Paul Papadimitriou

As I’m sitting in my hotel room for my panel tomorrow, my mind can’t help but replay the images of the catastrophe that just hit Japan.

Heart-wrenching.

I was in the Philippines when the hurricane Ondoy hit Manila. And although not comparable, I can vividly remember what it is to experience a big natural disaster.

I’m shaken.

Those who know me will tell you that I’m an eternal optimist, an upbeat person. But this is hard right now. Talking about the web industry and technology trends in Japan seems a bit futile.

Feeling helpless doesn’t cut it for me, though. From the moment I’ve received this Twitter direct message from a friend who was hiding under his table while the earthquake was hitting his home to today, I’ve done whatever I could to help, like so many others here in Austin -this is just incredible. I’ll have much more on this, but, for now, if you’re at SXSW, do donate to SXSW4Japan.org. Now.

My panel is still taking place tomorrow. There have been changes in its composition.

Both Hiroko Tabuchi -currently reporting from the NYTimes in Tokyo- and Michi Kaifu won’t be able to make it. I’m sad that these two brilliant women won’t be here, but I know that their energy is directed to a much greater good. As much as I was honored to have them at South By SouthWest, I’m thankful that they’ll be doing their best to help from their respective ends.

Ko Orita & Naoki Aoyagi were able to come and they will not only share their wealth of knowledge, but will candidly talk about their experience during the earthquake and how the web was key in the most critical hours. I’m also very happy that my good friend Serkan Toto, one of the best Japan specialist out there -and who experienced the tremor in Narita Airport, being stranded there for 51 hours- will join us, as will my long-time friend Ken Brady, who possesses an amazing experience as an entrepreneur in the virtual world space in Japan.

Thanks a million to Hugh, Monica and all the SXSW organizers for bending the rules for me, allowing the last-minute change. You were nothing but exceptional during this week.

Here’s the updated schedule:

Japan Web: A New Beginning or the Galapagos

Tuesday, March 15, 11.00am
Hilton, Salon K [ Official schedule | Plancast | Sched ]

Japan remains a big question mark. Sometimes qualified as strange, sometimes thought as very innovative, often unknown to many. Can you name one Japanese startup? Can you name one Japanese web service that you use? Do you know Facebook is almost inexistent there?

With the recent successes of Twitter (almost 20% of worldwide tweets are in Japanese), the iPhone (shaking a very insular mobile market), is Japan opening up to the US and the world? Similarly, with Rakuten, the Japanese eBay, acquiring Buy.com & opening offices in the US, but also entering China and elsewhere, are we witnessing a new era of Japanese companies’ expansion?

Japan remains a land of opportunities. A country where innovative models are popping up every day. Let’s learn about Japan.

Panelists:

Ko Orita (@koo), President, Digital Media Strategies
Naoki Aoyagi (@naoki), CFO, Gree
Serkan Toto (@serkantoto), Japan Correspondent, TechCrunch
Ken Brady (@kenbrady), Digital Strategy, Wieden+Kennedy
Paul Papadimitriou (@papadimitriou), VP & Principal Analyst, Constellation Research

You can follow the panel on Twitter via the #SXJapan hashtag.