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[//MY NETWORKED LIFE]
[TRUE STORIES FROM A CONNECTED WORLD]
[NHAT VUONG, FOUNDER/CEO I-KIFU] MY PARENTS LEFT VIETNAM IN 1980, A FEW YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE VIETNAMESE WAR.
SO, I GREW UP IN THE FRENCH PART OF SWITZERLAND, VERY CLOSE FROM GENEVA.
IN 2007, I FOUND A SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY.
I APPLIED AND LUCKILY GOT IT, AND I CAME TO DO 6 MONTHS OF TRAINING LEARNING JAPANESE
AND 6 MONTHS OF INTERNSHIP, AND I DECIDED TO STAY FOR A LONGER TIME.
I THINK MY BACKGROUND REALLY PUSHED ME TO GO TOWARDS
SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION AND GIVING BACK TO THE SOCIETY.
BEING A REFUGEE WHO GREW UP IN SWITZERLAND, WE WERE EXTREMELY LUCKY.
WELL, SOME OF THE JAPANESE DONATION WEBSITES WERE NOT LOOKING THAT PROFESSIONAL,
SO I THOUGHT TO MAYBE CREATE A PLATFORM WHERE THERE WOULD BE MANY NPOS
THAT WOULD BE REPRESENTED AND LOOK PROFESSIONAL AND SIMPLIFY THE DONATION PROCESS.
OUR PLATFORM IS A COMBINATION BETWEEN CROWDFUNDING
AND WHAT WE CALL "GAMIFICATIONS"--SOME KIND OF GAMING ELEMENTS
TO MAKE IT MORE FUN FOR THE USER TO PARTICIPATE.
IF WE WANT TO CONVINCE MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN THE SOCIAL MOTIVATION MOVEMENT,
I THINK WE SHOULD DO IT SO THAT IT'S SO FUN THAT EVEN THAT PEOPLE
WHO ARE NO SO INTERESTED WILL START TO DONATE.
JAPAN HAS BEEN ADOPTING MOBILE PHONES VERY QUICKLY.
THE MOBILE TECHNOLOGY IS SO ADVANCED, I REALLY SAW THAT PEOPLE,
INSTEAD OF ONLY PLAYING VIDEO GAMES OR CHECKING THEIR EMAILS,
AT SOME POINT THEY SHOULD ALSO BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE SOCIETY FROM THEIR MOBILE PHONE.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO EXPLORE,
AND I THINK THAT THE TECHNOLOGY WILL REALLY BE A STRONG TOOL FOR SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION IN THE FUTURE.
JAPAN IS SO ADVANCED WITH THEIR UNLIMITED INTERNET PACKAGES.
BEING CONNECTED EVERYDAY, BEING ABLE TO CHECK MY EMAIL,
CHECK MY AGENDA, MY SCHEDULE, CHECKING MY GOOGLE MAPS TO KNOW WHERE I AM--
IT REALLY HELPS ME TO BE MUCH MORE EFFICIENT.
[JAPAN WAS HIT WITH A MAGNITUDE 9.0 EARTHQUAKE ON MARCH 14, 2011.
THE MOBILE NETWORK WAS ACTUALLY SOMETHING THAT WAS VERY POWERFUL
RIGHT AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE.
ALL THE LINES WERE CUT. THERE WAS NO WAY TO MAKE A CALL.
FORTUNATELY, THE MOBILE NETWORK WAS STILL WORKING,
SO WE COULD ACTUALLY USE OUR SMARTPHONE AND START SENDING FACEBOOK MESSAGES.