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> This is not accurate. Along with WeChat and QQ, people can freely use Skype and MSN messenger in China. The success behind WeChat and QQ relies on their rich

by xbeta 9y ago

> This is not accurate. Along with WeChat and QQ, people can freely use Skype and MSN messenger in China. The success behind WeChat and QQ relies on their rich features, fast iterations, etc. Really? I am not sure about Skype which is not even a strong contender anymore in our mobile generation, but WhatsApp is definitely blocked by China[1]. And MSN was dead long ago. [1]: https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/25/whatsapp-blocked-in-china/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/25/whatsapp-blocked-in-china/

chingjun 9y ago
WhatsApp was only started to be blocked recently (last year) when WeChat was already way ahead of WhatsApp in the market. WeChat's success was not due to lack of contender
- xbeta 9y ago
  Fair enough, but does WhatsApp put out any market in China? The strategy is a completely different approach. WhatsApp simply building 1 product for the entire globe where WeChat just focus on 1 monoculture. Have WhatsApp spent effort to build "that product" to China, and they would fail on it. And I don't see WhatsApp is super pissed that they lost this 1.3B market anyway. And in a hindsight, it is probably better for WhatsApp to not build "that app" for China. Imagine spending all those resources, money into a product and simply turn off by China government overnight. It's a big loss for that investment. TL;DR do not enter China if you haven't yet finished conquered the entire world.
  - rxin 9y ago
    I live in the Bay Area and I use both WhatsApp and WeChat and I would say WeChat is a significantly better product, with more features and better video/audio quality. When I visit China, WeChat is another order of magnitude more indispensable due to its great integration with all the other services (eg, mobile payment penetration through WeChat effectively 100%).
    - xbeta 9y ago
      Hmm... I don't know, but my app is less heavyweight on said WhatsApp than a bloated WeChat. But that's my opinion. When I send a message, why does it need to be so bloated. I just wanna send a message. Does being lightweight a feature too?
      - rxin 9y ago
        What's bloated about it? From the UX point of view, it's pretty lightweight for most common operations. Goes into the app, finds the contact, sends message, done. There is virtually no difference between WeChat, WhatsApp, and Apple's own Messages. For many other operations that are less common, WeChat is easier to use and manage (e.g. sending emojis, voice memo, photos). From an app size point of view, I just checked on my iPhone. WeChat takes up 157.3MB, whereas WhatsApp takes up 105.9MB. The difference seems minor (just a few photos).
        mcny 9y ago
        WeChat's success is something I find... strange. I just thought uses don't want everything and the kitchen sink in the same app but we chat success story shows I'm wrong? I still don't get it. I have that Facebook messenger even has draw over other apps permission on Android. I hate the pop up chat. Am I out of touch?
        socceroos 9y ago
        ...I sense an oncoming existential crisis.
        jebeng 9y ago
        Being able to send money to people via chat app is pretty appealing to many people. Also, there was a post on here highlighting Japanese web design and you might say it's also a kitchen sink approach. And then someone posted, or the article updated and added(I don't remember exactly) some nice links to show that the exact same design phenomenon exists in major websites in Taiwan, Korea, and China. We might theorize that users in these particular markets might want everything but the kitchen sink in one app, or one website. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but there's definitely some indicators. Would be very interesting if it's a case of actual rejection of western style minimalistic designs, rather than something like it being all they've known and thus have simply gotten used to.
- Markoff 9y ago
  whatsapp calls are blocked or unusable already for years trust me I tried when I lived there, messages work but forget about video and audio, only international service which worked was Skype but even that fails most of the time, so your option are obscure messengers and less known webrtc sites
contingencies 9y ago
Used Skype yesterday.
geowwy 9y ago
Skype is used a lot by businesses. When Skype introduced end-to-end encryption the government tried to block it, but the backlash from businesses in China was so big they had to unblock it.
est 9y ago
Skype has a tailored edition http://skype.gmw.cn http://skype.gmw.cn

by xbeta 9y ago

chingjun 9y ago

WhatsApp was only started to be blocked recently (last year) when WeChat was already way ahead of WhatsApp in the market. WeChat's success was not due to lack of contender

xbeta 9y ago
Fair enough, but does WhatsApp put out any market in China? The strategy is a completely different approach. WhatsApp simply building 1 product for the entire globe where WeChat just focus on 1 monoculture. Have WhatsApp spent effort to build "that product" to China, and they would fail on it. And I don't see WhatsApp is super pissed that they lost this 1.3B market anyway. And in a hindsight, it is probably better for WhatsApp to not build "that app" for China. Imagine spending all those resources, money into a product and simply turn off by China government overnight. It's a big loss for that investment. TL;DR do not enter China if you haven't yet finished conquered the entire world.
- rxin 9y ago
  I live in the Bay Area and I use both WhatsApp and WeChat and I would say WeChat is a significantly better product, with more features and better video/audio quality. When I visit China, WeChat is another order of magnitude more indispensable due to its great integration with all the other services (eg, mobile payment penetration through WeChat effectively 100%).
  - xbeta 9y ago
    Hmm... I don't know, but my app is less heavyweight on said WhatsApp than a bloated WeChat. But that's my opinion. When I send a message, why does it need to be so bloated. I just wanna send a message. Does being lightweight a feature too?
    - rxin 9y ago
      What's bloated about it? From the UX point of view, it's pretty lightweight for most common operations. Goes into the app, finds the contact, sends message, done. There is virtually no difference between WeChat, WhatsApp, and Apple's own Messages. For many other operations that are less common, WeChat is easier to use and manage (e.g. sending emojis, voice memo, photos). From an app size point of view, I just checked on my iPhone. WeChat takes up 157.3MB, whereas WhatsApp takes up 105.9MB. The difference seems minor (just a few photos).
      - mcny 9y ago
        WeChat's success is something I find... strange. I just thought uses don't want everything and the kitchen sink in the same app but we chat success story shows I'm wrong? I still don't get it. I have that Facebook messenger even has draw over other apps permission on Android. I hate the pop up chat. Am I out of touch?
        socceroos 9y ago
        ...I sense an oncoming existential crisis.
        jebeng 9y ago
        Being able to send money to people via chat app is pretty appealing to many people. Also, there was a post on here highlighting Japanese web design and you might say it's also a kitchen sink approach. And then someone posted, or the article updated and added(I don't remember exactly) some nice links to show that the exact same design phenomenon exists in major websites in Taiwan, Korea, and China. We might theorize that users in these particular markets might want everything but the kitchen sink in one app, or one website. I'm not saying that's necessarily the case, but there's definitely some indicators. Would be very interesting if it's a case of actual rejection of western style minimalistic designs, rather than something like it being all they've known and thus have simply gotten used to.
Markoff 9y ago
whatsapp calls are blocked or unusable already for years trust me I tried when I lived there, messages work but forget about video and audio, only international service which worked was Skype but even that fails most of the time, so your option are obscure messengers and less known webrtc sites

contingencies 9y ago

Used Skype yesterday.

geowwy 9y ago

Skype is used a lot by businesses. When Skype introduced end-to-end encryption the government tried to block it, but the backlash from businesses in China was so big they had to unblock it.

est 9y ago

Skype has a tailored edition http://skype.gmw.cn http://skype.gmw.cn