I am now Director of Marketing of iKnow!, the world's social learning platform

New year, new role and big news:
I am happy to announce today on my personal blog that I became Director of Marketing at iKnow!, the world's social learning platform this week.

iKnow! is run by Cerego, a technology company headquartered in Shibuya/Tokyo. Cerego has a 14-year old history of applying research in cognitive science and neuroscience to learning technologies (more info here).



iKnow! is Cerego's flagship product and even though the main focus was "only" the Japanese market for most of the time, iKnow! has attracted nearly 400,000 registered users since the launch in October 2007. The service won a Demogod award and was featured in TechCrunch (picked up by yours truly), Mashable, ReadWriteWeb and countless other international super blogs - don't even get me started in Japan ;).

Initially, Japanese users could use iKnow! to learn English but the service has dramatically expanded in the last few weeks: Now Polish people learn French on iKnow!, Russians study German and if you speak English, you can now learn Thai on iKnow! as well. All for free.

Users are welcome to create, share and remix content themselves and they do so like crazy: Almost 30,000 user-made lists (courses) are now on the platform, partially enriched with pictures, audio and video. iKnow! supports creating content in 191 different languages.

Before I get too excited over iKnow! in this posting, I suggest you try the service out for yourself (what a surprise, right?). Please feel free to add me as a friend.

You can find some more info on my position here and here.

PS
I am not leaving TechCrunch.

CrunchBase Information

Cerego Japan Inc.

Information provided by CrunchBase

Asiajin is 1 year old

Asiajin, one of the very few (and I dare say most successful) blogs in English focusing on the Japanese and Asian web industry, is now 1 year old. 233 blogs were written in 365 days, which is not bad for a non-commercial blog. Details can be found here.

It has been very cool working with the Asiajin crew so far and I will continue to help expose Japanese tech and web stuff on a global level in the future.

Join the Open Web Asia '08 conference in Seoul in October

My friend Gang Lu and a few of my other friends ;) from the OpenWeb.Asia work group managed to organize what looks to be a kick-ass web industry event. Some really interesting speakers will be in Seoul on October 14th (it's a 1-day event), i. e. Loic LeMeur of Seesmic plus representatives from a number of Japanese, Korean, American and Chinese web companies.

I blogged about the work group before and actually Tokyotronic is part of it (OK, I don't update this blog that often): On the site, you can find summarized a network of blogs reporting about the Asian web industry in one way or the other.

Open Web Asia has also established a dedicated web site for the event where you can find more info and register (starting late August, $200).

Here is the English press release (the Japanese translation -courtesy of my buddy and co-organizer Shunichi Arai- follows):

August 14, 2008
For information contact:
Andrew Shuttleworth
www.openwebasia.com
media@openwebasia.com

Open Web Asia Conference ‘08

“The first pan-Asia web technology event bringing together executives, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists from throughout Asia”

October 14 2008, Sheraton Grande Walkerhill, Seoul, Korea

in association with the 9th World Knowledge Forum

Open Web Asia ‘08 marks the birth of a new conference that will be the first truly pan-Asia web technology event. Top technology executives, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists from throughout Asia will gather for this premier event to be hosted in Seoul, Korea in its inaugural year.

The event is organized by members of the Open Web Asia Workgroup and other prominent entrepreneurs, thinkers, and bloggers from within the Asian web industry. It was spurred by a desire to create a high quality, informative and practical technology conference focused on the Asian internet industry. To date this has been lacking.

Open Web Asia will be held in association with the World Knowledge Forum (WKF). The WKF has established itself as one of the most prestigious conferences in Asia with speakers and attendees such as Bill Gates, Colin Powell, Jack Welch, Alan Greenspan, Michael Dell, and Paul Wolfowitz.

The theme of the 2008 conference is ‘The Social Web’. Socialization has been a game changing development in the internet industry and the social web is an area where Asia has its own strength and vibrancy. Asian countries have a distinct internet cultures and market players, so informative and educational cross-country comparisons can be made.

The one day conference will be divided into four sessions focusing on the following key areas: Insights and Best Practices, Innovations in Asia; Collaboration - An Introduction to Asia’s Social Web; and East Meets West - The challenges of Internationalization To and From Asia. The topics were chosen as a platform for information, education and debate.

Confirmed speakers include some of the most experienced and knowledgeable people from the Asian internet industry and a selection of business leaders and thinkers from outside the region.

Kevin Day (CEO, Comsenz) (China)
Arthur Chang (VP of Global Sales, Alibaba) (China)
Yongjoon Hyoung (CEO of StoryBlender & Founder of Cyworld) (Korea)
Yongseok Jang (Senior Director, eBay Asia Pacific) (Korea)
Yozo Kaneko (Director and COO of ngi group, inc.) (Japan)
James W. Kim (CEO of Yahoo!’s Korea Region) (Korea)
Jimmy Kim (Executive Vice President, Nexon Corp.) (Korea)
Loic Le Meur (CEO, Seesmic) (USA)
Ram Lee (Head of Communities, NHN Corporation (Naver)) (Korea)
Kent Lindström (Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Friendster) (USA)
Shusaku Maruko (General Manager, Corporate Strategy Department, Felica) (Japan)
Jean K. Min (Communications Director, Ohmynews) (Korea)
Akio Tanaka (Partner, Infinity Ventures) (Japan)
Bill Wang (VP of Overseas Business, Perfect World) (China)
Andreas Weigend (Consultant & Lecturer; Former Chief Scientist of Amazon) (USA)
Kwan Yoon (Partner, Bluerun Ventures) (USA)

This premier conference will offer web professionals from inside Asia and those from outside with an eye on the Asian web market an opportunity to learn, network and create business connections that will benefit both the regional and global internet industry. For more information and registration please visit www.openwebasia.com

IMAGES
The Open Web Asia logo is available for media use at http://www.openwebasia.com/downloads/

SPONSORSHIP
A limited number of sponsorship packages are available. For details, please contact sponsor@openwebasia.com

REFERENCE

World Knowledge Forum http://www.wkforum.org
The World Knowledge Forum is an independent organization committed to promoting knowledge-driven society and creating balanced global prosperity. Incorporated as a foundation in 2000, and based in Seoul, Korea, the World Knowledge Forum is non-profit.

The Open Web Asia Workgroup http://www.openweb.asia
The Open Web Asia Workgroup is a network of premium blogs focus on Asian Web industry. These sites build efficient channels between Asia web and global industry, and also enhance the inter-communication of local Internet markets.

世界初、アジア各国が中心となるウェブテクノロジー国際会議が開催されます。

Open Web Asia Conference '08

2008年10月14日、アジアのインターネット企業経営者やベンチャーキャピタリストが集まる国際会議「Open Web Asia Conference '08」がソウルのシェラトングランデウォーカーヒルホテルで初めて開催されます。今年度はWorld Knowledge Forumとの共同開催となります。

Open Web Asia '08は、初めてのアジア各国をカバーするウェブテクノロジーの国際会議です。トップクラスの経営者、起業家、ベンチャーキャピタリストが、初年度の開催地であるソウルに集結します。

本会議は、Open Web Asia Workgroup及びアジアの有力な起業家やブロガーによって主催されています。アジアのインターネット業界が一堂に会する国際会議を開催したいとの強い熱意を持って各国から主催者が集まりました。

今年度のOpen Web Asiaは、World Knowledge Forum (WKF)との共同開催となります。WKFは、アジアで最も有力な国際会議の一つで、これまでにビル・ゲイツ、コリン・パウエル、ジャック・ウェルチ、アラン・グリーンスパン、マイケル・デルら、一流の講演者が参加しています。

本会議の今年度のテーマは、「The Social Web」です。インターネット産業において、ソーシャル・ウェブは世界を変えるほどの革新的技術であり、またアジアが大きな存在感と躍動感を持っている分野でもあります。アジア各国には、独自のインターネット文化と、各国市場を代表する強力な企業があり、それらを比較することは非常に有意義であると考えます。

会議は、以下の４つのセッションが行われます。

・Insights and Best Practices
・Innovations in Asia
・Collaboration - An Introduction to Asia's Social Web
・East Meets West - The challenges of Internationalization To and From Asia

現在、予定されている講演者は以下の通りです。

・Kevin Day (CEO, Comsenz) (China)
・Arthur Chang (VP of Global Sales, Alibaba) (China)
・Yongjoon Hyoung (CEO of StoryBlender & Founder of Cyworld) (Korea)
・Yongseok Jang (Senior Director, eBay Asia Pacific) (Korea)
・Yozo Kaneko (Director and COO of ngi group, inc.) (Japan)
・James W. Kim (CEO of Yahoo!'s Korea Region) (Korea)
・Jimmy Kim (Executive Vice President, Nexon Corp.) (Korea)
・Loic Le Meur (CEO, Seesmic) (USA)
・Ram Lee (Head of Communities, NHN Corporation (Naver)) (Korea)
・Kent Lindstrom (Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, Friendster) (USA)
・Shusaku Maruko (General Manager, Corporate Strategy Department, Felica) (Japan)
・Jean K. Min (Communications Director, Ohmynews) (Korea)
・Akio Tanaka (Partner, Infinity Ventures) (Japan)
・Bill Wang (VP of Overseas Business, Perfect World) (China)
・Andreas Weigend (Consultant & Lecturer; Former Chief Scientist of Amazon) (USA)
・Kwan Yoon (Partner, Bluerun Ventures) (USA)

Open Web Asiaが、日本のインターネット業界の皆様に、アジアと世界との人脈を作り、最新事例を学ぶ機会をご提供します。

詳しい情報はウェブサイト(http://www.openwebasia.com)をご覧ください。

発表日: 2008年8月14日
お問い合わせ先: 新井俊一 (openwebasia@mellowtone.co.jp)

---
・ロゴ (http://www.openwebasia.com/downloads/)

誌面に掲載されるOpen Web Asiaのロゴは上記URLから取得して頂けます。

・スポンサー

当会議のスポンサー様を若干名募集しております。詳しくは sponsor@openwebasia.com までご連絡ください。

・World Knowledge Forum (http://www.wkforum.org)

World Knowledge Forumは、独立した委員会により運営される、知識社会と均衡の取れた世界の発展を目的とする組織です。2000年に韓国で非営利の財団として発足しました。

・The Open Web Asia Workgroup (http://www.openweb.asia)

Open Web Asia Workgroupは、アジアのウェブ業界における有力なブログが集まったブログネットワークです。これらのブログは、世界とアジアをつなぐ架け橋として、またアジア各国間の架け橋として機能しています。

Facebook's co-founder taken to Tokyo Venture Beat by yours truly

I met Facebook's co-founder and former CTO (until May this year) Adam D'Angelo yesterday in Tokyo. Adam came to Japan on a private trip. He was "guided" by his long-time friend Matyas who recently graduated from the California Institute of Technology and can speak perfect Japanese!



Although Adam is here just for vacation, I had the pleasure to introduce him to some people in the Japanese web industry. After eating dinner together (we had Kyuushuu ramen in Harajuku), it was time for some Japan tech talk.

I brought Adam and Matyas to this month's Venture Beat event where Hisashi Katsuya from IBM's Venture Capital Division treated them as special guests (thank you very much, Katsuya-san!).

Check out the pictures I made below (click to enlarge).

My 3rd Techcrunch article+USA trip to TC 50

My 3rd article on Techcrunch is now online, this time I blogged Mixi. The Japanese version can be found here on Techcrunch Japan, the French version on Techcrunch France. A blogger published an unofficial Chinese translation.

Although the company is worth $1 billion, almost no one outside Japan knows about it (my earlier reports). I am hoping the coverage on Techcrunch will improve that situation to some extent.



The Washington Post also put it up.

Please digg the article here - only if you like it, obviously ;).

On a (slightly) similar note, I will be attending the Techcrunch 50 conference in San Francisco this year. The event takes place from September 8-10 (tickets are still available here). Please contact me in case you would like to meet up for some Japanese Tech talk ;).

As always, please make sure to also follow my articles on Crunchgear (on Japanese technology, gadgets and subculture) and - last not least Asiajin - (on the Japanese web industry).

Thank you for your support!

Article about me on Turkey's leading Tech blog Webrazzi

Here is an article Erhan Erdoğan wrote about me and my activities here in the Japanese IT and web industry.



His "Webrazzi" is Turkey's leading web industry blog. The article is written in Turkish (I am German but my parents hail from Turkey, I speak the language and I love that country).

Teşekkürler, Erhan!

I just met with MobileCrunch boss Greg Kumparak

My colleague Greg Kumparak is in Japan for a few weeks and -of course- I had to meet him here in Tokyo, which I did today (on very short notice!).



Greg is the editor-in chief of MobileCrunch, a relatively new -yet very successful- blog belonging to the Techcrunch network. MobileCrunch covers everything related to mobile devices: hardware, phones, gadgets, business-related news, rates and prices, rumors, technology, you name it.

Gotta say he is a cool guy (typical Californian) and pretty good in playing Half-Life 2 as well ;). This is Greg:

My second article on Techcrunch (TC USA and Japan)

Following the story about Quillpill (a microblogging tool for writers and readers of fiction), my second article on Techcrunch is online now. The Japanese translation of the second TC article is here.



Topic: Nico Nico Douga, Japan's answer to Youtube!

Please remember to take a look at my CrunchGear articles as well ;).

My first article on Techcrunch is online!

You can read my first article on Techcrunch here.



The Japanese version (on Techcrunch Japan) can be read here.

Please sphere, digg and bookmark it by the thousands ;).

Openweb.asia unites all English blogs on Asian IT, Tech and Web

The main trigger for my establishing this blog last year was the ridiculously small amount of information I could get about the Japanese web industry in English at that time. Asiajin (which I am co-authoring) followed suit and improved the situation dramatically, now boasting over 1.800 RSS readers.

Now, my China-based friend Gang-Lu initiated a project which he dubbed OpenWeb Asia. Gang is Director for Business Development Asia at Netvibes. He also has his own blog in English, which covers the Asian web scene (Mobinode).



OpenWeb Asia is essentially a network of premium blogs written in English that deal with IT, Tech and web stuff coming from Asia. Naturally Asiajin and Tokyotronic are represented already ;). A total of 15 blogs are centralised on OpenWeb Asia already. This is a very good idea and I blame myself for having been to slow to come up with this idea before Gang did ;).

A conference is also planned for the near future.

Click here to read Gang's official announcement.

Super-blog ReadWriteWeb covered the launch of OpenWeb Asia just yesterday.

This is the Facebook group Gang set up for OpenWeb Asia.

The OPML file (15 blogs) can be downloaded here.

Applications accepted for Sun Microsystems / Recruit’s Mash-up awards (September 2008)

Since today, Japan-based web companies are welcome to send in applications for the 4th Mash-up awards jointly organized by Sun Microsystems Japan and Recruit.

The first price is 10 million Yen (approximately $10,000).

Applications will be accepted until September 16th, while the awards show will be conducted on October 19th.

Last year, Yuki Naotori from 7ns won the SUN/RECRUIT award with his Google Maps mash up called ONGMAP (thankfully available in English).

Useful online calendar(s) for Tech events in Tokyo

Here are a couple of VERY useful calendars for Tech and web freaks who want to plan ahead for industry events of all kinds:

IT events in Japan (Japanese, recommended)

ZD NET's calendar (Japanese )

General business events (English, but not focused on IT-provided by Andrew Shuttleworth)

CNET's IT industry events calendar (Japanese )

@IT's calendar (Japanese)

If you know more, please share in the comments!

Techcrunch 50 competition: Call for Japanese web companies

My friend Umihiko Namekawa from Techcrunch Japan just posted an article in his blog about the upcoming Techcrunch 50 competition (organized by Techcrunch USA and to be held in September in San Francisco).



Following the abscence of Japanese web companies in last year's Techcrunch 40 event, potential participants from this country are encouraged to take part this year.

The time schedule is pretty tight but professional support will be provided by the organizers.

More information (in Japanese) can be found here on the official site.

I joined the Techcrunch empire (+other news)

As the title of this post suggests, I am now a member of the almighty Techcrunch empire. To be exact, I am actually the only blogger from the Techcrunch (USA) network who is based in Japan.



I started writing for Crunchgear a couple of days ago. Crunchgear is the sister blog of Techcrunch, covering gadgets, computer hardware and technology news in general. They needed someone to take care of the Japanese side of things (it was about time) and thankfully chose me!

Crunchgear has nearly 40.000 RSS readers while Techcrunch even boasts 920.000 RSS readers.

My list of articles on Crunchgear can be found here. So far it's great fun and I will continue giving my best to expose the power of Japanese technology to the world!

Also, I hope to contribute to Techcrunch itself sometime to let their readers know the web industry over here offers cool stuff, too.

However, I will continue blogging for Asiajin (my list of Asiajin articles is here).

Some more news
This shameless self-PR spree doesn't stop here:

If you want to hear me speaking about various stuff (mainly about the Japanese Tech scene and myself), please check out the podcast interview I gave for my friend Robert Sanzalone the other day.

PS
Also, in case you are interested on the shrinking gap between television and the web in Japan, please check out a recent article on that topic here or here (also to be found in the printed versions of Australian newspapers The Sun and The Sydney Morning Herald).

It's an interesting piece my Aussie friend Justin Norrie wrote and yours truly is quoted.

PPS
I removed the Google ads from this blog quite some time ago. Tokyotronic is now completely non-profit ;).

Also, I put a Zooomr Zipline widget on my blog (see the sidebar). You can do the same here.

RECRUIT-sponsored Javascript User Interface conference in Tokyo

The YAPC Asia in Tokyo ended yesterday. Unfortunately, I couldn't attend (and try to understand as a Non-Techie) all presentations: I was simply too busy.
Next year, I will be there again (here is my former post on the event).

On Monday, I will be attending the JUI 2008 conference in Tokyo (Javascript User Interface). My friend Yusuke Kawasaki and his employer, Japanese powerhouse RECRUIT, are the main drivers. behind the event.

Yusuke told me the number of registrants already exceeded the 100 mark even though the JUI 2008 was brought to life in a hurry and is the first conference of its kind. It will take place in the RECRUIT office building in Ginza.

These are the main speakers. Some high-profile engineers will be there:

- Paul Bakaus - http://ui.jquery.com/
- "amachang" - http://d.hatena.ne.jp/amachang/
- "inucara" - http://inucara.net/
- "iandeth" - http://iandeth.dyndns.org/mt/ian/

For registration and more info, please visit Yusuke's blog (in English). The JUI 2008 Facebook group is here.

My report on the event can be found on Asiajin.

Founding a web-centered company in Japan as a gaijin

As many people reading this blog, I am very passionate about the Internet, both from a technological and from an economic perspective. It was clear to me for a long time to turn this passion into a profession and that time has come ;).

Founding a web-centered company in Tokyo
As a person with a clear business background (after getting my MBA in Germany, I currently am in the process of becoming a PhD in business administration), I will try my best to promote and ultimately sell Japanese web technology and services to the world.

There are many, many web software products, services and companies in Japan ready for conquering Western markets. Japan is in my eyes a country totally underrated in the Internet world - however, the potential to be a top player does exist.

The company which is currently in the process of incorporating is aimed at exposing Japan's web industry to the world - just like Tokyotronic and Asiajin proactively do for quite some time now.

However, the company's focus will likely be broadened in time to cover more possibilities to bridge the gap between Japan and the rest of the web world. My two Japanese co-founders are as bullish as I am - I have no doubts we can make a substantial difference, even as a startup!

The future
I will keep the Tokyotronic readers up-to-date with any news that I hope are interesting in the incorporation process of the new company. There will be no photos of "our new IKEA office shelves-look!", no boring alibi stories or copy/paste stlye press releases - promised.

Tokyotronic will be turned into the official company blog at a later time. However, providing my readers with substantial news about the Japanese IT/web scene will remain the prior purpose of this blog!

Please don't hesitate to address any questions to me at totoserkan (at) gmail.com

Asiajin Meeting #1 with Web entrepreneurs and developers in Tokyo

Asiajin, the other IT and Web blog I am writing for, is organizing an event for the first time for everyone interested in the Japanese Internet world.

The Asiajin meeting #1 will take place in Tokyo/Akasaka on February 26th (Tuesday), beginning at 19.00. Entrance is free courtesy of Cybozu Labs.

We are expecting 5-6 presentations. The principal language will be English. Japanese participants are encouraged to come to improve their language and presentaion skills in English. Gaijin (like me) are very welcome as well of course.

Please look for details and RSVP here.

New article at Asiajin (I became editor)

I am happy to announce today that I am new editor at Asiajin (here is my former post about this amibitious blog project in English).

Asiajin's mission is basically the same as Tokyotronic's: To expose the power of the Japanese IT industry to the world. In my view, genuine IT and web services from this country are ridiculously underrepresented in the West. This means less business opportunities for Japanese companies and less chances for an exchange of innovative ideas, thoughts and concepts among IT professionals.

Both Asiajin and Tokyotronic would like to work against this development. Asiajin's scope is broader since it is planned to integrate news from other Asian nations as well. I will keep up the work here at Tokyotronic by the way.

In my first posting as Asiajin editor I analyze an original Japanese web product: The Japanese blog search engine and blog analyzer kizasi.