note has reached its 10th anniversary.

note launched its service on April 7, 2014.

We are truly grateful to the many people who have used it and to everyone who has been involved. Thank you. Currently, there are over 7 million user IDs, and the number of articles posted has exceeded 40 million (detailed figures will be announced soon).

On this occasion, I would like to write again about why I decided to create this service.

I was originally an editor at a publishing company.

The work of an editor is often said to be helping creators with their craft. While that is indeed a very important part of the job, I believe it is only about half of what needs to be done. The other half is spreading that work. More specifically, it means "selling" it.

Only by selling it does it become money, generating revenue for the creator. Beyond that, money circulates to various players involved, such as designers, illustrators, photographers, bookstores, printing companies, paper suppliers, and publishers, which keeps the industry moving and allows new creative work to begin.

This cycle exists not only in publishing but also in other media industries. Television has its own cycle, as do film, radio, and newspapers.

From the 2000s onwards, as the internet gradually became widespread, this cycle began to collapse.

The great thing about the internet is that anyone can easily share information and have it seen by many people. Thanks to this, many encounters have been born, and a vast number of opportunities, works, and businesses have been created.

However, at the time, the only way to monetize internet content was through advertising. While advertising itself is neutral and not inherently bad, I felt there was a problem with it being the only option.

There are two reasons for this. First, when you rely on advertising for revenue, you want to increase page views, which inevitably leads to sensationalism. This is a story that connects to the issues of slander and online firestorms that are currently problematic. Second, there is the issue of copy-pasting and plagiarism. This is also a common problem on the internet, but copy-pasting and plagiarism have the effect of "lowering" the production costs of content. As a result, the profitability of advertising increases.

To solve these two challenges of the internet, I believed it was necessary to have monetization methods other than advertising, so I included a payment function in note from the very beginning. While such a function is not necessarily something everyone needs to use, I believe it is important that such a means exists.

If we don't change this cycle that forms the basis of creation, the flow of creativity will not be able to continue. That is why this company has focused on both creation and monetization from the start. The "continuing" in note's mission, "to enable everyone to start and continue creating," includes monetization.

Of course, money isn't everything. It is still important to have appropriate "encounters" and "opportunities." Readers want to find interesting things that suit them, and creators want to meet the customers they should be meeting. Events like the "Creative Awards" are held to provide opportunities for creators.

I wanted to provide various forms of success that suit each individual.

The essence of the internet is being open and allowing people to connect easily. By building a proper market there and creating a comfortable community, I want to expand the circle of creation. That is the thought with which I started this service.

Also, today, we have started a project with Bengo4.com to solve issues such as slander and online firestorms.

At the beginning of this article, I wrote that the roles played by editors and media are twofold: creating and spreading. Actually, there is one more, which is to "protect" creators. I believe there is still much we can do and should do to solve the challenges of the internet.

Ten years ago, on the first day of note, I wrote this:

My feelings have not changed at all, and they will not change in the future.

By simply sharing what they love or what they are thinking about, anyone can make friends, find work, or have good things happen that are right for them. I want to work together with many different people to create that kind of online environment.