4 ms·

The plan is to turn Twitter into a SuperApp like WeChat. WeChat is enormous in China because it combines social with payment. It is a proof of who you are and a

The plan is to turn Twitter into a SuperApp like WeChat. WeChat is enormous in China because it combines social with payment. It is a proof of who you are and a way to pay. This does not exist currently in the West.

NicoJuicy 3y ago
I doubt lawmakers want x to be that tool.
Grimblewald 3y ago
But in a way google already fills that role? It does ID, payment, social media etc. Several other companies fill various aspects of that void as well, so there really isnt a void to grow into explosivly. Even if twitter has weechat capabilities, then it still is unlikely to see major uptake. Personally id avoid it simply because elon is at the helm and elon is a conman. Additional concerns the average citizen would have is the increased reach this would have on them and their life. We are currently dealing with a significant threat to the longevity of social media in gen. pop. We're all netizens here and so are unlikely to stop living part of our life online, but your gen pop folks are less and less interested. Dumb phones are becoming increasingly popular, leaving social media entierly is also increasingly popular. So much so that mainstream popular icons for younger generations like tom holland take a public stand against social media and make a point of leaving it. If that is a move that isn't career suicide for a celebrity then it has to have pretty good mainstream support. I just dont see how massive broad adoption of a western weechat is going to happen without people being forced to adpot it.
yuppie_scum 3y ago
We have ways to pay already.
- LargeTomato 3y ago
  They aren't integrated to the same level as we chat. We chat is like Facebook, Venmo, what's app, door dash, and yelp combined into one app.
  - dilyevsky 3y ago
    Nobody wants that
  - konradb 3y ago
    Sounds like IOS
richbell 3y ago
> This does not exist currently in the West. WeChat exists because they have a de facto monopoly granted by the government in exchange for widespread surveillance and censorship.
- qball 3y ago
  True- by contrast, Twitter went all in on widespread censorship and surveillance on behest of the US government (to say nothing of the Europeans) and all they got was... the ability to keep functioning. Clearly, they should have asked for more.
  - pests 3y ago
    [citation needed]
  - CraigRo 3y ago
    They sold the company for 3x what anyone else would pay for it
  - Wytwwww 3y ago
    I'm not sure you understand the scale of censorship and surveillance in China. It's almost an apples to oranges comparison (well was anyway... before some deranged bureaucrats decided that it might be fun to reenact 1984).
Wytwwww 3y ago
> The plan That seems like a strong word. > This does not exist currently in the West. To be fair there are perfectly valid reasons why is that the case. There doesn't seem to be much demand (and/or pressure from the government) for an app like this in the west. In any case Twitter is probably the worst positioned social networking site to pivot into this (compared to Facebook for instance).

NicoJuicy 3y ago

I doubt lawmakers want x to be that tool.

Grimblewald 3y ago

But in a way google already fills that role? It does ID, payment, social media etc. Several other companies fill various aspects of that void as well, so there really isnt a void to grow into explosivly. Even if twitter has weechat capabilities, then it still is unlikely to see major uptake. Personally id avoid it simply because elon is at the helm and elon is a conman. Additional concerns the average citizen would have is the increased reach this would have on them and their life. We are currently dealing with a significant threat to the longevity of social media in gen. pop. We're all netizens here and so are unlikely to stop living part of our life online, but your gen pop folks are less and less interested. Dumb phones are becoming increasingly popular, leaving social media entierly is also increasingly popular. So much so that mainstream popular icons for younger generations like tom holland take a public stand against social media and make a point of leaving it. If that is a move that isn't career suicide for a celebrity then it has to have pretty good mainstream support. I just dont see how massive broad adoption of a western weechat is going to happen without people being forced to adpot it.

yuppie_scum 3y ago

We have ways to pay already.

LargeTomato 3y ago
They aren't integrated to the same level as we chat. We chat is like Facebook, Venmo, what's app, door dash, and yelp combined into one app.
- dilyevsky 3y ago
  Nobody wants that
- konradb 3y ago
  Sounds like IOS

richbell 3y ago

> This does not exist currently in the West. WeChat exists because they have a de facto monopoly granted by the government in exchange for widespread surveillance and censorship.

qball 3y ago
True- by contrast, Twitter went all in on widespread censorship and surveillance on behest of the US government (to say nothing of the Europeans) and all they got was... the ability to keep functioning. Clearly, they should have asked for more.
- pests 3y ago
  [citation needed]
- CraigRo 3y ago
  They sold the company for 3x what anyone else would pay for it
- Wytwwww 3y ago
  I'm not sure you understand the scale of censorship and surveillance in China. It's almost an apples to oranges comparison (well was anyway... before some deranged bureaucrats decided that it might be fun to reenact 1984).

Wytwwww 3y ago

> The plan That seems like a strong word. > This does not exist currently in the West. To be fair there are perfectly valid reasons why is that the case. There doesn't seem to be much demand (and/or pressure from the government) for an app like this in the west. In any case Twitter is probably the worst positioned social networking site to pivot into this (compared to Facebook for instance).