2016-06-13

WeChat, China's Everything App, Why Facebook Is Very Jealous (video)

The Chinese App That Silicon Valley Is Drooling Over:

Ever hear of WeChat? You will. It is the most popular messaging app in China but it's so much more than just a way to communicate with your friends. Bloomberg Businessweek's Dune Lawrence explains why Facebook and other social networks are seriously jealous of WeChat. (video by Ali Withers) Published June 9, 2016.

Preview of WeChat for Android and Android Wear:

WeChat is a free messaging & calling app used by over 700 million people worldwide that allows you to easily connect with family & friends across countries. It’s the all-in-one communications app for free text (SMS/MMS), voice & video calls, Moments, photo sharing, and games. Video published April 25, 2016.
"I’ve had WeChat on my phone since a vacation to Beijing last year, when friends there essentially ordered me to download it. More than 760 million people use it regularly worldwide; it’s basically how people in China communicate now. It’s actually a lot of trouble not to use WeChat when you’re there, and socially weird, like refusing to wear shoes. In China, 90 percent of internet users connect online through a mobile device, and those people on average spend more than a third of their internet time in WeChat. It’s fundamentally a messaging app, but it also serves many of the functions of PayPal, Yelp, Facebook, Uber, Amazon, Expedia, Slack, Spotify, Tinder, and more. People use WeChat to pay rent, locate parking, invest, make a doctor’s appointment, find a one-night stand, donate to charity ... It’s nothing special to look at, as far as smartphone apps go. The first screen that opens is the chat stream; a menu at the bottom gets you to other areas, like a WeChat wallet and a “moments” stream for Facebook-like posts. Companies, media outlets, celebrities, and brands also open “official accounts” that you can follow to get news and promotions. The design stands out only for its relative simplicity and calm; the online mainstream in China is overpopulated with weird click-bait and manic GIFs ..." read more: Life in the People’s Republic of WeChat | Bloomberg.com.

According to Wikipedia, Tencent became the largest internet company in Asia by value in September 2015, after Alibaba Group suffered a major drop in shareholder value. As one of the largest internet companies in the world, Tencent provides many services including social networks, web portals, e-commerce websites, and multiplayer online games. Among its well-known offerings in China are instant messenger Tencent QQ and one of the largest web portals in China, QQ.com. Mobile chat service WeChat has led Tencent's continued expansion into smartphone services. Tencent also holds 15% stake of JD.com, one of the largest B2C online retailers in China.

Current market capitalization of Tencent is about US$212B (HKG) compared to Alibaba US$188B (NYSE), Apple US$545B (NASDAQ), Alphabet (Google) US$498B (NASDAQ), and Amazon US$339B (NASDAQ).



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