Mixi focuses on community entertainment. Users can send and receive messages, write in a diary, read and comment on others' diaries, organize and join communities, and invite their friends. Research indicates that some users, particularly young women, are more likely to use Mixi to connect in more private ways with close friends, particularly in contrast to perceptions of
Facebook as a more public social network. • Registration requires a valid Japanese cellphone number, which bars anyone who is not or has not been a resident of Japan. Since 2012, both Android and iPhone users can apply for a new Mixi account via specific apps made for their devices. • myMixi, or Maimiku for short, means buddy or friend. This is similar to a contact in
flickr, or friend on
Myspace, and involves an approval process. The maximum possible number of myMixi a user allowed to have is 1,000. Accounts that are marked as
tarento or
celebrities don't have this limitation. • The word Mixi is a combination of Mix and I, referring to the idea that the user, "I", "mixes" with other users through the service. • "Mixi Station" is an application that detects songs being played in
iTunes and
Windows Media Player and uploads them automatically to a communally accessible list in the "Music" section, and was implemented late in June 2006. •
Batara Eto was the only developer at the start of the social networking site. • Mixi heavily uses open source:
Linux,
Apache,
MySQL, and
Perl. It uses several hundred MySQL servers. Mixi also uses Tokyo Cabinet NoSQL database. • A term "Mixi Fatigue ()" has been coined to describe the feeling of becoming tired of Mixi, voicing a desire to discontinue using the service, and finally deciding to terminate an account. • Mixi added the feature to upload your own video content, along with the ability to post content from
YouTube. The corporate headquarters are on the seventh floor of the
Shibuya Scramble Square (渋谷スクランブルスクエア,
JA) in
Shibuya,
Tokyo. ==History==