RealTokyo - The Cultural Search Engine
By Max Van Kleek
"Have you been disappointed when you found out that your favorite
DJ
has come and gone, and you heard later from friends that it was
fantastic? Events zip by at full speed in a city like Tokyo and you
can
miss something if look away for a second." -- "How to Use
RealTokyo"
When one is a student living in Tokyo, a lot goes on every day.
By and large, technology has only made things worse. One
consumes more movies and music, hear more bands, see more trailers.
One
wants to see more movies, gigs, attend more performances. Under normal
circumstances, just keeping track of cultural happenings would be
a
full time job. But if being a student is one's real full time job,
another solution is needed.
RealTokyo promises to save the day. It is the "Cultural Search
Engine",
that contains a listing of every DJ gig, concert, rave, theatrical
performance, museum exhibit, movie, art and design event, and cultural
festival that could possibly be of interest to the young urban Tokyoite.
With each description, there are critical reviews, a 5-star based
rating, and descriptions and links to pages and other artists that
relate directly to the event. For those worried about missing out
overseas, there is even coverage of "RealCities" around
the world
whose RealTokyo correspondants report back about must-sees in
New York City, Paris, Prague, and Singapore.
Since digging through the web site and checking it religiously would
take more energy than can be afforded by most overloaded students,
RealTokyo seems to offer a customized scheduler into which events
and
favorite bands / gigs can be listed. Then, when the event nears, the
mailbots at RealTokyo courteously send reminder emails to make sure
that
one doesn't miss out.
RealTokyo is very clearly hip. The visuals appeal. The critical
reviews of music, art, and cinema are smart. Entries are fresh and
numerous. Its services are invaluable to the busy young Tokyoite.
Smart people run this site, and they built something that really works.
My only question is-- won't they open a RealBoston?