Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category
Chemist, where are the interviews?
On August 24, 2008 in Announcements
To my shame, I still have interviews from before my 4 month disappearing act.
Barring another disappearance or unforeseen occurrence, they should be posted soon.
But no promises.
(Also I am still doing interviews, but at a leisurely pace. If you’re interested contact me)
Words Jim Breen wrote to me.
On August 15, 2008 in #The Japan-related Web Debate, Announcements
Awhile ago I contacted Jim Breen (the dictionary guy) for the Japan-related web debate and he wrote back to me.
You can read all about it and his quote here
I was inspired by what Jim wrote because he told me that there were times he felt silly and like walking away from it all.
But look at what he acheived… by not giving up
JLPT up and coming!
On August 12, 2008 in Announcements, On the J-web, Resources
Hi All,
Just an additional reminder (thanks to Nihonhacks for reminding me) that the JLPT application is due soon (September 12th).
JLPT info can be found on http://www.jlpt.jp/e/
Cheers!
Attention J-bloggers: It’s party time!
On August 06, 2008 in Announcements, Community building, Helping Japan Bloggers
Hi All,
After a much much too long hiatus I’ve gathered the courage to show my face again and beg forgiveness for my absence.
But that’s not the important part. The important news is that some busy bees have been working away at reviving something really cool:
The Japan Blog Matsuri !!!
If you blog about Japan be sure to check this out!
Get the latest updates at the Japan Blog Matsuri Newsroom.
Why are you still here? Go already! 
Back on radar
On August 05, 2008 in Announcements, Community building, DailyJ Mission
…I’m back. But no promises. And no grandiose speech about the future. Just quiet determination.
I want to make Nipponster and DailyJ into great websites. I want to improve Japan-related web resources and help build up the community.
But this time I have to pace myself and not burn out. And most importantly, I need to focus.
I have been thinking a lot about DailyJ, Nipponster, and the bloggers/webmasters who I’ve had contact with through this blog.
I want to thank all of you again for your support in the past (and especially all those who have kept nudging me to continue).
I hope that I will still have your support in the future.
Have a great day!
DailyJ
Reformulating your Vitamin J
On March 14, 2008 in Announcements, Blog Improvements, Community building
I’m excited about some new possibilities for DailyJ.
Likely every project reaches a point, as it grows, where it needs to be re-evaluated and a decision has to be made. The options usually are quit, stagnate, work to death, or change.
I’ve never been one to quit (yes, I’m very stubborn). I understand (somewhat) that knowing when to quit can be a good thing. Unfortunately I don’t know when to quit, if I did I would probably be quitting now. But as it is I think there will be plenty time for quitting when I’m dead.
So that leaves the other three and only one of those is acceptable. It’s time for some changes (with any luck they will be good ones).
Work load and etiquette
The delays in posting interviews and replies to comments have really been bothering me. I don’t want to neglect any of you.
So I am thinking of ways to better handle the interviews. Up to this point I have been contacting more than one website at a time for interviews (and offering interviews to bloggers I happen to meet).
That worked well for awhile (especially at the launch) but now it is just too much. The result is delays and I am tired of being disrespectful to upcoming interviewees by taking too long to send them interview questions or failing to post their interviews quickly.
More brainstorming out loud -
Privately I brainstorm different ideas about DailyJ and other projects. Going forward though I want to open up that process by posting any ideas I have and getting more feedback about them.
Focus -
At first glance a website about Japan-related websites might seem a little silly but I think focus is the key to building a great site so I want to stay focused. So interviews are still the key ingredient of the vitamin J mix. But I’d like to have some multi-participant discussions with the people behind different web projects (a sort of “team interview”).
More discussion -
There is a lot happening around the Japan-related web and it seems to me all of that action demands more discussion and maybe even a little debate. Regular discussions about happenings and topics on the J-web might be a good permanent feature on DailyJ. Anyone could suggest a topic for debate and would become a post/discussion. Or maybe I should start a forum (?), a Japan-blogger’s forum.
Also, as some bloggers have mentioned to me, often ideas are passed back and forth in email when it might be better to discuss them with a wider group of people. Three heads are better than one. I think this goes back to that Japan-blogger’s mailing list idea.
My thoughts on a Japan-related web community are that such a community could be modelled after the open-source software communities. That is what I would love to see. How that will come about I will have to leave to smarter minds (though I offer any support I can provide), but that it could come about excites me.
The communal wiki at http://jproject.wikia.com would probably fit somewhere in that mix. And it seems from feedback that “Japan Labs” should be the name for it. I really like the idea of a laboratory for all sorts of Japan-related web experiments! (That was the atmosphere I was going for all along)
Well, there you have it. I’ve given you lots of ideas to discuss, tear apart, etc.
How is everybody? + Up and coming
On February 24, 2008 in Announcements
Work has been busier lately and it is affecting my blogging 
Anyway,
I’d love to hear how all of you are doing.
Up and coming
An interview with podcasters and a couple of surprises
Japan-related Google gadgets and upcoming posts!
On February 18, 2008 in Announcements, Resources
I’m working on a few big upcoming posts. One of them will hopefully better explain the Japanopedia project. The others should spark a lot discussion and, even better, collaboration.
In the meantime I thought I’d post a little blurb about Japan-related Google Gadgets.
There are some really nice gadgets available that you can add to your site or your iGoogle page (and other places too, I think). You can search or browse through them from the main Google Gadget page. I like to search through these for ideas and possible add-ons for the Nipponster Japan toolbar and I thought you might like them too.
Here are the gadgets for the search term “Japan.”
There are a couple of interesting ones: kanji of the day gadget, flickr pictures of Japan, and Duck Hunt (ok. maybe that last one is a bad example )
Also there are the gadgets I’ve included below (and look! I stumbled on a Japan-Hopper one):
Apology of a stressed out blogger. Chris hits 10,000. Thank yous imminent.
On February 12, 2008 in Announcements
I am behind on a long list of things (emails, comment replies, thank yous, interview posts,…). I’m sorry about that.
You all move so fast!
On the bright side, too much to do (and lots of interest) is better than too little, right?
So I will keep on!
In other news, the best English school blog on the net just hit 10,000 hits! That’s right, Chris’s English School. DailyJ interviewed Chris back in November and found out what makes him a serious English teacher. Be sure to check out his 10,000 hits victory post and give him a cookie.
I have some thank yous to hand out to two bloggers (Deas and Nick) for their kind help. But I want to do a proper post about it.
-stressed blogger out
Not dead, again.
On February 10, 2008 in Announcements
It’s not often that I miss posting your DailyJ so you have a right to be cranky.
The last time I missed posting for a few days Chris was ready to gather a search party
This time I had something come up (some unexpected guests) and didn’t have time to post. I hope the authorities do not revoke my blogging license.
Lots of activity going on in the comments here and some great developments on the Japan-related web (I have a few people to thank!).
Playtime is over, time for some serious blogging.
