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Japanese crowdsourcing startup Lancers launches matchmaking platform for regional businesses

Masaru Ikeda 2014.04.08

Tokyo-based Lancers operates one of Japan’s most popular crowdsourcing platforms. The company recently announced it has also launched a business matchmaking platform in closed beta, with the goal of connecting non-IT and regional business operators with potential clients. The new site is called Lancers Place, developed as a part of an effort to explore new business with Japanese telco KDDI.

By leveraging crowdsourced online workers, Lancers has been helping clients fulfill their IT needs in areas like web design, brochure layouts, and mobile app coding. But the company has been planning to expand beyond IT. KDDI has had a program for small and medium-sized enterprises since 2010, helping members find appropriate business fulfillment services. By connecting their user bases each other, the two companies expect to create more business opportunities that span geographical locations and business sectors.

Lancers aims to get about 100,000 regional businesses listed on the platform by the end of FY2014, and will work on member acquisition prior to launching the matchmaking function.

Via CNET Japan

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In Japan, a new content distribution platform for amateur authors

Piece of Cake

Masaru Ikeda 2014.04.07

Some of our readers may recall when we told you about Tokyo-based company ‘Piece of Cake’ which provides an online content platform that eases consumer payment and publisher monetization. Inspired by US-based Medium, the company has unveiled another content platform today called ‘Note’. Unlike their previous offering which featured content by novelists or artists, this new platform is intended for amateur content producers, allowing them to publish bits of content such as short messages, pictures, illustrations, text, sounds, and movies. On the platform, you can interact with other users, ‘like’ your favorite works, or follow other user timelines. The platform will also recommend content you might be interested in. Creators can charge readers on an episodic basis, buy an entire series, or provide a teaser prior to purchase. The platform takes a 10% commission fee of your sales excluding a 5% payment handling charge. Via TechCrunch Japan

Unlike their previous offering which featured content by novelists or artists, this new platform is intended for amateur content producers, allowing them to publish bits of content such as short messages, pictures, illustrations, text, sounds, and movies. On the platform, you can interact with other users, ‘like’ your favorite works, or follow other user timelines. The platform will also recommend content you might be interested in.

Creators can charge readers on an episodic basis, buy an entire series, or provide a teaser prior to purchase. The platform takes a 10% commission fee of your sales excluding a 5% payment handling charge.

Via TechCrunch Japan

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Japanese fish delivery startup finds underserved markets using heat maps

Hachimenroppi

Junya Mori 2014.04.07

See the original story in Japanese. Our readers may recall when we reported about Tokyo-based Hachimenroppi, a unique startup that delivers fish to restaurants using a disruptive approach. Today the company unveiled a fascinating heat map showing the geographical distribution of fish quantities transacted at every wholesale market and port in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Obviously it gives a clear picture of which areas are relatively out of reach from conventional fish distributors. In these areas, consumers are less likely to have fresh fish at local stores or restaurants, especially fish delivered on the same day that it’s caught. The startup sees a huge potential in expanding its business to those areas.

See the original story in Japanese.

Our readers may recall when we reported about Tokyo-based Hachimenroppi, a unique startup that delivers fish to restaurants using a disruptive approach.

Today the company unveiled a fascinating heat map showing the geographical distribution of fish quantities transacted at every wholesale market and port in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Obviously it gives a clear picture of which areas are relatively out of reach from conventional fish distributors.

In these areas, consumers are less likely to have fresh fish at local stores or restaurants, especially fish delivered on the same day that it’s caught. The startup sees a huge potential in expanding its business to those areas.

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Line launches its kids’ movie app on iOS

Rick Martin 2014.04.07

See our report on Line Kids Movies in Japanese A few weeks back Line Corporation announced that it would be releasing a movie app for children called Line Kids Movies. That application officially went live today on iOS [1], and if you’re in Japan and have kids, you may want to check it out. Programs included on the platform include Astro Boy, Pokemon, and Doraemon. As we mentioned previously, it’s a paid subscription service. But you can also earn watching time by sharing videos to your friends as well. As you can see in the screenshot below, there’s a timer in the top corner that tracks your remaining video time, an interesting device that will likely serve as a interesting way to bring new users to the service. I personally wouldn’t pay for such a service right now, but if it were ever to become available as a dedicated app on Apple TV, I’d likely give it a try. Android will follow soon. ↩

See our report on Line Kids Movies in Japanese

A few weeks back Line Corporation announced that it would be releasing a movie app for children called Line Kids Movies. That application officially went live today on iOS [1], and if you’re in Japan and have kids, you may want to check it out. Programs included on the platform include Astro Boy, Pokemon, and Doraemon.

As we mentioned previously, it’s a paid subscription service. But you can also earn watching time by sharing videos to your friends as well. As you can see in the screenshot below, there’s a timer in the top corner that tracks your remaining video time, an interesting device that will likely serve as a interesting way to bring new users to the service.

I personally wouldn’t pay for such a service right now, but if it were ever to become available as a dedicated app on Apple TV, I’d likely give it a try.

Android will follow soon. ↩

news

TV ads march Mixi’s Monster Strike past 5M users

Rick Martin 2014.04.07

Mixi has announced today that its popular puzzle RPG game, Monster Strike, now has 5 million users. It initially launched on iOS back in September of 2013, and then on Android in December. Mixi announced in February that it would partner with Chinese internet giant Tencent to bring Monster Strike to China, ostensibly the first localization for the title when it happens. The game is still (to my knowledge) only available in Japanese, but if you’d like to give it a try, it’s a free download on iOS and Google Play. The success of Monster Strike thus far has been credited with helping the company return to profit this year, and former general manager of the game department Hiroki Morite was recently named to become Mixi’s new CEO, leading into what the company is calling a ‘regrowth’ stage. Mixi has been promoting Monster Strike heavily on television in Japan, and its commercials have resulted in the last million users coming in just 18 days. Mixi

Mixi has announced today that its popular puzzle RPG game, Monster Strike, now has 5 million users. It initially launched on iOS back in September of 2013, and then on Android in December.

Mixi announced in February that it would partner with Chinese internet giant Tencent to bring Monster Strike to China, ostensibly the first localization for the title when it happens. The game is still (to my knowledge) only available in Japanese, but if you’d like to give it a try, it’s a free download on iOS and Google Play.

The success of Monster Strike thus far has been credited with helping the company return to profit this year, and former general manager of the game department Hiroki Morite was recently named to become Mixi’s new CEO, leading into what the company is calling a ‘regrowth’ stage.

Mixi has been promoting Monster Strike heavily on television in Japan, and its commercials have resulted in the last million users coming in just 18 days.

Mixi

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Asia has an appetite for Line’s Cookie Run

Rick Martin 2014.04.07

Line’s ‘Cookie Run’ game (trailer above) has surpasses the 20 million downloads mark (as of April 4th), with strong performance across the Asia region. On Google Play, it’s currently the top game in Thailand and Taiwan, and on iOS it’s the top game in Laos and Indonesia. Such milestones are pretty common for Line’s repertoire of casual games, but Cookie Run (released in late January) has been rather quick, picking up 10 million in its first month and another 10 million in 36 days after that. Via Gamebiz.jp

Such milestones are pretty common for Line’s repertoire of casual games, but Cookie Run (released in late January) has been rather quick, picking up 10 million in its first month and another 10 million in 36 days after that.

Via Gamebiz.jp

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