セカンドライフ 仮想コミュニティがビジネスを創りかえる (単行本（ソフトカバー）), I.E. *Making of Second Life* Coming To Japan This Month!

If I'm reading the Amazon Japan page correctly, I'm proud to announce the Japanese language edition of The Making of Second Life will be available on 8/21.  Here's the dramatic and imposing cover.  Japan's SL community is among the most talented and ambitious, and my strong sense is that the world has not experienced the same kind of Gartner hype cycle as it has in the West.  In any case, I dearly hope the opportunity arises to promote it there.

I discovered the Amazon Japan page, by the way, via SLMaMe, a Japanese language portal produced by Metabirds, the Japanese metaverse development company.  (They're helping me create a Japanese language NWN page.) 

Here's a pretty good UgoTrade interview from May with Naoyoshi Shimaya, Metabird's CEO .  SLMaMe, he reported then, attracts over 14 million monthly page views.  Now, he told me last week, it's attracting 15 million per month.  (That's what I mean, about Japan not apparently being part of the hype/crash cycle.)

Comments

[LifeFactory Writer]

This is just fantastic, Hamlet! Congratulations!! And the cover is cool--a distant cousin to pared-down Matrix theme...sort of. :/

[Umihiko Namekawa]

Hi, I wrote a short introductory essay, which you'll find at the end of this Japanese version.

I emphasized the disuptive nature of Second Life as a next generation internet communication platform, quoting your quote of Mitch Kapor.

Here's my blog post.
http://socweb.blog80.fc2.com/blog-entry-220.html

I'm sure you'll have a copy through your agent later, but if you want it now, let me know.

[Gahum Riptide]

Life: Well, that's actually how books are typically written in Japan, top to bottom, left to right.

[Gahum Riptide]

Whoops. Sorry. Right to Left is the page direction :).

Sorry!

Also, congrats Hamlet!

[LifeFactory Writer]

Posted by: Umihiko Namekawa | Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 02:12 AM

Life: Well, that's actually how books are typically written in Japan, top to bottom, left to right.

Yes, of course they are, Umihiko...I guess the humor did not translate. Thank you nevertheless!

[LifeFactory Writer]

Actually, Umihiko, this is kind of funny, because I almost included acknowledgement of this in the orginial post, then decided it was unneccessary :/ haha....nonetheless, cool cover!

[Gahum Riptide]

I am king of posting today, I've got madd copy and paste skills. That was me, not Umihiko who wrote that response to you, Life. I apparently lost my humor today as well.