Is there space for a new JapanSoc? It's looking awfully bare at the moment...
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I did a parody of the article...True, that D300 price is not so different fron new. If the guarantee is 12months on...I misread the title. I thought it was about skitching, so I was quite disappointed...I should have wrote that book. Hell, we Americans are the masters of pulling one...Jason>> I hadn't considered used. I think I'm still below the technology...Have to pass on this. Maybe it'll come around again when I'm in Japan ^^;...I think I can come up with something interesting....Good policy to have....Interesting. I remember seeing this stuff in the states a long time ago. I always...Alfie, you have no qualms about buying used bodies? I have bought used lenses...
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scratches head...
I'm kind of wondering what news on China's involvement with Darfur has to do with Japan. At any rate, I don't think I'll be straying from JapanSoc.
I'm a bit bewildered by Edward's decision to start a site so similar to this one when he's promoted JapanSoc in the past on both his blog and podcast. Still, with the audience he already has at Japundit and JapanTalk, I'm sure he can make a success of his new site.
Here is Edward's "launch" post: http://japundit.com/archives/2008/07/16/8707/
It's actually not all that easy to read either.
I'm soc'd in here
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"
How lame is that? This site is way slicker, in any event. (Even if they're both Pligg-based.) JapanSoc all the way!
Here, here! I didn't soc it so that this news wouldn't reach the front page. Haha. That is how "dedicated" I am to JapanSoc!
I recently found this site and have been essentially lurking to see how this all works here first. Hopefully this will be taken as constructive criticism.
The problem with this particular group of Japan-related social networking sites is it is mostly the same set of blogs that end up being linked to with probably the same set of readers. There are many other Japan related sites out there you do not even see linked on either JapanSoc and JapanBlogger. Some of those are in similar groups of islands to themselves on JRef, Blog Japan - ex-pat Japan, Japan in Motion Blogs, etc.
Is this surprising? No. That is how social cliques tend to work even on the internet. But what is the purpose then if only the same groups of people are going to be active in what amounts to one huge circle jerk? I personally don't think a rival is a bad thing especially if it brings in different bloggers and therefore, a whole different group of readers and audience.
So I know the first response that will come up is why then don't I just submit a story from those other blogs? I already answered that at the very top. After seeing some of the cliquish comments in here, why should I even bother? It's not like this site was the first to provide what it does. It just does it in a different way. Before, it used to be about web-rings and banner exchange. Top Sites Japan while obsolete in how it works would be one of the first but it wasn't the only one using the concept. In other-words, rivals will come along all the time utilizing the same tools. I don't see anything lame about that at all.
Haiseki - I think that you underestimate this clique, as you call it, and its willingness to embrace new sites and new people.
I for one am always up for reading about different subjects from different points of view. I checked out your profile and you haven't submitted anything at all. Why not try and see what happens?
I agree with Shane completely. I don't think this is a clique of sorts given the fact that I just started my blog within the last month and have been welcomed by folks like Deas, Alex from Victory Manual and a couple others with open arms. I don't want to sound overly sentimental, but I must say that if there is any real cliquish behavior, aside from the grain of salt comments here, from the bloggers on JapanSoc, I have yet to see it.
I think its great that there are other blogs out there that are not yet apart of this particular circle. If at all possible I'd like to get them involved.
Can I discourage the use of the term "circle jerk" in constructive criticism in the future? Ha ha. And encourage some submissions, too? Link us up!
"There are many other Japan related sites out there you do not even see linked on either JapanSoc and JapanBlogger."
I will add pretty much any site (with Japan-related stuff) to JapanBlogger as long as it's not a pure directory or business site. I've only refused to add one because it was a business site, and even now I'm reconsidering adding it when I break things up into categories.
Anyway, people will support the sites they like and will forget the ones they don't. If the new site becomes an interesting, useful, and valuable resource for a large group of people, it will succeed.
@Haiseki:
I'm sorry to tell you this, but you are completely wrong. My site is only 3 months old and I've submitted and helped JapanSoc many time since then. At first I thought this is a "closed circle", but now I can tell you how much dun it was to join this great community, and I've received great feedback from all the regular visitors here.
All I had to do is to contribute to this community and think on how to improve it. That's the only thing needed here.
Things always look closed until you participate. I have never seen one half-serious derogatory comment, and I have never seen anyone intentionally disregard someone's opinion on this site.
That said, perhaps we could coax Nick into putting up a nice happy banner on the front page for new IP's reading "Welcome!!! Feel free to join in and post some links!"
Is that Edward's site? So that's why 90% of the stories are from Japundit. And there's not an "about" page.
Looks kind of lame to me.
Edward, I appreciate you coming in here and setting the record straight. My wretched Windows Mail must have eaten your email with it's overly sensitive spam filters so I didn't get the notice. I've put you on my safe senders list now, so if you want to try again or have any questions about Pligg, feel free to get in touch.
Hey, Nick. No problem. But hey. . . What in the heck is everyone doing up at this odd hour of the day??
"The Internet is a big place. There's plenty of room for all of us." ... correct.
aaahhhh the splendid smell of rivalry in the air ^_^
My thoughts, for what they're worth, go along the lines of "the more, the merrier". Will the addition of another Japan-related posting site hurt those already established? I don't see how. If anything, it should create more sources of the Japan news & views we all crave. I would also say that there are differences in the tone of the various sites - an item appropriate for JapanSoc may not be right for Japan News Junkie, and vice-versa. That gives someone like me who has articles to post, more options on where to post them. In a nutshell, IMHO this is a good thing and nobody's getting hurt.
"I would also say that there are differences in the tone of the various sites - an item appropriate for JapanSoc may not be right for Japan News Junkie, and vice-versa."
I disagree. While most of the postings are from well-known news sources over there, there are a few coming from blogs. It could easily become filled with blog posts as well as news ones. The system is exactly the same. Let's face it, it's a pure imitation.
I agree that anyone has a right to start up whatever kind of site he or she likes, and it's not awful if both sites share the same users. But, I do hope that people will support the best site more. And, in my opinion, that's JapanSoc.
JapanSoc will always be my favourite, because it's where I found some great blogs and met some great people.
Competition is healthy I guess. Digg and Reddit cover enough topics to share a large community of people, however I don't think there's a big enough community of Japan bloggers for 2 sites to be the best they can. We'll see.
I really think it would have been better for Edward to work with JapanSoc, but I can understand why he wanted to go at it on his own.
Why so defensive and sarcastic? geez! At the time I looked at JNJ, I saw your name on 90% of the posts. So I meant that almost all the _posts_ were coming from you. But why would a person then go to your site to see if you are the one who started JNJ? That's an odd assumption to make. And, I welcome all sites. The internet - big -yeah. "Competitors" ok. And anyway, Japundit is the top site, so relax
p.s. I still don't see the "About" page. Maybe I do have poor reading...
Sorry about that.
What I was referring to as an "About" page is the "What's Japan News Junkie" link that appears when you are not logged in. There is no "About" or "FAQ" link in the link bar along the top yet.
I arrived late to this "party" but I figure it is worth mentioning that before Japansoc there was (still is) Japanalyst.
And there will be other sites maybe similar in the future.
It would be better though (in my humble opinion) if the sites were focused on different things.
a pligg is a lot like a blog. (in many ways it is a blog.)
Other people have blogs and we don't scold new bloggers for "imitating" us.
That said, JapanSoc is the first to really take off. It is the first large and general Japan-related Pligg.
And that means it is the best place for us to interact with people like us. so it does deserve as much support as possible.
work together