In the course of creating the JET alum prefectural groups on LinkedIn and encouraging Japanese local government staff to join as well to foster connections and communications, I’ve become aware of the fact that LinkedIn is not anywhere near as popular in Japan as it is in the English speaking world. As word gets around CLAIR of the project, I’ve noticed several Japanese government workers signing up (which is great) who have 0 connections. That means this is the first time they’re using LinkedIn.
- Does anyone else out there have perspectives on awareness of LinkedIn in Japan, to what extent it’s used, whether there are alternative networks out there that are more popular?
- Please share any insights or thoughts in the comments section of this post.
Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
–Steven Horowitz (Aichi-ken, 1992-94)
LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenwaseda
one comment so far...
A lot of my Japanese colleagues looked at me incredulously when I started using LinkedIn and invited them to join. But more and more I am seeing my Japanese colleagues sign up and use this platform, but it’s slow-going.
Here is a link to an article about Japanese social media usage.
http://www.ndtv.com/article/iphone/world/78286?from=ndtv.com
Some key points that it brings up are:
1. Facebook only has about 2 million users in Japan
2. Japan has its own set of social media portals that are older and more entrenched in Japan than Facebook (let alone LinkedIn)
3. Japan’s emphasis on internet privacy may keep people away from sites that could potentially reveal connections or information that could be misconstrued.