Digital Garage and Kodansha Establish HOLICS, a Compilation Media Service Combining Superior Magazine Content with AI Technology

DK Media, Inc. (HQ: Tokyo, Representative Director and President: Keizo Odori, DK Media) , jointly founded by Digital Garage, Inc. (TSE first section: 4819, HQ: Tokyo, Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO: Kaoru Hayashi, DG) and Kodansha Ltd. (HQ: Tokyo, Representative Director: Yoshinobu Noma), established and began operations of HOLICS (https://holics.jp), a new compilation media service combining magazine content with AI technology on June 28, 2017.

“Compilation media” is a term for a new type of media that functions on a content aggregation platform and compiles content from a variety of magazine sources to offer digitally optimized content in a single location. Pulling from popular magazines in a wide range of genres, including fashion, art, lifestyle, travel, TV, trade journals, and more, DK Media has separated the images and text of each magazine into micro-data and used AI technology (natural language processing) to score them for relevancy. The results are then grouped into a database architecture. With this database, the contents grow beyond the framework of an individual magazine and are reedited into a form optimized for digital viewing.

The newly-launched HOLICS service is true to its name, offering media for the serious enthusiast. Focusing on feminine passions, the contents are reedited under the unique eye of our editorial staff while also consulting search engine data for popular keywords. DK Media is also currently testing a function that would utilize AI technology to send contents optimized to readers’ individual interests.

As of launch, the service will create re-edited articles based on Kodansha’s “Vivi”, “with”, “FRaU”, “VOCE”, “Otona Style” and more. The project is also proceeding with confidential data verification on a greater library of content (over 50 magazines from 13 publishers). When preparations are complete, the content will be stored in a database where they will undergo quality and media enhancement.

In recent times, the web media industry has been beset by problems, including curated media sites that operate on low credibility information and unauthorized reposting from other sources. With HOLICS and its compilation media concept, DK media hope to dispel the problems that have affected other curated media services by using content from published magazines.

DK Media will continue to work with other publishers and use the accumulated micro-content data and reader data to plot the project’s maturation as a media service. In doing so, the DG Group will utilize the experience and knowledge it has gained through its Consumer Generated Media (CGM) sites such as Kakaku.com and Tabelog, as well as its expertise in using social media for information distribution, cultivated through its assistance with Twitter’s expansion in Japan. From that experience and more, the group will endeavor to create media initiatives that users will love.

【About HOLICS】 https://holics.jp/
“People with passionate interests are the most fascinating of all.” Merely watching as they breathlessly discuss the why, what, and how of their love is a form of entertainment. Love of that kind has a persuasive power. Love of that kind carries a story all its own. Those stories lie waiting beneath the mountain of information that confronts us every day. Dig deeper and you might find treasure that you will love all the more. HOLICS brings you the information you need by gathering content from a breadth of magazines, made by true enthusiasts, and delivering it in a convenient re-edited format. It is a compilation site that all women are sure to love.

【About HOLICS Editor-in-chief Mariko Seki】
Born in 1965, Mariko Seki began working at Kodansha following graduation from university. After serving as fashion editor for the magazines “ViVi” and “with”, she was named Editor-in-Chief of “with” in 2015. She began serving as Editor-in-Chief of HOLICS in October, 2016.

【About DK Media】
DK media is a joint venture by Digital Garage, Inc. and Kodansha Ltd. focusing on media initiatives, mainly the operation of HOLICS (https://holics.jp), a new brand of compilation media combining content from women’s magazines with AI technology.
Trade Name : DK Media, Inc.
Representative : Representative Director and President: Keizo Odori
HQ : Digital Gate Building, 3-5-7 Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Founded on : August, 2016


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