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When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

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Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#11

Post by nc »

GauntletWizard wrote: post #10
maxwin wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or the mobile messaging ecosystem in US will look a lot more like wechat in 3-5 years. China can be ahead in some areas.

If china is ahead in this, then humanity might as well pack it in. China's sandbox model works well when you've got a few hundred million uneducated peasants, but an educated populous (Which china is having more success stopping than I care to admit) wants diversity; It wants options, differing opinions, choices that cater to them, not to what people want to offer them.

It's a platform, it could certainly evolve to cater for different options.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#12

Post by cheena »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #7
pkkim wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given how hard it was for me to do non cash commerce without a Chinese ID card, it's no surprise that you don't use those features. Do you use the app in English? Maybe the English version doesn't even have these features.

yeah I have it set to English. I don't think there is an English version per se, just different consumer facing text. Commerce shouldn't be too hard. I have a bank account here and my card is Union Pay.

You will see different content in the WeChat app depending on your phones language.

But as of today, the English version has all of these features mentioned. I have used the Taxi feature (滴滴打车）4 times today.

I also pay all my utilities and internet bill within WeChat.

When I am outside and people want to buy my products, they can scan my WeChat QR code in an instant.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#13

Post by IIAOPSW »

cheena wrote: post #12
IIAOPSW wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah I have it set to English. I don't think there is an English version per se, just different consumer facing text. Commerce shouldn't be too hard. I have a bank account here and my card is Union Pay.

You will see different content in the WeChat app depending on your phones language. But as of today, the English version has all of these features mentioned. I have used the Taxi feature (滴滴打车）4 times today. I also pay all my utilities and internet bill within WeChat. When I am outside and people want to buy my products, they can scan my WeChat QR code in an instant.

where can I learn the details of becoming a verified seller / whatever? I have some side projects that could benefit greatly from this.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#14

Post by rahimnathwani »

doctorpangloss wrote: post #2

I think a great deal is being attributed to "leapfrogging" which should instead be attributed to idiosyncrasies in the Chinese market. Like that it's big, and that a great deal of software is bundled. For starters, surely there are other places around the world with nation-dominating highly-integrated platform apps. I mean, they name LINE and KakaoTalk. Is their point that China is 3x bigger than Japan and 10x bigger…

"became dominant in their countries the same way WeChat did: bundling"

This is false. WeChat became big because it is a good app AND because it provided a seamless on-ramp for users of QQ (the previous dominant instant messenger, also owned by Tencent).

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#15

Post by mimighost »

santoshalper wrote: post #5

It sounds like a world where AOL won and we all accessed the internet through keywords and paid everything through AOL, or very similar to France's old Minitel, except for mobile. Having everything in one app is interesting if only because it offers some powerful integration opportunities, but otherwise this sounds like a proto-Internet for a developing economy. $5 says they evolve past this in the next 3-5 years and…

Consider what Facebook tries to with its Messenger app, I bet $5 that in 3-5 years, US will get its own ASIAN messaging app~

EDIT: I think you should compare Wechat to Chrome + its app store, only that here it is not a web browser(in fact Wechat do have a embeded browser) but a chating app.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#16

Post by girzel »

I live in China, and resisted using wechat for a year or so, until it became clear that I was essentially removing myself from the majority of China's online world. I'm still highly annoyed when I get seven minutes' worth of 30-second voice clips from someone, or when people insist on using it as a replacement for email (essentially, using it as a replacement for all internet-based communication, period), but it's impossible to ignore.

And I'll admit, finding the wallet thing was a bit of an "a ha" moment for me.

And lastly, it became obvious that the only way to promote my company and its business to a Chinese audience was to run an official wechat account for it.

So there we are. I just got a new phone, and wechat was the first thing I installed.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#18

Post by cheena »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #13
cheena wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You will see different content in the WeChat app depending on your phones language. But as of today, the English version has all of these features mentioned. I have used the Taxi feature (滴滴打车）4 times today. I also pay all my utilities and internet bill within WeChat. When I am outside and people want to buy my products, they can scan my WeChat QR code in an instant.

where can I learn the details of becoming a verified seller / whatever? I have some side projects that could benefit greatly from this.

Well any individual can accept payments to their phone of course. But to actually have like some kind of store front on WeChat you need a "Public Account" as stated in the article.

Companies that are not registered in China can open one no problem, but only people using the English version will be able to see/access your "Public Account".

If you want to sell to Chinese people, you will need to register a Company in China. Of course there are ways around this, there always is in China.

Really depends on your strategy and what you are selling, some foreigners selling products here, just create a separate regular account to keep their buyers/followers updated on latest news/products, and talk directly on wechat to accept payment.

Any questions bartnanka at gmail

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#19

Post by girzel »

girzel wrote: post #16

I live in China, and resisted using wechat for a year or so, until it became clear that I was essentially removing myself from the majority of China's online world. I'm still highly annoyed when I get seven minutes' worth of 30-second voice clips from someone, or when people insist on using it as a replacement for email (essentially, using it as a replacement for all internet-based communication, period), but it's im…

Seriously, the wallet thing is both amazing and terrifying. Apparently the only thing standing between me and sending all my worldly wealth to a wechat contact is a six-digit PIN. Two-factor whut? Given what I know of the Wild-West Chinese internet, this is deeply worrying.

Re: When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China

#20

Post by zhanwei »

I like how "official account" are lightweight apps. They are like the web with push notifications, online identity, and payment integrated into the web browser. The usual web can fulfil the features of official accounts in theory, but it's awkward. 1. push notification -> email 2. online identity -> login to fb, twitter, github, or website specific login 3. payment -> authorize paypal, bitcoin, amazon, bank

Whenever u want to do something on the web (e.g. buy a ticket), u have to figure out how to login (worse if you have to create a new account), how to make payment, and check your emails for confirmations and updates. That's enough friction to make a user hunt for alternatives. On top of that, the website make not work well on your mobile phone.

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