Gyao.jp is one of Japan fastest growing free of charge video streaming services, with a registered membership of 9.6 million+. Despite its self-proclaimed success, it, too, has the typical “directory” type user interface, akin to Yahoo’s. Might be comfortable to those who are accustomed to viewing TV by channel. At the same time, it will limit its growth in its own right. What a significant contrast to the user interface of YouTube.
Update: graph In addition, if they’d listen to what Joshusa Schachter preaches here (via himazu blog), gyao.jp would not have made it a mandatory for a new user to fill in all the profile information at the time of registration. It is a total waste of every opportunity; by no means worth the effort of anybody. But I understand a client generally likes it; but it is our job to convince the client not to pursue whatever won’t work. Note amazon would not ask any of these. Nor does flickr, nor does del.icio.us, dor does youtube, so on and so forth. It’s only tagging, not profiling.
そうですね。
僕の感触では、普通の人に言っても「それ知ってるよ」って言ってもらえるネット・サービスってポータル以外ではGyaoだけのような気がします。CM打ってたってこともあるのでしょうが。美容室でも飯屋でも、先輩でも後輩でも、とりあえずネットのサービスでGyaoを例に挙げると、「あああれね」となるのは結構驚異的だと感じています。大学生でもRSSって何ですか？とか、Technoratiって何ですか？ということまだ多いですからね。
たしかに、gyaoは職場でもけっこう共通の話題としては出ますね。しかし、technoratiは出てきませんし、あえて、出しません。（一応、WEBをつくっている部隊なんですけどね。）
[...] CNET Japan reports (in Japanese) YouTube viewers reached 4,100,000 /month, overtaking Gyao, which is at 3,800,000/month. Gyao, as I wrote before, obviously imprisoned to the directory type user interface, one-way streaming from the top/center and misses out on the power of communities. [...]