The WeChat Ecosystem
by Qiu Chang Wu
WeChat, also known as “Weixin” in China, is a mobile social media app that has gained popularity all across the world. It was first launched in 2011 by Tencent Holdings, the largest internet company in Asia. Since its launch, it has rapidly gained popularity in China and all around the world. As of the second quarter of 2015, WeChat has reached 600 million active monthly users globally. Of the 600 million, a majority of its users reside in China.
All that being said, what is WeChat and why it so successful? As a communications app, it appears to be a combination of Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype, Twitter, Venmo, and Uber. You can message individuals or groups; additionally, pictures, texts, videos, or voice messages can all be sent in a user friendly fashion. You can easily share articles and other internet content. You can also make statuses and picture updates called “moments” for everyone to see. However, it is not just a social media app used for communication amongst friends and family, it has been used by companies to advertise and connect with its customers.
WeChat’s uniqueness as a mobile app comes from its platform to consolidate microapps. You can connect with your bank, make payments for your utility bills, hail a taxi, or even get delivery service. “Basically anything you can think off, WeChat can do,” one user said. This is the direction WeChat aims to go. With the seamless integration of various services, WeChat is taking the Apple Inc. approach; providing all services in-house. Forbes Asia division has called the all-in-one model the “WeChat Ecosystem.”
Tencent Holdings has made investments in various independent mobile apps such that these services may then be integrated into WeChat. The taxi service integration comes from an investment into the leading Chinese taxi service app called Didi DaChe. Since WeChat launched its mobile banking service, allowing for users to connect their bank accounts to WeChat and thus simplifying ecommerce, it is projected to pose a serious threat to the leading online payment platform in China, Alipay.
In addition to spreading in the domestic market, Tencent Holding has pushed for WeChat’s growth globally. WeChat has a lot of competitors – popular messaging apps like Whatsapp, Line, Kik, KakaoTalk, and Facebook messenger all occupy similar niches. Regardless of these competitors, Tencent Holdings has built offices all around the world to spearhead the spread of WeChat into other countries.
To read more:
A Day with WeChat
By Yuexin Chen
It is a cozy Saturday morning in Shenzhen, China. Amy woke up in bed and reached for her phone as usual. She unlocked it and opened Wechat. She read all the new messages, replied to some of them, and scrolled down people’s Moments (like facebook posts). That took about 20 minutes. Her plan for the day was to see a movie with friends. She opened “features” in Wechat, took a look at the movie options, and decided she was going to watch Despicable Me 2. She picked a 2:30pm showing, clicked on the closest movie theatre, and bought the tickets for her and her friends.
Afterwards, Amy read a book she found on Wechat’s subscription. She was interrupted by a Wechat video call from her globe-trotting mother. Amy answered it and took a peek at the place her mom was living in India. It was a dim and small but seemed cozy. After the video call, Amy browsed the Moments for a while. Her friends had posted Wechat group messages on where and when to meet.
Amy decided to order something for lunch. She ordered through her favorite restaurant Mom’s Noodles’ service account in Wechat, and within 30 mins her food appeared outside her apartment. She finished the lunch and went out for a walk. Meanwhile, one of the Wechat “features” kept track of her miles. She took a look at the rankings. Of all her friends who chose to show their distances, her walking distance was the 5th highest . She went back to the apartment, satisfied.
After taking a nap, Amy woke up to find that it was already 2:10pm. She quickly got dressed. Figuring that she would now have to take a taxi, she opened the Didi Dache feature ( a service akin to Uber) and called a taxi. Fortunately, she managed to get to the theatre in time.
Amy and her friends scanned the ticket stored in their Wechat movie ticket buying features, and enjoyed Despicable Me 2. After the movie, they all wanted to eat at a popular restaurant in the mall called Watami. Since the line is usually insufferably long, especially on a Saturday, they went on Watami’s Wechat service account and clicked on “Line Up”. That way, all they had to do was show up at Watami at 6:30, instead of having to physically line up. For the time between then and 6:30, Amy found coupons on Wechat for the stores that she had been wanting to visit for a while, and shopped a for clothes for the next season.
Time passed quickly and it was 6:30. They sat down in Watami after showing the waitress their line up ticket in Wechat. They had also ordered food when they got the line up ticket, so the time between ordering and waiting was saved, sushi and ramen came right away. When the time came to split the bill, Amy paid for the meal through Wechat. All her friends need to do was to click on “Split the Bill”, and transfer the money to Amy’s Wechat account, just like Venmo.
Amy went home. It was a satisfying Saturday. Before she went to bed, a friend she met in Brazil messaged her through WeChat. Although Amy did not speak Portuguese, and Raissa did not speak English, they communicated well. The translation of the sentences showed up when the sentences were clicked on. With her phone still in her hand, Amy gradually fell asleep after the great conversation. Suddenly the screen lit up. It was “Yao yi Yao”, the feature in Wechat that functions like Tinder; an unknown user “sweetpotato” said, “Hey what are you up to?”
No comments:
Post a Comment