Marxy’s exciting new project

Marxy of neomarxisme is writing for a new site under the auspices of his employer the Diamond Agency called Clast, reports Jean Snow. It’s a blog aimed at “breaking down consumer and media insights in Japan.” Here’s more from Clast’s about page:

clast is a bilingual blog created by Diamond Agency to analyze contemporary consumer and media trends in Japan. The word “clast” means literally “a fragment of rock,” and we see our mission as breaking down the extremely complex systems of Japanese market culture into easily-discernible parts. At the same time, however, we also hope to break down misconceptions about the market that have buried their way into the conventional wisdom and provide a new perspective based on a multi-disciplinary analytical approach. Reaching consumers requires an accurate portrait of their world, and clast aims to draw that picture in vivid detail.

I know I’m overjoyed, especially with the “vivid detail” part.

The posts so far (a look at the declining magazine industry and an introduction to influential women’s fashion magazine CanCam and the women who read it) are a must-read for anyone interested in Japan’s media industry (as some of you have asked). You might not hear much about kisha clubs or other issues removed from the promotion and marketing of products, but you will definitely find out why some magazines are doing better than others and how fashion-conscious Japanese women are spending their money. How is this different from his old blog? So far, it’s more focused on the Japanese consumer issues and media. And perhaps more importantly, it does not accept comments, which have proven something of a distraction at the neomarxisme blog.

Not much else to add right now, just check out the site!

7 thoughts on “Marxy’s exciting new project”

  1. I feel before entering either Marxy’s site or his new one there ought to be a cultural IQ test or something. The guy writes great stuff, but sometimes (most times!) it just goes right over my head!

  2. Thanks for the link.

    Just want to note that this is Diamond Agency’s blog that I am writing, opposed to my blog Diamond Agency is funding.

  3. Thanks for the link, it’s looking great so far and I applaud Marxy’s research, writing and efforts, but one bone to pick:

    If there are no comments, it’s not a blog.
    If you can’t leave a link back to your own site/blog, it’s not a blog.
    Trackbacks are iffy, but blogs should have them.

    Not everyone agrees with me, I know that; but I’m not going to change my definition of what a blog is. Without comments and the ability to link back to oneself, it’s still a good old website. Blogs are integrated into a community and help build that community through discussion and linking.

    That said, I have no idea what plans there might be for the future here.

  4. Well, it’s using the WordPress software, does that count?

    Right now there is a comment section and trackback section, but those are only visible if you go to the individual post’s page. Commenting appears to be turned off, but trackbacks seem to be working.

  5. Well, it’s using the WordPress software, does that count?

    We could really get into a discussion over this one…haha! I’d say just using the software doesn’t count. It’s a CMS, and I’ve seen it used as a backend for corporate websites before, just to update static pages on the cheap. So, just using the software doesn’t qualify it.

    I see what you mean about the trackbacks. Seth Godin’s blog (which is on Typepad) works the same way. He only allows trackbacks, no comments. I suppose it’s permissable.

    Anyway, I was just nitpicking…I guess the ‘definition of a blog’ should really be taken up elsewhere. I certainly don’t want anyone to think I’m slagging Marxy’s site, since it’s great. The first thing I did was read all the articles…I just think it would be cool to comment there.

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