This is yet another blog post as a homework assignment. This one is a study on the Chinese social media app Weixin (Way-Shin).
Weixin is an all-in-one platform where users can do anything and everything it seems. It’s compared to What’sApp in the United States. I don’t use either, so I can’t compare personally, besides a few days using What’sApp (because it’s more secure…sure) and hating it.
Based on the case study in the textbook, Weixin allows users to “send messages, share news and pictures via their mobile phone”. Very similar to any other social media site. However, where the difference comes is how much users can actually do on Weixin.
There are a wide range of functions on Weixin, from messaging friends, to getting news, to even finding a cab on the streets. Weixin is a combination of multiple social media sites, where users don’t have to leave the app to go from messaging to reading the news to finding a cab or even paying for goods and services.
This can be very good, and can help users to avoid “search costs” by flipping through different apps. Weixin continues to add more functions to their app, including campaigns around upcoming holidays like Chinese New Year.
But then the question becomes: How much can one app do before it becomes too much?
We’ve all been there. Using an app that tries to be like a website, but is slow and full of bugs? That would be a main worry for me, as tech saavy as I can be.
Another concern I have besides speed is dependence. The case study talks about the app “train[ing users] to pay via Weixin” in the case of calling a taxi, or buying items or services through the app.
Coming out of the app to pay for something on another platform can be jarring, almost like when I get used to paying with ApplePay almost everywhere and find somewhere that only takes cash.
However, there are some good things about Weixin, such as the amount of users. Between its launch in 2011 and three years later in 2014, the app had more than 300 million active users. The app gained so many users because it used a thorough approach to understand its audience and their needs. The platform is appealing to young and urban smartphone users, especially as smartphone use only seems to increase and the users seem to be getting younger and younger. The ease of use for the app is another win for the platform such as the ease of sending a message with the touch of a button instead of typing Chinese characters and the ease of reading news within the app instead of being sent out of the app and to the news platform instead.
Weixin does whatever it can to keep the user in the app, even going so far as to let users begin shopping in the app and even able to build their own shops. Gradually, because of all of these bonuses, Weixin has become the norm for media use in China.
But no matter how good it appears to be in China, I’m not sure it would be as big of a hit in the United States. Where China is a big county with bustling cities and people, the United States has a massively diverse group of cities and towns that some apps won’t even add to their locations.
I thought I lived in a relatively large town, but a lot of the apps in the United States don’t populate any results in my town. So perhaps in larger cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando or New York the app would be helpful for things like Taxis, Ubers or Lyfts and other things related to the offline world. However, it could be a successful app for the the overall messages and news and media and other features.
Social media highly depends on the right time and place. The social app BlueSky managed to boom after X started to become Right Wing and AI central. Facebook has remained popular since the beginning, even with some of their more interesting changes. Myspace only lasted a few years. Since we already have What’sApp in the United States (and other countries), Weixin would have to have some features catered to the every day American to really take off here.
However, I prefer to keep my apps separate for now, despite the “search costs”. Anything to get me off my phone for a little bit here and there is helpful.
How about you? What do you think about an All-in-One app?
Hi Bre,
This was a really insightful breakdown of Weixin’s capabilities and how it compares to social media platforms in the U.S. I agree that the idea of an all-in-one app is both fascinating and a little concerning. On one hand, it’s incredibly convenient to have messaging, payments, news, and services all in one place especially in fast-paced urban environments. But like you pointed out, the risk of overdependence and potential technical issues (like bugs or slow performance) can make such platforms feel overwhelming or even intrusive.
Your point about localization is especially important. What works in China’s densely populated cities might not translate well to the diverse and often rural landscape of the U.S. I also appreciate your perspective on keeping apps separate to reduce screen time sometimes simplicity is better. It makes me wonder if the future of social media will be more about integration or specialization. Thanks for sparking that thought!
Best,
Kourt
I’m glad you pointed out that having too many things on one app could become too much. I had the same thought! TikTok does a great job of mixing shopping with social media, but if it started to add options to pay my rent, look up restaurants, or send money to friends I would start to feel overwhelmed with the app.
By the way…I love the look of your website! I like that all the links are on the side and I don’t have to go hunting for anything.
Hi Bre,
I enjoyed how you broke down Weixin’s “all-in-one” concept and compared it to the apps that we use here in the US. I agree with your point about dependence. It’s super convenient to have everything in one place, but that can end up making people rely on the app way too much. If something happens like the app crashes, you lose access to a lot more than just your social media account. This would affect services like payments or transportation too. That’s actually kind of scary when you think about it.
You also made a good point about how Weixin might not work the same way in the US. One reason is that I think it’s because American users are more used to separating their apps by function. Your point about how it could be harder to utilize in cities that are not very populous is spot on. Where I live currently, I’m in a rural area out in the country, and I already find it a little harder to get services like Doordash and Uber. I can’t imagine trying to experience an all-in-one situation; though I will say that I like the idea of it, but I’d probably rather have a few separate apps instead of one platform owning everything.
Overall, Weixin is a really intriguing app and it’s fascinating how well it works in China’s. but I think an all-in-one app would have a hard time fitting into our tech culture currently. Who knows what the future will bring, though. Great post!