How I approach note

Gratitude toward note

I started using note without thinking too deeply about it, but I strongly agree with the mission that note upholds: "to enable everyone to start creating and keep creating."

I would like to express my heartfelt respect to the note staff, who have created an environment where people can easily post their creative works—such as illustrations, photographs, and writing—online, and who are constantly working to improve usability.

Why note?

I am quite old, and I have enjoyed the internet space for many years, starting from self-producing a website in the late 90s, updating a blog, and using Twitter and Facebook.

I think I am part of the first generation that started the activity of writing in an online environment. However, for the past few years, I had lost interest in social media.

In that situation, the COVID-19 pandemic caused me to lose my evening social engagements, which gave me a little more free time. I had been wanting to properly resume writing, which I have always loved, and with a recommendation from an acquaintance, I arrived at note at the end of last year.

Why Fujiko F. Fujio?

I felt that note was visibly easy to use and seemed to have good compatibility with search engines. So, when I started note, I thought about what I could create, and I decided to try writing articles about Fujiko F. Fujio, whom I respect from the bottom of my heart.

As an author, Fujiko-sensei left behind a superhuman amount of work, all of which are masterpieces and classics, and I seriously believe they are worthy of a Nobel Prize in Literature. However, there are surprisingly few reviews or critiques of F-sensei's works, and when it comes to minor works, there is almost no commentary in the online space.

If that is the case, I thought I would like to create a space where people who encounter F-works in the future can find information when they search for those works by turning every corner of Fujiko's works into articles myself.

Article policy

Regarding the articles, I decided to make them pieces with a certain amount of volume. Even if someone goes to the trouble of finding them through a search engine, if the content is thin, they won't read other articles.

I have made efforts such as clarifying the parts I want to emphasize so that if someone thinks it's too long, they can skip over it. More than that, my goal is for them to think that Fujiko's works are profound.

Since I am not originally a note user and I create articles with the intention of attracting traffic from external searches, I have not prioritized the number of followers or the number of 'likes.' Therefore, the structure is quite far from the theories often discussed within note.

An average of over 2800 characters in length, so they cannot be read quickly, and there is nothing you can learn or find useful by reading my articles. They are not content that invites empathy, and I think people who are not interested will have no desire to read them at all.

Even so, I have nothing but gratitude for being blessed with so many followers and receiving quite a few 'likes.' I hope you will continue to read at least the ones you are interested in.

How long will I continue this?

I continue creating these articles with the awareness that it is for my own sake, for the sake of the readers of F's works, and above all, for the sake of Fujiko-sensei. Honestly, maintaining this current pace while keeping up the quality is a situation with absolutely no room to spare. However, because the things I want to write keep overflowing, I cannot stop my pen.

I have written about this several times, but I am thinking of stopping this Fujiko F Note activity at some point. The goal is not to continue, but to finish writing it. I have already thought about how it will end, and the path to the finale is clearly visible.

However, it feels like that path is constantly extending. The more I research Fujiko's works, the more unexpected themes emerge. It has started to take on the appearance of a bottomless swamp.

The response after 10 months of continuation

It has been exactly 10 months since I started Note, and the number of articles has reached300. Regarding "daily updates," the number of articles is minus five.

Under the reckless attempt of continuing to write articles about only one manga artist, the PV count continues to increase while picking up pace. I am very grateful for this.

I recently started a Twitter account for Fujiko F Note, and as a result of ego-searching there, I found that some of my articles were being quoted and tweeted about. There were comments saying they were interesting, and I felt surprise along with a sense of gratitude.

I learned that the reason past articles sometimes show mysterious increases in PV counts is due to such article diffusion in places I am unaware of.

Even recently, the article below suddenly gained excitement in the Twitter sphere, resulting in an increase of 2000 PV in a few days. You really never know what will happen.

The meaning of continuing steadily

At Fujiko F Note, I continue with the policy of steadily accumulating content. Sometimes, even while thinking "this article won't be read," I work on obscure subjects.

My mindset is to think about attracting readers through the articles as a whole, rather than gaining readers with each individual article.

This summer, I wrote eight articles focusing on the "dinosaur works" that were Fujiko-sensei's life work. Depending on the article, the PV count is quite lonely. However, when talking about Fujiko's works, I cannot help but cover dinosaurs extensively.

The other day, I wrote two articles about "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas," but this also had a very thin start in terms of reaction. However, I must fulfill the will of F-sensei, who expressed his love for UMAs and Yetis.

And so, I choose the subjects for my articles with that kind of inexplicable sense of mission.

However, as with the article on "Radio-Controlled Great Sea Battle" mentioned above, there are times when it suddenly explodes.

For example, in next week's Doraemon anime, Suneo's younger brother, a rare character, will appear. I expect the article below will likely get a significant amount of traffic. (Activity has already started since the next episode preview.)

When you search for "Suneo's younger brother" on Google, the Fujiko F Note article appears in the 7th or 8th position, so I assume the traffic is coming from there.

I believe these occasional spikes in past articles are the result of having accumulated content over time.

Finally, regarding monetizing articles

I am not considering this at all.There are three main reasons. First, since the articles are based on Fujiko-sensei's work, I would feel guilty toward Fujiko Pro. Second, I have a genuine desire to have as many people as possible read them for free. Third, these are, after all, articles written by an amateur.

The third reason is particularly important; although I write with a creator-like attitude, I cannot catch every typo or omission, and there are parts where the grammar is questionable.

If I were to charge money, I would have to increase the level of perfection, and at my current pace, I wouldn't be able to finish writing. That would lead to a decrease in the number of articles, and I would never be able to finish the F Note.

Since note makes it easy to monetize articles, it seems many people try their hand at paid articles, and I often see terms like monetization or side hustles using note. However, I apologize, but I believe most of those are not articles that should be paid.

The reason is, first of all, that the majority are amateur writings not worth paying for. Once people think it's not worth the price, they will never buy from you again. There are ways for friends to buy from each other, but of course, that won't generate a profit.

Also, the reality is that even professionals often release their work for free. For example, there are increasing cases where comics are released for free on the web and monetized through other means. Even if something that was released for free is turned into a book, people still pay for it properly.

Spoiler consumption is a term that exists, but the current trend is to understand the content thoroughly for free and then make a paid purchase.

I digressed a little at the end, but as described above, this is how I approach note, and I intend to continue using it for the time being. I feel anxious about writing articles that don't seem popular, but I want to have the courage to challenge myself with diverse subjects.

To all my followers and those just passing by, please continue to support me!