.3 percent and now surpasses the ratio among Americans at 9.8 percent. Twitter and Japan's top social networking site, mixi, have been running neck-and-neck with monthly visitors between 9 million and 10 million but in April Twitter squeaked past mixi, according to ratings agency Nielsen Online.

In contrast, only 3 percent of Japanese Internet users are on Facebook compared with 62 percent in the U.S., according to Nielsen. MySpace has also failed to take off in Japan, at under 3 percent of Net users versus 35 percent in the U.S., according to comScore Inc.

Twitter estimates Japanese write nearly 8 million tweets a day, or about 12 percent of the global total. Data from Tweet Sentiments, a web site that analyzes tweets, show Japanese are sometimes tweeting more frequently than Americans.

"Japan is enjoying the richest and most varied form of Twitter usage as a communication tool," says Daisuke Tsuda, 36, a writer with more than 65,000 "followers" for his tweets. "It's playing out as a rediscovery of the Internet."

One reason is language. It's possible to say so much more in Japanese within Twitter's 140 letter limit. The word "information" requires just two letters in Japanese. That allows academics and politicians to relay complex views, according to Tsuda, who believes Twitter could easily attract 20 million people in Japan soon.

Another is that people are owning up to their identities on Twitter. Anonymity tended to be the rule on popular Japanese Web sites, and horror stories abounded about people getting targeted in smear-campaigns that were launched under the shroud of anonymity.

In contrast, Twitter anecdotes are heartwarming. One well-known case is a woman who posted on Twitter the photo of a park her father sent in an e-mail attachment before he died. Twitter was immediately abuzz with people comparing parks.

So far, people are flocking to Twitter in positive ways, reaching out in direct, public and interactive communication, debunking the stereotype of Japanese as shy and insular, says Noriyuki Ikeda, chief executive of Tribal Media House, which consults on social media marketing.

"Twitter is turning out to be like a cocktail party," he told The Associated Press. "Japanese see how fun it is to network and casually connect with other people."

Twitter is also proving a good business tool. Companies are exploring Twitter as a way to reach consumers and get feedback, a function that holds potential in Japan where broadband connections are widespread and cheap, and mobile phones outnumber the population.

Retailer Tokyu Hands uses Twitter to answer queries from customers, while clothing-chain Uniqlo has used Twitter in marketing by setting up a virtual queue where people tweet with each other and get freebies.

Motohiko Tokuriki, chief executive of consultant Agile Media Network, who has nearly 200,000 followers, believes Twitter is on its way to be chosen the hit new word of the year, a coveted honor that draws great publicity here.

"It's telling that Twitter was translated as 'mumbling' in Japanese," he said. "They love the idea of talking to themselves," he said.

Twitter may even offer Japan's web entrepreneurs global opportunities that had so far eluded them because it's the first digital "global-standard" outside of search engines like Google or Yahoo! to catch on here, says Toru Saito, chief executive of Loops Communications, which specializes in social networking businesses.

That means software applications Japanese develop for Twitter could win acceptance from a global market. Japanese mobile software products have tended to be for Japanese up to now.

"I'm getting so many queries, including those from abroad," Saito said.

Rocky Eda, corporate communications manager for Digital Garage, which supports Twitter's Japan operations, is thrilled people are embracing Twitter.

"In finding fulfillment in expressing what's on your mind for the moment, Twitter is like haiku," he said. "It is so Japanese."

(Article from AP see here)

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Internet and Social Media? Get a Great Name

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet." -  Juliet from Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

What's in a name? Most people would say, "Not much." But in these days of Social Media and with how the Internet is coming to dominate business, then what is in a name means a whole heck-of-a-lot.

Today, I want to talk about how having a unique name is critical to smart marketing for you. And how you will need a unique name if you want to have any hope of creating a buzz.

And this is not only in Japan, but all around the world. Having a great name for yourself for your business, product, service, or Internet idea is critical for success; especially in this day when people are actively searching for a special topic or item.

Take the example of a blog. The other day, a friend of mine, who is not Internet savvy at all, told me that he was thinking of a name for an online television show that he wanted to begin and he called me to ask me if his idea for a name for the program was good. The program was about interviewing foreign businessmen in Japan, in English, about doing business in Japan.

My friend seemed very pleased with the title he thought up for the TV show. It was, Tokyo Exchange.

Sounds like a typical business interview on your typical terrestrial TV station, right? Sure. It does to me. Now just think about how poorly terrestrial TV is doing. Do you want your business to emulate them? I sure hope not.

I told him that this was very old-fashioned thinking and that Tokyo Exchange was a terrible name... Can you imagine what people will think when they see a, er, "catchy name" or press release that says "Tokyo Exchange"? When someone hears this, the first thing that will pop into their mind will be the Tokyo Stock Market.

If you do a Google search on Tokyo Exchange, then you will get 25,400,000 results.

Now think about this for a moment. If you do, you will realize why this kind of name has to be one of the worst ideas a person could have. My friend is going to do an online TV show on a small Internet TV station that few have ever heard of. Now, if someone like you or me want to find his show by doing an Internet search, we would enter Tokyo Exchange in the search engine.

Now, also consider just how many tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of people per day search for financial information concerning the Tokyo Stock Exchange... How in the world will anyone find my friend's online TV show? They won't.

The resulting Google search page that shows my friend's TV show will probably not be even in the first 100 pages... It probably wouldn't hit the first 1,000 pages. And, as you know from your own personal experience, if you do a Google search and the result that you are looking for does not show up in the first page - maybe the first 2 or 3 pages - then you'll stop looking.

I know that if it doesn't show up in the first five on page one, I rarely search farther.

My friend would be better off with a name like "ZZXZ Dorky Tokyo." I'd bet they'd show up on the first page of an Internet search with a name like that.

Of course, I'm not saying that ZZXZ Dorky Tokyo is a great name. But it is a heck of a lot better than Tokyo Exchange.

To prove to you that I know what I'm talking about here, think about my name. My name is Mike Rogers. Mike Rogers is a very common (boring) name. If I do a Google search on Mike Rogers, I find a US congress-critter; a K-1 fighter; a professional hockey player; and a zillion others.

But Mike Rogers is a western name and I live in Japan. Ah! A unique name: Mike in Tokyo Rogers.

Now, let me brag to prove to you that I do know what I am talking about here. If you do a Google search of my name; "Mike in Tokyo Rogers", you'll find me #1 on a search. If you search "Mike in Tokyo" (without knowing my last name) you will find me #1. If you search merely "Mike Tokyo" I show up in the top 3.

Now that is a useful and killer name!

So it doesn't matter now what I do. Whether it is Twitter, Pick, blogging, U-Stream or any Internet Social Media or promotion or marketing. I always use the name "Mike in Tokyo Rogers."

So, before you decide on what name you will use, do Google searches. Use your imagination and find something unique. Use your middle name or find a new and cool moniker.

Make and use a name like this and people will find you.... If you don't, you or your service will be just like one of the millions of pieces of paper on the floor at the end of the trading day at the Tokyo Exchange; lost in the shuffle and headed into the trash.

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