Enrich your offline life and mind through online experiences

March 27, 2023

Ryoma Murase (CTO, Director, MIXI, Inc.)
Shinko Osada (Director of Future Design Shibuya)

MIXI is also known for services such as SNS “mixi”, smartphone game “Monster Strike”, and in recent years, children’s photo and video sharing application “Family Album Mitene”. Although these services are provided online, they are said to be designed with a focus on real-world communication.

The charm of real “connections” in the city

Osada of all, what are the characteristics of MIXI's business?

MuraseOur company has been developing services centered on "communication" for a long time. Starting with the SNS “mixi”, the smartphone game “Monster Strike” is designed so that everyone can get together during break time, and services such as “Family Album Mitene” improve ties between people. is doing something in between.

Osada addition to so-called online content, for example, sports businesses are supported, and offline real places are also important. This is also an important part of business development centered on "communication".

Murase It's important. I think that talking to the person in front of you is still the best way to feel "connected".
For example, when it comes to voices and sounds, in a real place, the sound reaches your ears as it echoes in various places, but online, basically everyone listens with earphones, and the sound reaches your ears directly. I think that the vocal range is still lacking in order to feel people, create a sense of trust, and convey things like enthusiasm and enthusiasm. There may be other possibilities if such technology becomes better, but basically I think that it is possible to create things that can be enjoyed using the five senses in real places.

Osada there anything that made you realize the importance of real communication like that?

MuraseIn 2005, I joined e-Mercury, the predecessor company of MIXI, as the third engineer of the SNS "mixi", and after a while I left the company once. During that time, there was a time when I saw various industries such as the game industry, learned about management, and acquired various sub-skills other than engineering. At that time, I had moved to Kyoto, and while doing side jobs such as helping out at sandwich shops and delicatessen shops, I was really fascinated by the community in the city.

I live in Shibuya Ward now, and the city of Shibuya is full of stimuli, and it's fun just to walk around. Shibuya is a city with a lot of people coming, and technology is also entering various places, so it's fun to see that kind of thing.

Do you feel anything when you see how the scenery of Osada Shibuya changes?

The Murase Corona crisis may have changed the way people visit, but if young people continue to come to Murase, I think it will be a city that can continue to change.
When it comes to community and interaction, I feel that Shibuya is getting more and more diverse and updated. For example, if you go to Chatan Park, there are occasional live performances, and a culture surrounding music and coffee is born. I have a feeling

Osada you walking around a lot?

Murase I walk around a lot (laughs). As I walk down Cat Street, I pass Mayor Hasebe. "Is it a patrol?" (laughs).

How to use technology to enrich real life and work

NagataWhat is Osada 's role in the company?

MuraseI'm a manager, so I'll do anything (laughs). It's fun to look at management from the perspective of programming and manufacturing. Automating and streamlining various workflows.
Our company has a wide variety of questions and issues lying around, but it would be a waste if they were left lying around. I think the best thing is to be able to use the time freed up by thoroughly streamlining work to have people come up with ideas for questions and issues, and then leave that to the machine.
I believe that technologies that are entrusted to machines, such as AI, are technologies for creating a “surplus” that can keep asking questions like that. It's fine to have a lot of things to do, but I think the biggest challenge is when there's nothing left to do. You may face your own life, and you may ponder what you want to achieve at the company. I would like to cherish what is born from such "surplus".

Osada 's interesting.

I think that Murase Entertainment is full of important things that seem to be useless at first glance. But the more tasks I have in front of me, the less I can think of important moments. If we don't create the leeway to think that the users will be more surprised if we do something like this, or if we can do something better, we will settle for a normal user-first way of thinking, and we won't be able to create entertainment. You have to have a certain amount of surplus in order to create something that will surprise users.

Osada would also like to hear about what kind of business the company will focus on while creating such a surplus. It's been reviewed, isn't it? It seems that various people and companies are thinking about how to connect the virtual and the real, but what are your thoughts on that?

Murase I think that the integration of online and offline will become a premise. On top of that, my basic idea is to use online as an opportunity to expand my desire to meet people, and to fulfill that desire when I meet them offline.
That's why our company is more like AR than VR at the moment. I'm more concerned with merging the real world with the virtual.

Osada: This is going off topic a bit——Sleep calling apps are popular, aren't they? People who can't sleep enter the app and meet someone to help them fall asleep. So if I can't sleep, I'll meet someone else and fall asleep. I was surprised that there was such a need.

There is Murase. We have an app called "mocri" that allows you to connect with someone not only when you fall asleep, but also when you study or work, for example. It's interesting to do something online while getting the feeling of having people by your side. I feel relieved when I hear someone breathe. There are many ways to be satisfied.

Osada really feels like the real world and the online world are merging. And if you ask whether this kind of service is niche, it's actually surprisingly used by everyone. In that way, the methods of communication will continue to change, and in that sense, I think that MIXI's efforts to think of ways to feel people and convey enthusiasm and enthusiasm are very interesting.

If you can create an open project team that utilizes your interests and skills

Osada terms of your relationship with Future Design Shibuya, you have been with SOCIAL INNOVATION WEEK (SIW) for several years now, but is there anything you would like to do in the future?

MuraseIn the first place, it would be nice to be able to see what Future Design Shibuya is doing now. Our company is also worried, but if we open up what we are trying to do now, there will be people who want to enter only that project, so we will have them enter the project alone and leave when it is finished. I think that both of us would be very happy if we could do something like that. If we could find out what Shibuya Ward is trying to do now and what Future Design Shibuya is trying to do, and if there was a system where we could raise our hands and ask people who would like to participate in it, we would be able to find specialists. I think people will enjoy coming together.

Osada That's good. If there is such a system, for example, is it possible for everyone from MIXI to participate?

MuraseI think it's possible, and our company is OK with side jobs.
For example, there are many engineers who are DJs, and they may want to do something about the city's nighttime economy. Some people may think that they want to investigate the user trends of I think it would be great if there was a system in which we could get involved in the project in such a way that we could cooperate.
I think that it would be possible to spread the message widely within the company, such as "I'm trying to do something like this in Shibuya right now, so why don't you participate?" I want to expand my sexuality.

Osada 's right. We would like to involve more people while proceeding with the project more openly.

Text) Suke Amada
Photo) Hiroki Terabayashi