The Power of Kuchikomi

'Kuchikomi' which in Japanese translates as 'person to person communication' through information technology such as mobile devices, hyperlinks, blogs, and social networks. In English we don't quite have a word for it...we say 'networking' or 'updating' to describe the high-speed way our world now communicates through online news, social networking sites, and texts. But in Japanese, the variety of communications we use for business and social purposes is simply called "kuchikomi". And though we have these seemingly disparate sources of info, from hard news to Facebook to party circles to business networking socials, we CAN connect all of them. For me I officially put it all into play recently.　

　
Now, I don't have a TV, but every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to sleep - and quite a few times in between - I check my Facebook on my mobile phone. That's how I learned about the news from Haiti. Probably within the first few hours of the disaster twitter and Facebook had more diverse coverage, and definitely more human interest stories than anything I could find on the major networks. My friends in Japan, my family in the US, acquaintances in Europe, everyone was talking about it. The 'kuchikomi' - person to person contact or grapevine - was pushing, informing and shaping what I knew about Haiti and the relief effort, and/or lack thereof. And then there was a comment on Facebook that stood out:

Japan pledged 5 million USD to help Haiti, and is sending aid to the nation. I wish I could text yele.org to send money directly...as I don't have a credit card, only a bank account. I wish there was a way to send a bank transfer or something of that nature...

When I read that on my Facebook newsfeed I wondered, 'What could I do?' So I began to search for solutions. I wanted to be a part of helping rather than just watching it all unfold on my Facebook newsfeed and CNN.com updates. I looked for information in Japanese that might help, only to find a lot of questionable organizations that couldn't specify where the money was going. Then there were charities with complete transparency, but they didn't have any way to donate other than with a credit card.

Despite these barriers to helping, I still couldn’t give up. I suddenly realized I had a way to make a difference – kuchikomi. Since the success of my joint birthday bash/graduation in which 134 people showed up/crashed through (and all thanks to kuchikomi and Facebook), I had already been approached to host another event. But I didn't see myself as just 'promoting' parties. I reached out to people who I thought maybe could help, updated my status asking my Facebook community to get me contact info, and I met with friends who had experience promoting (and partying); little by little, we started piecing together a respectable event.

One of the first people I contacted was my friend Daisha Hunter (www.DaiTime.com), who had just started her own agency for emerging urban talent and brands of entertainment, ENTokyo , and we decided to approach our friends at Midas Lounge (www.midascafe.com). Step 1- get the venue and set the date. Okay Sunday, February 21st, 6-10pm at Midas in Roppongi. Step 2- find a charity to work with, and after a few misses we finally made a great contact at Yele.org to be our middle-man to get donations to the people who needed them most in Haiti. Step 3- getting sponsorship, a headache in the beginning but starting with Bikini Saketen we got a start.

Sunday, February 21st 2010, 6-10p.m. at Midas in Roppongi: ENTokyo, in collaboration with Midas Lounge, is producing a charity benefit to support the Haiti Earthquake Relief Effort. The theme of the event is a Black History Month love music celebration benefiting Haiti's earthquake relief efforts titled, "Black Love Below for Haiti." and is a *non-smoking event. Door charge is 2000 yen/1 drink, 500 yen discount for all black dress code. Raffle to be held with full proceeds going to charity.

As I write this article it hasn't even been a week since we set the date, but I already know that it's going to be a success. Not just because years of partying and networking are paying off, but because people talk and people react and people WANT to do something. It is just a question of providing the occasion to rise up and be a part of it. In today's digital world, not only is this 'kuchikomi' cost effective but it is an extremely powerful marketing tool as well. A sponsor for something as small as a 300 attendee event will be acknowledged on every print and digital media avenue such as fliers, social network updates, and websites that will cover our benefit, not to mention photo tagging on Facebook, Flickr, Mixi, Myspace and Photobucket. Numbers wise this means that for projected viewership, if 10 websites reach 100 people a day, then 10,000 people will be exposed to your logo in association with this charitable event. And in a society that still pays thousands of dollars to athletes to be the face of a new sneaker and musicians to promote a drink, it's nice to know that the new kids on the block just trying to do a little good in the world can still get noticed too.

EnTokyo and Event Coordinator Mariko are still seeking financial support and raffle donations. If you're interested please contact MarikoLochridge@gmail.com