「Lang-8」は、2007年にスタートした、異なる言語圏のユーザーがソーシャルに文章を添削できる語学学習プラットフォームだ。
同サービスを運営するLang8の代表取締役 喜洋洋氏は京都大学に在学中、彼が23歳の時にLang-8をスタートさせた。中国生まれの彼が上海に留学中、友人と交わした日記の添削がヒントになってこの語学学習プラットフォームを思いついたという。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 22 Jan 2013 at 22:13
Lang-8, which has started since 2007, is a foreign-language learning platform for users from different countries to correct their writing each other.
When the CEO of Lang-8, Ki Youyou, was enrolled at Kyoto University, he started Lang-8 at the age of 23. The idea came up to him from the experience that he exchanged dairy with his friend when he studied abroad in China, where he was born.
When the CEO of Lang-8, Ki Youyou, was enrolled at Kyoto University, he started Lang-8 at the age of 23. The idea came up to him from the experience that he exchanged dairy with his friend when he studied abroad in China, where he was born.
★★★☆☆ 3.0/1
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 22 Jan 2013 at 18:32
Lang-8, started in 2007, is a language-learning platform in which users with different language backgrounds can socially correct each other’s writings.
Youyou Ki, the representative director, started the service, when he was 23 years old while studying at the Kyoto University. Mr. Ki, born in China and brought up in Japan, got the idea of this language-learning platform from his diary which he kept and asked his friend to correct his writings (in Chinese) when he was study in Shanghai.
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Youyou Ki, the representative director, started the service, when he was 23 years old while studying at the Kyoto University. Mr. Ki, born in China and brought up in Japan, got the idea of this language-learning platform from his diary which he kept and asked his friend to correct his writings (in Chinese) when he was study in Shanghai.
6年かかって50万ユーザーを獲得して学んだこと
2013年に入ってこのコミュニティは51万人に到達する。現在のアクティブ率は10%程、190の国から利用されていて、ユーザーの7割は日本以外、ビジネスの現場で働いているユーザーが多いそうだ。
2007年から約6年かかっての50万ユーザー獲得はお世辞にも成長が早いとは言えないだろう。その点を聞いてみると、Lang-8の実質の成長はここ1年でそれまでは準備に時間がかかったのだと、これまでの道のりを話してくれた。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:02
What he has learned over 6 years and 500,000 users gained:
The community reached 510,000 users in 2013. Currently active users comprise about 10% and access the site from 190 countries; 70% of users are non-Japanese, and businesspeople are numerous.
A gain of 500,000 users in the nearly six years since 2007 probably cannot be called rapid growth. When I inquired about this point, Mr. Ki told me that Lang-8's true growth has been in the last year, and that it had taken some preparation time to reach that point. He explained the journey to the present point.
The community reached 510,000 users in 2013. Currently active users comprise about 10% and access the site from 190 countries; 70% of users are non-Japanese, and businesspeople are numerous.
A gain of 500,000 users in the nearly six years since 2007 probably cannot be called rapid growth. When I inquired about this point, Mr. Ki told me that Lang-8's true growth has been in the last year, and that it had taken some preparation time to reach that point. He explained the journey to the present point.
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 22 Jan 2013 at 19:19
What was learned after gaining 500,000 users over the 6 years
In 2013, its comunity base is going to reach 510,000 users. According to Mr. Ki, its current active user rate is about 10%, and the service is used by people in 190 countries, with 70% of them are outside Japan. He also mentioned that business professionals are their main users.
It took about 6 years since its launch for the service to reach the 500,000 user milestone. This could hardly be described as fast. When asked about this, he talked about his path, saying that the service didn’t experience a real growth until about a year ago and that it took a long time for preparation.
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In 2013, its comunity base is going to reach 510,000 users. According to Mr. Ki, its current active user rate is about 10%, and the service is used by people in 190 countries, with 70% of them are outside Japan. He also mentioned that business professionals are their main users.
It took about 6 years since its launch for the service to reach the 500,000 user milestone. This could hardly be described as fast. When asked about this, he talked about his path, saying that the service didn’t experience a real growth until about a year ago and that it took a long time for preparation.
学生起業家としてキャリアをスタートさせ、まず最初にやったのはやはり受託開発だったそうだ。サービスで売上を付けるためには相応に成長させる必要がある。そこまでの時間を彼らはサイト制作などで繋いでいたという。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:08
Having started his career as a student entrepreneur, the first order of business was research and development. The service needed to expand to a point where profit would be feasible. Lang-8 staff spent their time up to that point on site-building, etc.
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Translation / English
- Posted at 22 Jan 2013 at 19:44
What he did first, after starting his career as a student entrepreneur, was contracted development as expected. In order to increase sales, a service needs to be improved accordingly. So, until then, Mr. Ki and his team managed to get by on Website development.
ただ、サービス開始から2年程経過したころ、喜氏は当時の技術者と仲違いを経験する。突如として取り残された喜氏は、自分が触ることすらできない15台のサーバーに不安を覚えつつ「もう人任せにはできない」とある決断をした。それがプログラミングの本格的な勉強だ。ここから約2年に渡り、知人がやっている会社にインターンとして参加するなどして開発のノウハウを学んだそうだ。
Lang-8がユーザー数を伸ばした時期と、彼が成長した期間が重なっているのが興味深かった。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 10:18
But, after around 2 years since the launch, Mr. Ki disagreed with an engineer who was working with him at that time. He was left alone all of sudden with 15 units of servers which he didn’t even know how to use them. With some sort of anxiety, however, he made a decision with a thought that he could not leave anything to anybody else. This was the trigger that he started studying programming seriously. He studied development know-how for about 2 years by joining his friend’s company as an intern and through other methods.
It is very interesting that the time when Lang-8 gained more users coincided with the time he learned and grew.
It is very interesting that the time when Lang-8 gained more users coincided with the time he learned and grew.
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:15
However, about two years after the service opened, Mr. Ki had a falling out with his engineer at that time. Mr. Ki, suddenly abandoned and nervously facing 15 servers he could not even touch himself, decided that he could no longer entrust his work to other people. That was the beginning of his serious programming studies. In the following two years, he gained development know-how through interning at a friend's company.
There is an interesting overlap in the period in which Lang-8's userbase increased, and his period of personal growth.
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There is an interesting overlap in the period in which Lang-8's userbase increased, and his period of personal growth.
資金調達の壁
彼が今直面しているのが次の成長への手がかりとなる資金調達の壁だ。Lang-8は2009年にネットエイジの西川潔氏など4人の個人投資家から約1000万円のエンジェル投資を受けている。次の調達をするためには、ここからの大きな成長を証明しなければならない。
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 10:48
The wall of funding
Now Mr. Ki is facing the wall of funding, which he has to overcome to go on to the next level. In 2009, Lang-8 raised about 10 million yen in angel funding from 4 individual investors including Netage president Kiyoshi Nishikawa. But in order to raise another funding, Mr. Ki has to prove the potential that the service will grow big further.
Now Mr. Ki is facing the wall of funding, which he has to overcome to go on to the next level. In 2009, Lang-8 raised about 10 million yen in angel funding from 4 individual investors including Netage president Kiyoshi Nishikawa. But in order to raise another funding, Mr. Ki has to prove the potential that the service will grow big further.
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50
Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:23
The fundraising barrier
He is currently confronting what will be the key to future growth: the fundraising barrier. In 2009, Lang-8 received an "angel investment" of about ¥100,00,000 from four private investors, including Mr. Nishikawa Kiyo of NetAge. For the next fundraising campaign, he will have to prove that Lang-8 can expect great growth in the future.
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He is currently confronting what will be the key to future growth: the fundraising barrier. In 2009, Lang-8 received an "angel investment" of about ¥100,00,000 from four private investors, including Mr. Nishikawa Kiyo of NetAge. For the next fundraising campaign, he will have to prove that Lang-8 can expect great growth in the future.
そしてその鍵となるのがスマートフォンへの対応だ。競合となるbusuuuはiPhoneアプリで一気に成長し、1900万人というユーザーを獲得している。一方Lang-8はユーザー数では大きく及ばないものの、ソーシャルネットワークとしての立ち位置は独特で、ここにスマートフォン対応が加われば十分に対抗できると考えているのだそうだ。
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 11:07
And the key for the further growth is to provide the service to smartphone users. A rival service busuuu grew quickly by launching its iPhone app, gaining 1.9 million users. While Lang-8 is lagging a long way behind busuuu in the number of users, Mr. Ki thinks that, since it has created a unique position as a social network, the service will be competitive enough by providing the service to smartphone users.
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:27
The key to this problem would be smartphone support. Lang-8's competitor busuuul experience sudden growth as an iPhone application, reaching 1,9000,000 users. On the other hand, while Lang-8's userbase is not as large, its position as a social network is unique, and if smartphone support were added, Mr. Ki believes that it could become a serious competitor.
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またもう一つ重要なポイントがマネタイズだ。喜氏はサービスの中心となる添削をうまくコントロールするアイデアをいくつか教えてくれた。例えばユーザー同士であれば添削してくれるかどうかはユーザー次第ということになってしまう。英語の添削で6割、他の言語で8割は添削してくれるというのだが、これを有料で確実に添削する、というものだ。シンプルな方法だがユーザーがそれを求めている以上、堅実な方法ではないだろうか。
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 11:47
Another important factor is monetization. Mr. Ki told me some ideas of how to take care of its main correction feature of the service. For example, when users correct each others’ writings, whether or not your writing is corrected is up to fellow users. The correction rate is about 60% for English writing and 80% for other languages. So the service introduced a paid plan which provides 100% correction rate. It’s a simple, but reliable way to monetize the service, since there are some users who want to have their all writings corrected.
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:33
The other crucial point is monetization. Mr. Ki explained several of his ideas for controlling the corrections which play a central role in the service. For example, whether an entry receives corrections or not is currently dependent on other users. About 60% of English and 80% of other languages gets corrected, but a paid service could ensure corrections. It's a simple method, but since that's what users are looking for, it may also be a reliable one.
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やり続ける
学生起業に始まって約6年、50万人というコミュニティを育てた喜氏の歩んだ道のりは決して派手ではなく、どちらかというと地味なものだろう。成長スピードも、近年大きく爆発しているソーシャルゲームやチャットに比較すれば、投資家にとって魅力に欠ける部分もあるかもしれない。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:38
Continuing on
Mr. Ki's six-year journey from student start-up to community of 500,000 has certainly not been a glamorous one, and may in fact be on the unremarkable side. When compared to the explosive growth of social gaming and chatting in recent years, Lang-8's speed of growth may not hold much interest for investors either.
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Mr. Ki's six-year journey from student start-up to community of 500,000 has certainly not been a glamorous one, and may in fact be on the unremarkable side. When compared to the explosive growth of social gaming and chatting in recent years, Lang-8's speed of growth may not hold much interest for investors either.
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52
Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 12:11
Keep on doing
After Mr. Ki started his entrepreneur career while studying, it took some 6 years for him to develop a community of 500,000 people. His path has never been showy, but rather unspectacular. Compare with social games and chat services that are growing explosively in recent years, Lang-8’s growth speed may be less attractive for investors.
After Mr. Ki started his entrepreneur career while studying, it took some 6 years for him to develop a community of 500,000 people. His path has never been showy, but rather unspectacular. Compare with social games and chat services that are growing explosively in recent years, Lang-8’s growth speed may be less attractive for investors.
ユーザー獲得の推移をみても、途中いくらでも諦めておかしくない時期があったはずだ。喜氏は「可能性を感じてるんです。だからやり続けられるんです」と粘り強くサービスを続ける理由をこう語る。またそんな彼を気に入って、現在数人の起業家がメンターとしてサポートしており、メンバーもこれから数人に増える予定なのだという。
可能性を信じてやり続けるーーこのシンプルな意識の先に、サービスの大きな成長が待っていることを期待したい。
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 13:07
The user acquisition data made me think that there must have been times when Mr. Ki wanted to give up. But, he said, “I believe in the potential. That’s why I can keep on doing this.” And this is the reason he can continue the service patiently. Now some entrepreneurs who favor his passion support him as mentors, and a couple of people are going to join him in the near future, according to Mr. Ki.
“Believe in the potential, and keep on doing.” Hopefully, a big success is waiting for him ahead of this simple spirit.
“Believe in the potential, and keep on doing.” Hopefully, a big success is waiting for him ahead of this simple spirit.
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Translation / English
- Posted at 23 Jan 2013 at 15:45
Even considering the change in user growth, there must have been a number of points at which it would not have been strange to give up midway. Mr. Ki explained the reason why he has persevered in continuing his service: "I feel it has possibility. That's why I can continue." There are at present several investors who have taken to him and are supporting him as mentors, and he also plans to expand his staff in the future.
Persisting while believing in possibilities--I hope that we can expect great growth in the service from this simple philosophy.
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Persisting while believing in possibilities--I hope that we can expect great growth in the service from this simple philosophy.
訳文最後の行を修正します。修正文→”So, until then, Mr. Ki and his team managed to get by on Website development and other things."