Dreamers Never Give Up

I have to be honest, sometimes I feel like giving up...

Trying to affect change and carry out a vision is hard work!

That's what we are trying to do with Nipponster.com

We are trying to make the web a better place for Japan-enthusiasts

But it is not easy.

I did not think that it would be.

But I did not expect it to be this hard.

The main problem boils down to how to create buzz about our mission.

How can we get lots of people behind it?

How can we make them passionate about revolutionising Japan-related content on the web?

How do we get people involved in projects (like making a free comprehensive Japanese text book)?

We don't know the answers yet.

And we could always use your input.

But one thing is for certain...

We are dreamers.

And Dreamers never give up!

-Tori

RepeKanji on the Nipponster Japan Toolbar

We just added something new to the Japan toolbar

It is pretty cool.

Videos teaching 50 kanji each, so you can study 50 kanji a week.

It's ...















For those who already have the Nipponster Japan Toolbar <--(link to post with demo), you can find these videos on your toolbar by going to "Japan Links" --> "Learning Kanji and Kana" --> "Repe Kanji"












If you haven't downloaded the Nipponster Japan Toolbar yet you can Download it now

The Nipponster Japan Toolbar (w/ Free Japanese TV!)

It is the first and (hopefully always will be) best toolbar of Japan-Enthusiasm! It is the Japan-Enthusiast's toolbar.
And we are constantly looking for ways to improve it for you, because... we want to make the web a better place for all you Japan-Enthusiasts

We love you guys,
-Tori

p.s. Leave a comment on this post and let us know how we can improve the Japan toolbar!

"A Healthy Disregard For The Impossible!" And Thanks For Your Support

I've been feeling a little depressed lately.

When others look down on what you are doing it can really shake your confidence, especially when it is a family member. I'm suffering such an attack on my confidence. My father thinks that Nipponster is a waste of time. And I almost succumbed to his opinion (posting less, webmonkeying less, and brainstorming less with Keitaro and James) but recently we got some really great feedback that perked me up again.

We appreciate all feedback (please give us feedback!!) good, bad or ugly. Actually, especially ugly as that helps us improve.

That said, I suppose that there are few greater pleasures for a webmaster than to receive this kind of positive feedback:

"It's been a while since I've last contacted you, but since I haven't exactly had
a chance to explore the full capacities of Nipponster, it would have been without
use anyway. Recently, researching materials fora biography about Abe Kobo, I
found Nipponster very useful. Websites not even displayed when searched for at
Google or other engines, popped upfirst or second at Nipponster, with useful
information to boot. I guess my point is, a job well done, and keep up the good
work. I'll do my share by getting Nipponster acquainted with as many people as
possible.

Sincerely yours,

Naikou, aka Christian"

This kind of completely unsolicited feedback excites me and I am glad that I have helped to create something useful. And I am also flattered that he put a link to Nipponster on his blog that reads "What I deem necessary." Wow my head just grew two sizes :)

Here is another one, a review that another blogger gave us:

Just added the Nipponster - Japan
enthusiasts search engine search box to the site. It's basically google for
Japanese web sites. Under the search box is a recent searches cloud for
something random if your bored. They have a blog which has loads of interesting info about their site, links, searches ect. Also worth a donwload is their own tool bar, which has loads of cool links pre-installed such as live streaming tv and radio, blogs,
lessons an loads of other Japanese related stuff. So check out Nipponster it's perfect for Japanese freaks and geeks!

http://j-culture.blogspot.com/2007/04/nipponster.html

Again, head growing. But back to reality, the fact that there are a bunch of projects yet less than half finished and A LOT of promotion still to do ought to shrink my melon back down to size :)

Thank you guys and the others of you out their who have been so supportive! You are what keeps us going!

And now, revitalised, it is time to DREAM...

It is time for "A Healthy Disregard For The Impossible!"

If case you haven't heard, Nipponster is dedicated to better organising and enhancing ALL of the Japan-related information on the web.


That statement may sound ridiculous to some, and even more ridiculous when they hear that there are currently only three of us running Nipponster.

But I don't care if it is ridiculous. And I don't care if people think we are stupid or foolish.

Like Don Quixote (the literary character not the Japanese chain store :) we are chasing the impossible dream!

And now for a lesson from Larry Page:

“Google was started when Sergey and I were Ph.D students at Standford University in computer science,” Page began to explain, “and we did not actually know what we wanted to do. I got this crazy idea that I was going to download the entire Web onto my computer. I told my advisor that it would only take a week. After a year or so, I had some portion of it.” The students laughed.
“So optimism is important,” he went on. “You have to be little silly about the goals you are going to set. There is a phrase I learned at college called, ‘Having a healthy disregard for the impossible’” Page said. “That is a really good phrase. You should try to do things that most people would not.” - THE GOOGLE STORY by David A. Vise and Mark Malseed

And so we will trek on, doing the things most people would not...
Taking on the enormous challenge of "making the web a better place for Japan-enthusiasts"

-TOrI

Back In Action

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh (exhale)


Things have been so busy lately. I bet you can relate.
It seems like everyone is busy having to do something they would rather not if they could.

And those of you who can do what you enjoy doing all of the time... please be quiet :P

James and Keitaro and I all work regular jobs, so Nipponster gets our part-time attention at best.
I wish that I could give it more...
It is the kind of work that I would GLADLY do for free.

Luckily things have finally quieted down a bit for me and I have some much needed time to work on the mission.

SO,
I would like to hear from you:

What do you like/dislike about Nipponster?

What improvements would you like to see?

I am at your service,
-Tori

Stone Soup and the Nipponster Japan Project

Have you ever heard the story "Stone Soup"?


The old folktale seems to have different versions but basically it goes like this:

Their was a man with nothing but a pot and a hunger for soup. He puts a stone into the pot of water and tells everyone passing by that it is the most delicious soup but all that it is missing is their ingredient. One puts in a carrot, another a potato, etc. until it becomes a great soup. None of them could have made that soup with only their own item. All benefited from a much tastier soup when it was finished.

In the same way we have nothing but a hunger to make a great soup, a great soup of resources. But like the man in the story we have nothing, all we have is a stone (our feeble abilities) and a pot of water (a new wikipedia-like wiki). But we are convinced that by bringing all of the bloggers, webmasters, and general internet users who are passionate about Japan together around a common goal we can make better resources for all.

That is the concept behind the Nipponster Japan Project. We will be announcing the start of this project in the upcoming weeks. We look forward to working on this project with all who are interested. And we would love to chat with you. So, if you just cannot wait to know more, contact us.

Mission: Enhance and Improve Japan-related content on the web!

If you have read some of our other posts or communicated with us via email you may know that we are dedicated to improving the Japan-related content available online amd making it more accessible.

We want to be the Google (and wikipedia) of Japan-related content, with a similar focus on transparency and "Don't Be Evil" (Google's motto).

We want to make the web a better place for Japan-enthusiasts

So we are anxious to spearhead various projects to accomplish that.

For example we want to form a group of contributors and improve the Japanese language textbooks on wikibooks.

We plan to organise these projects through a Wikia wiki. We just requested one to day, waiting for apporoval...

-Tori

Helping Foreigners in Japan

One of the most important goals of Nipponster.com is to help foreigners in Japan (and people interested in visiting, studying, or living in Japan in the future).

I know from personal experience that adjusting to life in Japan is very difficult at the beginning (even regardless of speaking ability). Some have lived in Japan for years and still find it difficult (If you don't understand that you probably haven't lived there long enough yet :)

We hope to make things easier for would-be and current "gaijin" and any feedback and ideas about how we can do that better are extremely appreciated (contact us)

I found this video about getting around in Japan (below). It's a little cheesy (in a cute way) at points but I think it's very good and this kind of video theme could be very useful for foreigners.

-Tori

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised!

That's right!

The revolution will not be televised.

It will not be on C-SPAN, CNN, or NBC

The revolution will not be brought to you by FoX

With special news breaks about Britney Spears' shaved head.

Because the Revolution will not be televised... :)

We want to revolutionise the way you find Japanese content on the web!

Nipponster's Mission?

To organise and enhance All of the Japan related content on the web,

making the web a better place for Japan-Ethusiasts!

Find out how:

Nipponster's Personality :)

Nipponster "Social" Search
Nipponster Toolbar
Nipponster Labs
Nipponster Hot Search Archive

And if you are a blogger or webmaster, Nipponster wants to help YOU. So Contact Us

About Nipponster

We


We have to come clean and confess that we are big Google groupies. We love Google and since imitation is the biggest form of flattery (or however that saying goes) we are endeavoring to imitate its greatness and it's motto: "Don't Be Evil"

Our mission is "to organize and enhance ALL of the Japan-related content available online."
We want to make Japan-related content easily accessible and easier for you to play with.

The Nipponster Search Engine has a number of features that do just that.

In addition to the search engine we are working on a powerful tagging and rating system that will let you discuss and rate content, websites, and articles). The prototype for this is the current hot search archives.

There is also our Nipponster toolbar; bringing power tools (like Rikai, jim Breen's dictionary, flashcards, and audio lessons) together with entertainment (like TV and radio internet broadcasts) to make an easy to use language resource.

We plan to improve on these things (you can help by giving feedback) and bring you a lot more.


Keep an eye on us because we are moving along and will keep rolling out new stuff.
We do it for you, the Japan-enthusiasts of the world.
-Tori