Asian technology queen

Mari Matsunaga (Japan) is considered the "mother" of i-mode technology, internet access technology via mobile phones. Mari Matsunaga has turned mobile phones into personal networks, data stores and payment tools by wire transfer .

From the editor-in-chief, he switched to information technology research

In 1997, Japan's largest mobile phone company, NTT DoCoMo, intended to turn mobile phones into works of the 21st century. NTT DoCoMo hired Mari Matsunaga, who was then editor-in-chief of Travail magazine. Join the company's research team.

Mari Matsunaga

In late 1999, DoCoMo Company announced i-mode service. Mari Matsunaga is viewed by the press as "mother" of the technology. I-mode is the name of the service that Mari is dedicated to. What makes people surprised is a journalist who is not very knowledgeable about computer technology and the phone can create the technology again. In 2000, she was rated by Fortune (USA) as the most powerful woman in Asia in the business world.

Mari recalled two miserable years to produce i-mode: " DoCoMo went to the magazine editor I worked for more than 20 years to come back to work. My friends around me didn't think of this. The editor-in-chief. a magazine how can I exploit such a project? I have been thinking about it for several nights ". After that, Mari suddenly decided to leave the magazine. She likened the event to her own breakthrough.

After successfully exploiting i-mode, Mari moved to work at a toy manufacturing company. The reason why I left the i-mode, Mari said: "Perhaps due to the habit in the magazine, after completing a bestselling magazine, we have to change the subject. When I leave i-mode, I have stood firm and can go further. Now, I work at a toy company, not far from my phone.

Functional information on the phone can slowly switch to games. The game world has many new content that has been transferred to mobile phones. Japan is facing the problem of aging population. Later, toys need more information systems to care and manage health for the elderly. In an emergency, toys can notify family members or health centers ".

In addition, Mari is an IT policy adviser to the Japanese Government. Mari thinks that according to the process of globalization, mobile phones need to have the function of directions, translations, and safety for users. For example: when you go to the hospital, just press the phone button, you can get saved medical records for the doctor to see. The doctor will take time and effort. At dangerous times, the phone can alert .

Bring magazine culture to the phone company

Business Week magazine about Mari Matsunaga Currently, Japan has more than 80 million mobile phone users. Young customers are increasing in part thanks to Mari's research. She wrote a book entitled i-mode Event. In particular, the content that attracts the most readers is how Mari described how she brought the magazine culture into the phone company. Mari said that when she left the editorial office to go to Japan's largest phone company, she had a great cultural conflict.

She shared: " In the editorial office, I know how to set up the office into a house. I can always meet friends at the newsroom. Go to DoCoMo Company, I see a hard dry space. I fell in love. The company needs to spend 10 million yen (equivalent to 1.3 billion VND) to repair the office, buy very large, comfortable chairs, then the office also installs karaoke machines. Not only did the mining team happily stay for the night, but their friends often came to play, and people also called the office a truth club (the meaning of Mari's name). i-mode, when people change their industry, many people think that I am desperate to go to another path . "

The i-mode concept and journal publishing are completely different, but the two things are the same in order to provide information to customers. Mari explores i-mode with the aim of making customers use a lot of mobile phones. Currently, many young people are accustomed to reading information via phone, using phone transfer, buying stocks . Can imagine internet is a supermarket, mobile phone is a 24-hour shop. Designing information content for phones, she attaches great importance to personal tastes, needs, amount of information and timeliness.

Mari always accepted me as a graduate of literature, poor in phone knowledge and computers. However, the fact proves that she is the star of the Japanese IT community.

Truong Minh