Why YouTube doesn't appear in Japan?

明日授業の課題で何か国内の時事問題についてプレゼンしなきゃいけないのですが、何を血迷ったかYouTubeについてのプレゼンということにしたので着地に困っていたところ、Spiegelさんが「ネットは遊び上手な者が生き残る」という記事を書いてるのを発見しました。
お蔭様で何とかなりそうです。というわけでリライトするかもしれませんが、一応公開。

YouTube, an American free video sharing web site, is also popular in Japan. You probably know YouTube as a site where you can watch exciting videos. YouTube lets users upload, view, and share video clips. And YouTube has the wide variety of site contents even including Japanese TV clips.

Recently, Youtube come to fame because it is acquired by Google for $1.65 billion in an all stock transaction. Other Consumer Generated Media (CGM) such as Social Networking Service(SNS) or blog also succeed in Japan. You may have taken part in "mixi" or you might be a blogger, I guess.

However, almost all of these CGM or new web services have started in America. YouTube and other popular web services are starting to appear not in Japan but in America. Why this kind of phenomenon is happening? Is there any differences between Japan and America?

First, American people are good at playing with the new stuff but Japanese people are poor at playing with them. Americans are willing to do something just for fun and think about business later. We, the Japanese, are reluctant to do something new or to consume away without understanding about it. If we are not good at playing with CGM and use it perfectly or find its new use, we can not create exciting services.

Then YouTube has some issues but certain large companies go with it. there is difference between America and Japan, I think. Some YouTube fans violate copyright law by sharing video of copyright material from movies, music videos and TV shows. And their business model is not clearly defined it yet, so some analysts don't expect YouTube. Some copyright holders sue YouTube, though a certain influential entertainment companies (ex. Warner Music and NBC) deal with YouTube. Some venture capitals invest YouTube.

They know pioneers can get great advantage in the field of IT business in most cases. Actually NTT has started to open video sharing web site, ClipLife but I can not say it succeed. Americans, especially programmer and investor, are not so afraid extreme. They think the norms or the law has to change when people or society is changing. They are not slaves of the law or the norms.

However Japanese companies aren't willing to be extreme too much. Japanese does not have enough safety infrastructures to take a risk. We are willing to work at large enterprises and we are unwilling to found a new business because society doesn't like it. If we fail in new business, we might be difficult to recover in the view of economy. But Americans tend to take risks easily.

I suppose Japanese companies should play and enjoy new web services and focus on the innovation which purpose is not clearly defined it yet. Then, popular web services or other new business models will be starting to appear in Japan.