Vol. 22 
Group Media
Local Community
Look East We always lost our way in the Computer Labyrinth Many new things have happened everyday, and various people have strayed off into there. Last week, 22 members of Malaysia Government who are the leaders of medium standing came to the regular meeting of the COARA where many member attended, as if to say, " Look East, we have to work as hard as Japan." As it's the country which has a big project MSC(multimedia super corridor), they wanted to know the real circumstance where citizens use the network. "How do the people know the right or wrong of new thing announced on the enterprise's Web page?", "You said that personal satisfaction takes priority over anything for netizen. But do you have any relation to income?", "Do you really find your fiance in the computer network?" They have many questions that the people who step into the Computer Labyrinth have, and asked one after another. President Mahathir will come to Fukuoka from this Malaysia in the end of the March. So we are going to help and broadcast his lecture on live through the Internet. For several person This "live" is just mass media element, isn't it? In the Web page of the COARA, there are the pages where we renew every minutes, day, week ( for example, this Computer Labyrinth), and month. It is full of color of mass media which one send off information to many. But it seems that there are something unusual. Well, I think that everyone who isn't the professional can sent off information. " I'm very glad that many people have interest in my private and quiet activity. I'm happy!" People feel so, and this feeling raise the mass media without the business as a result. Besides if you send off interesting information, someone makes response. For this response, other person may make response. In this way, one information expands into the electric meeting or the other communication. This communication is not for a mass, but for several (group), so to speak, group media. The unit of three media It other words, we can find our future in the unit of three media, personal media(like E-mail), group media, and mass media. There are many way to the future as if we are in labyrinth. The only thing what I can say is if we built up this new media well, the citizen, reader, and local area will be the hero. And the members of the COARA seem to say strongly that they want to realize this future. Not from Tokyo Local area is apt to be proposed new thing by Tokyo, be treated as a market of Tokyo, be forced its electric network from Tokyo. The member of COARA may have had question to be treated as a mere business market. And they realize that they can find their pleasure, joy, and the vision of their future in the community. In the community, they can recognize each other as citizens who have their own face and will, and can be a hero or heroine. So we would like to sent off the information like live, daily, weekly, and monthly for them. As the member of the COARA in Fukuoka increased, and to grow up the local electric community against the whole country net from Tokyo, we are going to open the preparation room of the COARA office in Fukuoka on March 14. The Computer Labyrinth is getting bigger and bigger and complex more and more.

written by Tooru Ono, the chief of the NEW COARA secretariat


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