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an interview with the media

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Tokyo, 2010.06.16

We had our first interview with the media today regarding our little business.

It wasn't a general public media outlet, but rather an industry newspaper. Nevertheless, I found it both interesting in of itself, and a welcome development in the first baby steps of our business.

The reporter conducting the interview asked us about our business model and why we decided to build this business in Japan. Most of the follow-up questions were about:

+ how we would promote our business

+ how we came to our (simple) website interface

+ what are plans are for new products and features

She also asked a few questions about the ethical angle in particular because as I said she thinks it's "hot" right now (she gave examples of how people are taking an active interest in ensuring that their wedding has a minimal "eco" footprint). She also reiterated the same mantra about today's generation wanting value over a splashy price tag. She gave us an interesting nugget on that one, too: "Now that more women are working, fewer women want to ask their man to spend a lot of money".

By the end of the interview, she said, "I now understand your business model. I think your timing is perfect!"

rand()m quote

I really didn't foresee the Internet. But then, neither did the computer industry. Not that that tells us very much of course - the computer industry didn't even foresee that the century was going to end.

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