Visit Marilyn L's column >>

MARILYN LHome Page

Saying Yes to Life, both the bitter & the sweet
Add To Watchlist
Articles Posted: 69; Links Seeded: 3142
Member Since: 11/2005

Thumbs Race as Japan's Best Sellers Go Cellular

advertisement

Until recently, cellphone novels — composed on phone keypads by young women wielding dexterous thumbs and read by fans on their tiny screens — had been dismissed in Japan as a subgenre unworthy of the country that gave the world its first novel, "The Tale of Genji," a millennium ago. Then last month, the year-end best-seller tally showed that cellphone novels, republished in book form, have not only infiltrated the mainstream but have come to dominate it.

What's this?
Who's leading the conversation?
This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user has on the current conversation. The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera). Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the left, in their corresponding group. Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.
1.5
{"commentId":1382539,"authorDomain":"marilynl"}

Japanese discover writing via cellphone, in the form of cellphone novels. At first I thought they were only discussing using cellphones to read novels (like ereaders), which I think will come easily to the iPhone. I hadn't thought about actually writing a novel on phone keyboards. Whew!

{"commentId":1382539,"threadId":"205836","contentId":"1241481","authorDomain":"marilynl"}
  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:25 AM EST
{"canLink":false,"threadId":"205836","isPrivate":false}
Leave a Comment:
You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead.
As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
{"threadId":"205836","contentId":"1241481"}
Start TrackingStart Tracking
Stop TrackingStop Tracking