Mixi vs Facebook©

Begun in February 2004, Mixi was the first online social network site in Japan. It was
developed by Batara Eto (previously Batara Kesuma) who was born in Medan,
Indonesia, and then studied engineering at Takushoku University in Japan. Users of
Mixi must register with a Japanese mobile phone number, which limits the service to
Japanese residents. They must be at least 18 years old (revised to 15 in December
2008) and are anonymous.

Mixi began with an online diary and expanded to include sharing of calendar,
photos, tweets, and other items. The Mixi page is like a blog with a calendar in the left
panel. Visitors can express “like” and leave comments. The system notifies the owner
of the Mixi page of visits by others. Owners can decide their groups and add friends to
their group. Their content will be open equally to all group members. So, Mixi users
must take care about managing the group membership.

Facebook opened to the public in September 2006, and by May 2008, it offered a
Japanese version. By contrast with Mixi, Facebook requires users to register with their
real name. Facebook established an office in Japan in February 2010.

Table. Active users (in millions)

18.0
16.0
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0 Mixi
6.0 Facebook
4.0
2.0
‐
Nov‐11

May‐12

Nov‐12
Mar‐12
Jan‐12
Feb‐12

Apr‐12

Jun‐12

Aug‐12
Sep‐12
Jul‐12

Oct‐12
Dec‐11

Dec‐12

Sources: Mixi, Earnings Presentation, Feb 2013; members.co.jp; Social Bakers.

By late 2012, Japanese Facebook had overtaken Mixi in membership, page

views and visit time. 67.2% of Mixi members also used Facebook.1 While Facebook
continued to grow, Mixi declined.

March 2003, I.P.L. Png. I thank Masayoshi Higuchi for suggesting this case and Toshimitsu Ueta for
©

assistance with the data. This case is based, in part, on Bruce Einhorn and Yuki Yamaguchi , “In
Japan, Facebook Wins the Most Users”, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, March 22, 2012; Rob Gilhooly,
“Why Japan finally fell for Facebook”, New Scientist, No. 2875, 25 July 2012; and Kensuke Sekine,
“Latest Nielsen survey in October 2012 mixi, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Linkedin”,
http://media.looops.net/sekine/2012/11/22/neilsen-netview-201210/ [Accessed, 11 March 2013].
 Facebook’s requirement for real names appealed to Japanese users. Kenji
Shinozaki, a 19-year-old hair stylist from Shizuoka, dropped Mixi for Facebook,
“Exchanging personal information such as phone numbers was a no-go [on Mixi] and
anyone who did risked having their account erased.” 2

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region highlighted the
advantages of Facebook. People perceived that information and calls to organize
posted on Facebook with real names was more authentic.

Facebook has become a powerful business tool for Japanese business executives.
Twenty-six-year-old marine products wholesaler, Takanori Kobashi, uses Facebook to
cultivate business relationships. Koki Shiraishi, an analyst with Daiwa Securities Capital
Markets in Tokyo, remarked. “People started to recognize it’s suited to
business because it uses real names and is not anonymous.” 3

Another advantage of Facebook over Mixi is the opportunity to engage with friends
outside Japan. Masayoshi Higuchi, Vice Department Manager at leading online shopping
site, Rakuten, explained: “Japanese want to be connected to others in the world rather
than only in Japan and switched their main digital home from Mixi to
Facebook… It’s the power of English and networking.”4

Questions:

1. How does a social network website depend on network effects among users?

2. Explain the advantages of Mixi in competition against a totally new competitor.

3. How do the advantages in (2) apply to Mixi competing against Facebook?

Consider whether Mixi users post in English or Japanese.

4. For Mixi, compare the advantages and disadvantages of switching to a real-name

policy.

1
Sekine, op. cit.
2
Gilhooly, op. cit.
3
Einhorn and Yamaguchi, op. cit.
4
Personal communication with author (February 2013).
 Mixi vs Facebook©

Dimulai pada Februari 2004, Mixi adalah situs jejaring sosial online pertama di
Jepang. Ini dikembangkan oleh Batara Eto (sebelumnya Batara Kesuma) yang lahir di
Medan, Indonesia, dan kemudian belajar teknik di Universitas Takushoku di Jepang.
Pengguna Mixi harus mendaftar dengan nomor ponsel Jepang, yang membatasi
layanan untuk penduduk Jepang. Mereka harus berusia minimal 18 tahun (direvisi
menjadi 15 pada bulan Desember
2008) dan anonim.

Mixi mulai dengan buku harian online dan diperluas untuk mencakup berbagi
kalender, foto, tweet, dan item lainnya. Halaman Mixi seperti blog dengan kalender di
panel kiri. Pengunjung dapat mengekspresikan "suka" dan memberikan komentar.
Sistem memberi tahu pemilik halaman Mixi tentang kunjungan oleh orang lain. Pemilik
dapat memutuskan grup mereka dan menambahkan teman ke grup mereka. Konten
mereka akan terbuka sama untuk semua anggota grup. Jadi, pengguna Mixi harus
berhati-hati dalam mengelola keanggotaan grup.

Facebook dibuka untuk umum pada September 2006, dan pada Mei 2008,
Facebook menawarkan versi Jepang. Berbeda dengan Mixi, Facebook mengharuskan
pengguna untuk mendaftar dengan nama asli mereka. Facebook mendirikan kantor di
Jepang pada Februari 2010.

Pada akhir 2012, Facebook Jepang telah melampaui Mixi dalam keanggotaan,
tampilan halaman, dan waktu kunjungan. 67,2% anggota Mixi juga menggunakan
Facebook.1 Sementara Facebook terus tumbuh, Mixi menolak

Persyaratan Facebook untuk nama asli menarik bagi pengguna Jepang. Kenji
Shinozaki, penata rambut berusia 19 tahun dari Shizuoka, menjatuhkan Mixi untuk
Facebook, "Bertukar informasi pribadi seperti nomor telepon adalah hal yang tidak
boleh dilakukan [mengenai Mixi] dan siapa pun yang mengambil risiko menghapus
akun mereka." 2

Gempa bumi dan tsunami Maret 2011 di wilayah Tohoku menyoroti keunggulan
Facebook. Orang-orang menganggap bahwa informasi dan panggilan untuk
berorganisasi yang diposting di Facebook dengan nama asli lebih otentik.
 Facebook telah menjadi alat bisnis yang kuat untuk eksekutif bisnis Jepang.
Pedagang grosir produk kelautan berusia 26 tahun, Takanori Kobashi, menggunakan
Facebook untuk memupuk hubungan bisnis. Koki Shiraishi, seorang analis di Daiwa
Securities Capital Markets di Tokyo, berkomentar. "Orang-orang mulai mengenalnya
cocok untuk itu bisnis karena menggunakan nama asli dan bukan anonim. ”3

Keuntungan lain dari Facebook atas Mixi adalah kesempatan untuk terlibat
dengan teman-teman di luar Jepang. Masayoshi Higuchi, Wakil Manajer Departemen
di situs belanja online terkemuka, Rakuten, menjelaskan: “Orang Jepang ingin
terhubung dengan orang lain di dunia daripada hanya di Jepang dan mengubah rumah
digital utama mereka dari Mixi ke Facebook ... Ini adalah kekuatan bahasa Inggris dan
jaringan

1. Bagaimana situs web jejaring sosial bergantung pada efek jaringan di antara
pengguna?
2. Jelaskan keunggulan Mixi dalam persaingan melawan pesaing yang sama
sekali baru.
3. Bagaimana keuntungan dalam (2) berlaku untuk Mixi yang bersaing dengan
Facebook? Pertimbangkan apakah pengguna Mixi memposting dalam bahasa Inggris
atau Jepang.
4. Untuk Mixi, bandingkan kelebihan dan kekurangan beralih ke kebijakan nama
asli.
 JAWABAN

1. How does a social network website depend on network effects among users?
 Occurs when the value of a product or service depends on the number of
others using it.
 Social networks sites are places for people to connect and share information.
 The success of social network depends on whether others utilizes the site.

2. The advantages of Mixi in competition against a totally new competitor.

 Mixi was the first online social network site in Japan.
 Users need to register with their mobile numbers & are anonymous.
 They must be at least 15 years old.
 Users can express “like” and leave comments & can get notifications about
the same.
 Owners can create groups & the content will be open equally to all group
members.

3. The advantages in (2) apply to Mixi competing against Facebook? Because Mixi was
the first online social network site in Japan. and created a new market based on
the identification of the unmet need for socialization. As a result, Mixi became a
monopoly firm in this market So, the users known Mixi than Facebook.
Consider whether Mixi users post in English or Japanese, because Mixi was limited
to only Japanese users

4. The advantages and disadvantages for Mixi of switching to a real-name policy.

a. Advantages
 People perceived information and calls to organize posted with real names
was more authentic
 To develop business relations
 Users could connect more on a personal level
b. disadvantages
 As if to follow its competitors, Facebook to use real name.
 Personal information is known to anyone
 More Risk than anymous.