Mixi

Mixi (ミクシィ) is a social networking site in Japan. Of all of the Japanese social networking sites in existence, Mixi retains the vast majority of the market share for a national social networking service, with a capital of over 5.2 billion yen and a user base of over 10 million users.

History

Mixi was founded in 1997 by Kenzi Kasahara at the University of Tokyo under the website name “Find Job!” The company was designed much like the American website LinkedIn.com, where individuals can find employment, especially college age students looking to find a job after graduation and those looking for I.T. help.

After founding a few more companies, “Mixi” itself was established in 2004. It quickly gained popularity, growing from 10,000 users in 2004 to 10 million users by 2008 and still growing.

Overview

Mixi is currently just a social networking site that continues to gain revenue from selling advertisements and adverting job postings. In addition, Mixi is now invitation only and restricts access only to those located in Japan by requiring the individual register using an email address from a Japanese cell phone in order to sign up, regardless of invitation.

Mixi is a completely free service, though there are a number of premium features that do require a purchase to operate. As a member on the website, you have access to a:

• General Community
• Personal Diary (blog)
• Music
• Phone Services
• Public Reviews (of popular culture, such as movies, music, etc.)

External Links

• Mixi
• Mixi Corporate Website