Year: 2006

Many thanks to everyone who made it out to our 11 December Bonenkai event – what a way to finish off 2006!

Mobile Monday Tokyo set a new record for participation with a final count of 368 attendees! It was an honor to have Jari Tammisto, CEO of MobileMonday Oy, on hand to say a few words and meet many of the local MoMo members; he was clearly impressed.

Congratulations to the business card draw winners! We were thrilled to play Santa – on behalf of our sponsors – by giving away an i-Pod Nano, a Sony PSP and an ultra-slim Nikon digital camera – plus 3 bottles of Shochu.

Looking forward into 2007, it’s our pleasure to welcome several new MoMo chapters who are set to launch early in the New Year, including Dublin, Geneva, Munich and Seoul. Welcome Aboard! Our next event – a Shinnenkai to kick-off the Year of the Wild Boar – is planned for sometime in late January 2007; we’ll pass along details asap.

Mobikyo KK and your ever-keen MoMo Tokyo organizers had a fantastic year here in Tokyo and we wish you and your families all the very best for the holidays and beyond. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

The Year of the Dog Greyhound has flown by and it’s time once again for Tokyo’s mobile community to come together for a well-deserved Kampai!

To finish off the year in style, here’s the bonenkai event plan!

We have booked a swank venue in Roppongi, and will offer each registered guest two (2) free drink tickets plus a light buffet. For those who would like a comfortable full-course dinner – on your own yen – the attached Flower Garden restaurant is sure to please. And since Santa can’t make it, we will also do a meishi prize draw (if your company would like to offer a give-away, pls. drop us a note via info [at] mobilemonday.jp right away!).

For Mobile Monday global, 2006 will go down as the break-out year with 21 new cities launched – there are now 35 chapters worldwide. We are very pleased to announce that Jari Tammisto, CEO of Mobile Monday Oy, will be on hand to meet everyone and congratulate Tokyo for being the first affiliate location to debut events outside of MoMo’s birthplace in Helsinki Finland. 😎

While we’re on the topic of Finnish invasions, here’s a quick tip for an upcoming high-tech seminar in Tokyo on 4 December, sponsored by the Embassy of Finland, Invest in Finland, the Finland Trade Centre (FINPRO), the National Technology Agency of Finland (TEKES) and the Japan Institute for Overseas Investment (JOI).

MoMo Tokyo has had another fantastic year here with 23 mobile experts having presented on stage, and the upcoming year-end party marks our 10th event. Our deepest thanks to the many kind supporters who make this possible, not least of which are our sponsors, the venue providers, the presenters, volunteers and – of course – all members of the Mobile Monday Tokyo community. Yoroshiku!

We look forward to seeing everyone on 11 December for Tokyo’s hottest, most insidery mobile networking event of the holiday season!

Sponsored by: Jonckers Translation & Engineering and Robert Leonard Consulting

Date: Monday, 11 December 2006 :: 18:30 – 23:00
Venue: Roppongi Flower – GMAP
Admission: Free with registration (below) — OR — JPY1,000 at the door
Includes: 2 drink tickets with light buffet and prize draw!

18:30 – Doors Open
19:00 – Networking – Buffet
21:00 – Meshi Draw
22:30 – Last Call
23:00 – Close – Nijikai

Registration is now closed.. See you Monday Night!

We had a fantastic event on 13 November at the Canadian embassy in Tokyo to launch Mobile Monday Tokyo’s third year of operation in Japan. The evening was truly a perfect combination of venue and presentations, with just over 300 attendees on hand to mix and mingle over an open bar; by all accounts a great time was had by all.

We’re now planning for the year-end Bonenkai party and will be sure to get the news posted here and mailed out to everyone on the MoMo Tokyo email list as soon as possible. Our sincere thanks to everyone involved with making this a going and growing community!

In November Japanese traditionally celebrate Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3) Day, so it’s an auspicious time to mark the start of MoMo Tokyo’s third year. Join us 13 November for a fantastic set of presentations including a Canadian IP phone, a first-hand report on China’s growing wireless market and fascinating usability insights from one of Japan’s top ‘mobile’ academics.

MoMo happens this month at the ultramodern Canadian embassy, one of Tokyo’s toniest Akasaka addresses. BE SURE to bring along photo ID (passport, driver’s license, etc.) for security check at the door. Special thanks to both the embassy and ACCJ-YPG for helping us organize what promises to be a fantastic event.

And more news: MoMo global continues to expand! September and October saw the launch of MoMo chapters in Washington, DC, Shanghai and Istanbul. Congratulations to our new MoMo colleagues and Yoroshiku! 😎

Finally, please contribute to complete our MoMo Tokyo Online Survey, the results will help us serve you better..

Guest presenters:

Kyle Hasegawa — Chief Engineer — Namzak Japan
Six-year-old startup Namzak Japan develops web collaboration tools and has labs in Canada and the USA; clients include NTT DoCoMo, NTT East, Canon and Fuji Film. In 2005, the company deployed its ‘Arrowfone’ IP telephone and in 2006, the ‘ArrowfonePC’. Hasegawa-san will share his thoughts on mobile strategy and key technology factors as 3G convergence takes off.

Benjamin Joffe — Co-Founder — MoMo Beijing & CEO Plus Eight Star
Benjamin is a long-time Tokyo mobile veteran and, after moving to Beijing, decided that the world’s largest mobile market with over 400 million mobile phones users needed a MoMo chapter of its own, which he co-founded in March 2006. Benjamin will provide an overview and local success stories on what’s happening in mobile behind the Great Firewall. Benjamin is also founder of [+8*] (Plus Eight Star) Ltd., a consulting firm focused on innovation in the mobile and Internet space from China, Japan and South Korea; +8* have just published their first report covering the Korean online and mobile social phenomenon Cyworld.

Philip Sugai — Assoc. Marketing Professor — Int. University of Japan
Dr Sugai is Associate Dean of IUJ’s Graduate School of International Business, where he teaches Internet Marketing, Mobile Marketing, New Product Development and Brand Management. He has worked as a marketing executive at American Express, Muze Inc., and Lightningcast, and his primary research interests are mobile and wireless consumer behavior and new product development in new media. He has published a number of noted articles and white papers related to the marketing implications of emerging mobile technologies, and in 2006 he co-founded u-Lab, a think-tank and research organization focused on existing and future ubiquitous technologies and their impact on consumers, markets and societies.

Sponsored by: Jonckers Translation & Engineering and Robert Leonard Consulting

Date: Monday, 13 November 2006 :: 18:30 – 22:00
Venue: Canadian Embassy theatre — GMAP
Admission: FREE with pre-registration — OR — ¥1,000 at the door
Complimentary nomi-hodai cocktail bar
Note: || Photo ID REQUIRED ||

18:30 – Doors Open
19:00 – Welcome/introduction
19:20 – First presentation
19:40 – Second presentation
20:00 – Third presentation
20:20 – Q & A
20:30 – Networking
21:30 – Last Call

A super evening was had by all at the 25 September MoMo Tokyo 2nd anniversary event; many thanks to all who attended and especially to the panel members! We’ve posted some photos of our fantastic panel in action and – as a special bonus for those who couldn’t make it due to emergency surgery, etc. – we have uploaded an .mp3 audio file of the Q&A discussion.

NEW: ONLINE SURVEY. We have prepared an easy Online Survey with a few quick questions to get feedback from local MoMoers. Please do take two minutes to respond! 😎

We’re planning the next event with a target date for 13 November, and we’ll be sure to get that announcement out to everyone once the details are locked down. Thanks again and see you soon!

Here’s a download link for the .mp3 file from our panel Q&A discussion. Run time: 70 mins (48MB)

Tatsuki Tomita – VP for APAC Business Development – Opera Software
Tatsuki leads Asia/Pacific business development related to Opera’s browser for mobile handsets, PCs, and other networked devices. Opera’s browser adapts to varying screen sizes and input methods while enabling cross-device access to Web applications and dynamic user interfaces based on interoperable, open-Web technologies such as AJAX.

Joseph Jasper – Investor Relations – Index Group
The Index Group of companies develop dynamic mobile content and innovative service solutions that support the market penetration of 3G mobile phones, the spread of rich content and cooperative links between television broadcasting and mobile communications. The Index content distribution network extends across rapidly expanding and increasingly sophisticated mobile markets that include Asia, Europe and North America.

Ray Tsuchiyama – VP – Tegic Communications
Based in Tokyo, Ray Tsuchiyama serves currently as vice president for Tegic Communications, a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc’s AOL unit. He currently directs emerging market development in the Asia-Pacific region (India, SE Asia) and Latin America, and formerly headed Japan and Greater China operations for Tegic.

Martyn Williams – Tokyo Bureau Chief – IDG News Service
Martyn has lived in Japan and followed this country’s IT and telecommunication industries since 1995. He was formerly a correspondent for Newsbytes News Network and Data Communications Asia Pacific magazine, and he currently reports for IDG’s magazines including Computerworld, PC World, Network World and Macworld.

My don’t they grow up fast!

You’re invited to MoMo Tokyo’s 2nd Anniversary Event, 25 September 2006, at KDDI’s fabulous Designing Studio (freshly updated with touch & try examples of au’s newly announced handsets). We also look forward to introducing our new sponsors: Robert Leonard and DoubleClick, who – along with continued support from Jonckers Translation & Engineering – make our Tokyo events possible.

It’s our birthday, so we’ve decided to change the evening’s format from the usual presentations and present a special expert mobile panel, who will field your free-flow open-mike questions and provide fantastic insight into “Japan Mobile: Past, Present and Future” Continue reading Mobile Monday Tokyo – Second Birthday Party!