Why WeChat CAN Be THIS SUCCESSFUL In CHINESE COMMUNITY?,AMS澳洲移民留学服务微信公众号文章

Auther: Eva Woo (Project Manager, Cisco China Leadership Program)

Everyday I am amazed by how much more time I am spending on WeChat, the social media app/community by Tencent, arguably China's largest and most powerful internet company. All the friends and business contacts I need is there, all the news I need to know is there, and if I am working exclusively with the Chinese, I may skip my email for one day but I can't NOT check my WeChat for an hour!

WeChat to me is Gmail+Facebook+LinkedIn+Skype=A Social Brain in Formation.And I bet that it's going to go e-Commerce big time too, otherwise, why does it make it a requirement for users to bundle WeChat with Tencent e-Payment System before you join groups with the capacity of over 100 people? Which by the way, are everywhere. I am on at least a dozen of them, and many are cross-border with people in China with people from the rest of the world. So the group spits out ideas and information around the clock. It's a social brain in formation. You can ask any question on any subjects and get a semi-professional advice if you are an active member in the right groups, and contributing useful ideas and information as well. The groups are powerful filter of knowledge and a brain in itself, ideas spit out and were exposed to criticism and endorsement. Based on the credentials and background you know of commentators, you quickly form opinions and get leads on things you want to learn about.

WeChat is essentially Facebook+LinkedIn+Instant Messaging, blending business networking & collaboration and social & friends seamlessly, which is the Chinese way!

There's a cultural reason to it, the Chinese companies traditionally do not put clear boundaries between life and work. Employees do not have that expectations either. So it's fine to get a call on the weekends getting a new assignment, and it's fine to party again with the same people on weekends after seeing them for 5 days in a row in the office. There's no right or wrong, better or worse. It's just different.

But here I want to argue that this blending life with work is actually helping business collaboration in a highly malleable way. In a society that's not so transparent like China, the single most important barriers to business partnership or collaboration is figuring out one's value system and taste & style:

Value system is more straightforward; it's what one believes in, how one ranks the importance and priority of money, family, friends, loyalty, honesty, faith etc.

Taste & style are more subtle but VERY IMPORTANT FILTER for business to me, and I believe that the way WeChat sets up is very effective and efficient for one to find out that aspects of people for business purpose. I am not just talking about fashion sense and style here, it's also about esthetics and eyes and simply what you think is beautiful and touches you so much that you want to share with others. So much goes into that, where you grow up, who you hang out with, etc.

So in many cases, with tons of people on my WeChat, just by clicking the first 10 feeds they share publicly, I can easily figure out who is probably on the same page with me and who is not. IT saves a ton of time for you to figure out whether it's someone you want to pursue further business contact with. That's why WeChat surely serves the Chinese community pretty well. Via WeChat, people come together for a reason, and many potential collaborations and project teams are coming out of all these groups!

Wechat is social media, but it's really a social brain in formation!

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