I just downloaded a tool bar for new Japanese bookmarking site called “Imakore” (beta). (I don’t like adding tool bars to my browser, but it’s the only way to use the service…) There are many bookmarking services out there already in Japan (popular services include “Hatena”, Livedoor’s “Clip!”, Yahoo’s “MyBookmark” and “fc2bookmark”, why did I decide to try this service?

What makes Imakore different from other bookmarking services is the function lets users to write and to read the comments right on the bookmarked page. With the tool bar, you can see how many Imakore users are on the same page at the same time, and read other users comments as well as leave the comments on the “particular area of the page” where you want to comment. It’s like a bookmarking version of Pop-up video. It’s definitely a fun way to bookmark pages and to socialize with other users.

Many people use the social bookmarking services in both US and Japan, but I sometimes wonder what percentage of bookmarked sites are actually shared with other users. I mean, it seems that most of the users bookmark their favorite sites but don’t care to see the sites bookmarked by others. There are only a few bookmarking sites appear in the search results. I think that Imakore found a way to make it easier to share the bookmarks.

Sure, there’s a concern about what people may comment. You don’t want to see bunch of “Woo, this is funny!” or “OMG, it’s crazy” kind of comments over and over. But when you come across with a site with some clever comments that make you laugh or go “hmmmmm”, it’d show the value and I can see that people may be hooked on this type of service.

By the way, what made me laugh when I first landed this website was their demo on the top page. It shows someone searching “Yahoo” in Google to go to Yahoo site. LOL!