Leading Partners
Event overview
About MA7
This year’s Mashup Awards season has arrived!
Begun in 2006, the Mashup Awards have now reached their seventh year. Today many Web API are being utilized in the Web services and application internals that we use every day, both open specs and proprietary specs included. For those of us who are developing Web applications, designs utilizing Web API and implementation of the designs have already become an indispensable technology.
Through the development and presentation of original entries using such Web API and leading-edge platforms, the Mashup Awards is a contest that offers a Web experience that is one step into the future. With the assistance of many companies, groups, and supporters again this year, the stage has been set for MA7.
This year’s contest also includes many exciting new plans, such as “Mashup Meetups” in which engineers, designers, and planners come together to form teams, the cross-sectional MUP48 initiative of the increasingly visible female IT community (IT Joshikai), the holding of overseas events for the first time, the new Mashup Battle judging system in which entries further refined while winning the nationwide preliminary rounds are nominated in the final judging session on the day of the award presentation ceremony, and first-time holding of the event abroad.
Still, there has been no change in the fact that the stars of the Mashup Awards are the developers who submit the entries. Whether you are submitting a new entry again this year or entering the contest for the first time, we are looking forward to receiving many entries from many different people.
Yusuke Kawasaki
Mashup Awards Executive Committee
September 7, 2011 (Wed.)
Overview
| Entry period | Sep. 7, 2011 (Wed.) to Nov. 7, 2011 (Mon.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Award ceremony | Dec. 11, 2011 (Sun.) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Awards and prize money |
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First Prize (Grandprix) and Second Prize (Finalists)
First Prize (Grandprix)
This is the award presented to the finest entry of this year’s Mashup Awards. In the Mashup Battle Final Stage at the award ceremony on December 11 (Sun.), the creators of the five nominated entries will give presentations. The First Prize winner will be selected from among the five entries in the Mashup Battle Final Stage.
Second Prize (Finalists)
Although they missed out on the First Prize, the remaining four nominated entries in the Mashup Battle Final Stage will receive this award.
Grand Prize judging flow
Mashup Battle
The new Mashup Battle judging system is being introduced in MA7. Put succinctly, Mashup Battles are events in which entries are presented by the entrants with their sights set on winning the MA7 Grandprix. Up until MA6, the Grandprix winner was selected in the judging of presentations given by five entries which were selected in closed-door judging. Beginning with MA7, we are introducing this new judging system in order to expand the possibilities for entrants to win the Grandprix.
In the Mashup Battle, a total of 25 entries—20 entries selected in closed-door preliminary judging and 5 winners of presentation preliminaries held across Japan (Sendai, Fukui, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Fukuoka)—proceed to the second stage presentation judging. The top five entries selected in the second stage presentation judging then contend in the final presentation judging at the award ceremony.
All MA7 entrants can participate in the presentation preliminaries held throughout Japan. We hope you will show us your enthusiasm for your entry in a presentation.
Mashup Battle schedule
November 12 (Sat.) Mashup Battle 1st Stage in Kyoto
Venue: Kyoto Research Park (East District), Advanced Scientific Technology & Management Research Institute of Kyoto (ASTEM) 10F
Description: Entry presentations by the entrants. One representative entry will be selected by vote of the people present.
November 13 (Sun.) Mashup Battle 1st Stage in Fukuoka
Venue: Gate’s Fukuoka
Description: Entry presentations by the entrants. One representative entry will be selected by vote of the people present.
November 13 (Sun.) Mashup Battle 1st Stage in Fukui
Venue: Fukui Industrial Support Center
Description: Entry presentations by the entrants. One representative entry will be selected by vote of the people present.
November 19 (Sat.) Mashup Battle 1st Stage in Sendai
Venue: Trust City Conference, Sendai
Description: Entry presentations by the entrants. One representative entry will be selected by vote of the people present.
November 20 (Sun.) Mashup Battle 1st Stage in Tokyo
Venue: Recruit Annex 1 Building, B1F
Description: Entry presentations by the entrants. One representative entry will be selected by vote of the people present.
November 29 (Tue.) Mashup Battle 2nd Stage
Venue: Recruit Annex 1 Building, B1F
Description: Entrant presentations of the entries that survived the first stage. On this day, five entries will be nominated for the Grand Prize.
December 11 (Sun.) Mashup Battle Final Stage
Venue: The Grand Hall (Shinagawa)
Description: Entrant presentations of the entries that survived the second stage. On this day, the Grand Prize entry will be selected.
Detailed information concerning each Mashup Battle will be sent to entrants who indicated the desire to participate when they submitted their entry application.
Theme awards
Theme awards
Kirakira Communication Award (CyberAgent, Inc.)
With Ameba, we are endeavoring to make service creation safe and easy to understand for the light user as well as the geek user. At MA7, we want to give high marks to communications services that “make people happy” and that target a wide range of users. With the net environment going through dramatic change, we are hoping to see entries that can excite many users with new user communications.
Happy Life Sharing Award (COOKPAD Inc.)
The correct understanding and utilization of technology leads to services that solve real problems in the real world and increase the number of happy people. Those are the services that COOKPAD seeks. We are looking forward to encountering services that are not technology for technology’s sake, services that solve concrete problems using sophisticated technology as a tool for enriching the lives of people in the world.
Mashup Innovation on Android Award (NTT DOCOMO, INC.)
With Android openness we are pushing the realization of an “Internet of Things” (IOT) in which all things and information are linked. For Mashup Innovation on Android we are looking for the proposal of new styles that are tailored to the IOT era and that combine the special features of cloud computing with characteristic Android openness and the ability to access the net anywhere.
Developer, Developer, Developer!! Award (Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd.)
Microsoft has attached great importance to developers since its founding, so to name this Microsoft theme award we have used a frequently repeated line of Steve Ballmer. This award will be presented to the person who creates a great and surprising new app using the Windows Azure Windows Phone, KINECT, and BingAPI technologies (or any one of the three) that will support the new cloud and device era.
Innovative Communication Award (mixi, Inc.)
No matter how much evolution takes place in devices, networks, OS, and applications, the thing that does not change is the importance of connections between friends. We are looking for services which make communications between friends more fun and more convenient. At mixi, we provide a collection of API effective for creating such services so we hope you will make good use of them. We are looking forward to encountering your innovative new ideas.
Smart Mobile Payments Award (PayPal Japan Inc.)
Everyone makes payments on a regular basis. The combination of this fact with smartphones is now bringing major global changes to the payment field. Paypal is looking for services that utilize the special characteristics of the smartphone to give birth to a new payment experience.
Context-Use AR Award (Qualcomm Japan Inc.)
With the spread of smartphone use, many apps and services unthinkable on past cell phones have now appeared and are being utilized in the market. In addition, with the rising performance of the semiconductors used in smartphones, it has also become possible to combine smartphone camera images with CG and interact with the user on screen. For this award, we are looking for innovative applications that infer the state of the user by utilizing smartphone sensors (GPS, Wi-Fi, light, acceleration, etc.), and then utilize AR (augmented reality) to achieve optimum communication with the user.
Social Shopping Award (Rakuten, Inc.)
In recent years, social shopping has been attracting attention as a new shopping experience that makes use of the ties between people. We are looking for applications (created using with the product search API provided by Rakuten, the API provided by social media, etc.) that generate new awareness and arouse a desire to buy through communication and the sharing with friends of products they might like.
Communication Entertainment Award (Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Japan, Inc.)
The Sony Ericsson corporate vision speaks of “blurring the lines between communication and entertainment.” We are waiting for new and innovative apps that utilize as communications tools not only voice and text, but also video, music, etc.
Local Info Innovation Award (Yahoo Japan Corporation)
Services utilizing location information are now developing rapidly. With the use of location information, today the net and the real world are coming together so we established this award in an effort to spur creation of even more new services and applications. The API provided by Yahoo are extremely effective in the development of location information services so please use those API to realize your ideas. We are looking for made-in-Japan geolocation services.
U-23 Award (Recruit Co., Ltd.)
This award will be presented to a young developer (23 or under) who developed a superior application that contributes to the growth of next-generation Web services.
Media partner awards
Media partner awards
Social Media Award (AMN Blog (Agile Media Network Inc.))
We want to honor services that operation hand in hand with social media (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, mixi, etc.) and that make social media more convenient and more fun to use.
ARI-TV Tohoku Revival Award (ARI-TV Co., Ltd.)
This award is given to an entry that will assist the revival of the Tohoku region from the unprecedented damage inflicted by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Obaka App Award (@IT)
Our definition of an Obaka App (“Crazy App”) is an app that is way cooler than it needs to be and so cute as to be almost annoying. This is an app that scratches an itch you didn’t even know you had. We are waiting for apps that are “obaka” mashups created via designer and engineer collaborations.
Netolabo Award (Netolabo)
We are waiting for apps that you just can’t help wanting to tell other people about, that you want to share as timely information.
The “I Want to Read the News!” Award (mainichi.jp)
We are looking for mechanisms and gimmicks that make people want to read the news. You should expand the possibilities for the providing of news by crossbreeding something new with sources such as Mainichi Shimbun’s News Flash, important past news (limited release), etc. This could take any form: operating within the mainichi.jp site, operating as an app, serving as a newspaper link, etc. As long as it utilizes the news and leads to new business, it is fine. The possibility exists that superior entries will be immediately adopted as new business on mainichi.jp or elsewhere.
＜Sources provided (limited release)＞
・News Flash
（headlines, text, genre/RSS）
・Important news of the past 20 years
（headlines, text, photos/html）
・Kokko-chan tweets
（RSS already available）
MYCOM Journal Award (MYCOM Journal)
The theme for this award is the creation of functions that can be utilized as a useful tool for work and that are linked to social media. Rather than seeking a highly finished product, what we most want to see are entries that spark a surprised “Wow.” It would also be a good idea for smartphone use to be assumed.
The “I Want to Listen to Nippon Broadcasting!” App (Nippon Broadcasting All Night Nippon Gold app10.jp)
News, sports, music, entertainment, useful life information, shopping, life-line info, and more: It’s all there on the radio! It would be a shame to miss all that by not listening. Please use your ideas to create an app that will make people want to listen to Nippon Broadcasting.
PUBLIC-IMAGE.ORG Award (PUBLIC-IMAGE.ORG)
PUBLIC-IMAGE.ORG will present this award to an app with both superior visual quality and a high level of creativity.
API Partner Awards
API Partner Awards
Adobe Systems Award
All Coupon Japan Award
Asial Award
Atama Soft Award
Beacon IT Award
Blogwatcher Award
Nota Award
Venture Republic Award
CyberAgent Award
Cybozu Award
Cyber Area Research Award
EAST Award
Facebook Award
Sony Award
Fujisan Magazine Service Award
GeoDosu (Locazing Inc. + Annai LLC) Award
Gurunavi Award
GOGA Award
Hatena Award
HeartRails Award
Ink Cartridge Return Project Award
Japan Weather Association and Up-frontier Award
KAYAC Award
Kizasi Company Award
Livedoor Award
Mapion Award
Mashmatrix Award
Metadata Award
Microsoft Japan Award
Mixi Award
Research Organization of Information and Systems, Inter-University Research Institute Corporation, and National Institute of Informatics Award
Nissan Motor Award
NTT Data Award
Nulab Award
Paypal Japan Award
Qualcomm Japan Award
Rakuten Award
Recruit Award
OpenStreetMap Foundation Japan Award
SonicGarden Award
Suntory Business Expert Award
Tattva Award
Team Lab Award
Tinami Award
User Local Award
Yahoo Award
Power Apps JAPAN Award
Power Apps JAPAN Award
Looking ahead to recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, this award is to be presented to a service that is useful for supporting the disaster region and supporting the recovery of Japan.
MUP48 Award
MUP48 Award
We want to give this award to a service that helps women feel ☆Happy & Relaxed☆. For example, services where we can get helpful tips for women only, services we can use with our female friends to liven up the conversation, services that raise our popularity and girl-power, and services that will help us train for married life?!
