Online "Meet-Me", J Version; More Order than...

Japan to open G-rated virtual world

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Orderly, pornography-free and safe for children, "meet-me," an online interactive virtual Tokyo, is Japan's answer to "Second Life." Or so its creators hope.

.......

Japanese are so well-behaved and conformist, he says, they would prefer a more predictable and secure virtual environment over the free-spirited anything-goes of "Second Life," created by San Francisco-based Linden Lab.


......

Click to expand...

I thought the last paragraph about order and well-behaved and conformist seemed to say something about the japanese characater

.

JackInBox said:

I thought the last paragraph about order and well-behaved and conformist seemed to say something about the japanese characater.

Click to expand...

That it does. And I don't disagree with it. Well, I disagree with the "well-behaved" part, because, well, what? But conformist? Absolutely. They make American sorority-girls look like dynamic and unique individuals instead of the Attack of the Clones.

Well if you really want to break it down, yes they're often very conformist when it comes to certain things. But I think those are general trends that stem from their homogenous cultural composition. In other arenas I think the Japanese marketplace and those who inhabit it are far less conformist then some of the blank stares over here in the West.
Any correlation between the Japanese and the marketplace is in my opinion limited to what we see in every market; people buy what you give them. That Linden Lab representative is in my opinion taking a cultural stereotype and applying it to market trends in technology that would be largely accurate no matter who you applied them to.

As for why I disagree, well there are undoubtedly economies of scale involved but generally speaking they have a wider range of products available over there than here, just look at the cellphone and gadget market for instance, or the auto market. Fashion, music, actually the Japanese are consumers of a wide and varied list of commodities and products. Rather than chalk that up to conformist attitudes I'd have to attribute that to a demand for the real, the unique, the authentic; a general enjoyment of things that are different.

Clich'e writingOnline "Meet-Me, J Version

-
"Meet-Me" may fullfill a need, but the author could be just using his average "clich'e" view of Japan. Its easy, nobody complains, and he/she probably rarely visits Japan besides 1 or 2 big cities.

Notice nobody Japanese (who lives in Japan) answered. The downside of this forum

bakaKanadajin raises an interesting point in how there is more freedom of expression in Japan for certain aspects of one's life than in other cultures. However, we don't socially tar-and-feather our Trekkies and geeks, like they ostracize anyone into fringe culture (i.e. otaku). However, those fringers still kind-of do it to themselves.

Notice nobody Japanese (who lives in Japan) answered. The downside of this forum

Click to expand...

Welcome to jref.