Tokyo (translation: Me and Tokyo), waxes whimsically about a recent tweet in Japanese by the band Radiohead, as well as consumer products such as Wasasco, a wasabi-flavored Tabasco.

After March 11, however, the con-
versation takes an abrupt turn. The
day after the devastating To–hoku
earthquake and tsunami, Kanazawa
writes this unsettling passage: “Earth-
quake, tsunami, fire and now we have a
nuclear meltdown … I was in the Mid-
town Tower when it happened. Japa-
nese people are used to earthquakes,
we can usually sense them because
the building sways, but this time it was
shaking up and down. Some people
screamed and some hid under their
desks.”
Within a week, Kanazawa casts a
sense of humor about the situation:
“I really don’t need to check Geiger
counters and don’t need a lot of toi-
let paper because earthquakes [don’t]
make me [go to the bathroom] more
than usual.”
A high-profile cyberpersonality in
Japan, Kanazawa has always perceived
her blog as equal parts diary and cul-
tural commentary. She was one of the
rare Japanese citizens who wrote a blog
in English when she started in 2004,
so her traffic numbers have spiked to
a healthy 2,000 unique visitors a day. A
Web site manager, Kanazawa prefers
the free-form creativity of a blog, as op-
posed to the restrictive 140-character
count of Twitter. “It doesn’t fit me,” she
says of the latter. “My blog is an infor-
mation hub for Japanese subculture.
That’s my style. I wanted to tell people
that we have more interesting, good
things than sushi, sumo, tempura, gei-
shas, and ninjas.”
Since the disaster, like many Japa-
nese citizens posting blogs and Face-
book status updates, Kanazawa has
sought and published information
about the nation’s recovery efforts.
“These tools are so effective in this di-
saster,” she says. “People need to check
for things such as the transportation
situation and where the evacuation
areas are. In To–hoku, when someone
tweeted ‘We need 600 rice balls here,’
they were delivered within an hour. So-
cial media went from being a commu-
nication tool to a lifeline.”

Brazil—and Beyond

In generations past, it would be difficult for a self-described life coach like Lygya Maya of Salvador, Brazil, to interact with a motivational-speaking giant like Tony Robbins, an American who has more than 200 books, audio CDs, and other products listed on Amazon. com. Perhaps she would have needed to take a trip to the U.S. in hopes of speaking with Robbins at one of his tour stops. Or write him a letter and hope he would answer with something beyond a polite thank you.

But this is the 21st century, and Maya

Blogs: Motivations for writing and readership levels by region.

Region

Japan

Motivation

Personal diary, self-expression

Korea

Personal diary, personal scrapbook, online journalism

China U.S.

Germany

96% personal blogs loaded with photos,
audio, animations
Make money, promote political or
professional agenda
For fun, like to write, personal diary

Readership
74% internet users, average 4. 54 times/week,
25% daily, highest in world
43% internet users , average 2.03 times/week,
ages 8–24: 4 times/week
ages 25–34: 3 times/week
highest for ages 18–24 (less than 3 times/
week), probably friends
27% internet users, average 0.9 times/week,
lower than Asia, higher than europe
bloggers are regular readers of other blogs
on average 21. 15 (std dev 39, med 10)
23% internet users (average 0.68 times/week)

U. K. Connect with others, express opinions/ vent, make money, citizen journalist, validation, professional advancement

Poland self-expression, social interaction,

entertainment source: Mei Kobayashi, Blogging Around the Globe: Motivations, Privacy Concerns and Social Networking, ibM research-tokyo, 2010.

takes full advantage of the digital age to engage with high-profile leaders such as Robbins and Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Robbins and Hansen are now Facebook friends with Maya, who they have advised and encouraged to push beyond perceived limitations in her work.

Such international collaborations have enabled Maya to create her own signature style to market herself, which she calls a “Brazilian Carnival Style” approach to guide clients to enjoying a happy, productive, and empowering life. Maya now sees up to 300 clients a year in private sessions, and hosts as many as 500 group sessions annually.

“I use blogs, Facebook, Twitter,
and Plaxo [an online address book] to
promote my business,” Maya says. “I
am about to start podcasting, as well
as making YouTube videos on every
channel that I can find on the Internet.
Social media has opened up my busi-
ness on many different levels. I am
now able to promote it literally to the
world, free of charge.”
Maya has also established more
than 2,500 personal connections via
Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites.
She’ll send tweets several times a day,
offering reflections like “When truth-
fully expressed, words reflect our core
value and spirit.” All of this has helped
Maya promote her budding empire
of services and products, which will
soon include a book, Cheeka Cheeka
BOOM Through Life!: The Luscious
Story of a Daring Brazilian Woman. It’s
gotten to the point where—like some
of her counterparts in the U.S.—she
must subcontract work just to keep
up with it all.

“I’m about to hire a team to work with me on Twitter and all the social media out there that we can use to support campaigns,” Maya says. “You must have a great team to share quality work. Otherwise, you will have stress. This allows me to promote my services and products 24/7—and that includes while I’m sleeping.”

not available

A Witness in Egypt

Amr Hassanein lists Babel, Fantasia, and The Last Temptation of Christ as his favorite movies on his Facebook page. And his organizations/activities