I’m really starting to enjoy Meetup.com. The way people are connecting locally, getting to know each other and hanging out. Meetup welcomes anyone to be part of any kind of event. Here in Japan, I hear people mentioning Meetup-events almost everyday. It’s all part of the sharing economy booming around the world – with crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and FundedbyMe, housesharing services like the beloved AirBnB, ride-sharing services like Lyft and Uber, and not to forget dating apps like Tinder, connecting and supporting people in different ways around the globe.
Reflections
Working for a Japanese start-up
As of this summer, I have been working in the start-up space in Tokyo; and when it comes to new tech companies in Japan, start-ups are booming. The idea of starting your own business is growing, and the government is offering more support to entrepreneurs. Some call it that Japan’s second wave of tech innovation will soon be upon us. In this post, I hope to provide you with some insight as to how the work climate is slowly changing in Japan, how young tech companies are starting up and are looking to expand globally, and where to look to actually keep up with the trends. Also some advice as to how to actually land a job within the field, right here in the largest city on Earth. (more…)
Keynote Speaker at Nordic eCommerce Summit
In the beginning of November I was invited to Nordic eCommerce Summit at Malmö Arena, the largest e-commerce conference in Scandinavia, to speak about social media and e-commerce trends coming from Japan. In my talk, I covered the basics of e-commerce in Japan, examples of companies I think are doing a good job in caring for their customers and clients online, and overall, how social media and e-commerce are merging together. I also shared my story about selfiestick.org – how I started importing selfie sticks to Sweden from Asia earlier this year, and how the selfie stick has become a branding opportunity for my personal brand. And also, how hyping a new product in a new market can be good PR for any e-commerce site.
Speaker at Nordic eCommerce Summit
I’m proud to be one of the speakers at Nordic eCommerce Summit on Thursday November 6th in Malmö Arena in Malmö Sweden. I’ll be covering the social media aspects of eCommerce, through highlighting examples and trends from the eCommerce field in Japan. How companies are combining traditional web shops with online communities, mobile apps (with functions other then buy and sell), global marketplaces as well as different crowd funding activities. I will also be speaking about the selfie stick, and how one can identify a trend from somewhere in the world and introduce it to another market.
Solving information overload – less is more.
In today’s society we are connected and communicating at all times. From the moment we wake up, before even getting out of bed, we start by checking our smartphones. And the day goes on the same – we are connected. We talk with people and people talk with us. On the train, at work, during lunch, going out, at home. In fact, it is claimed that we check our phones 150 times a day. That’s unlocking your phone every 7 minutes on average when awake.