Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing time August 15 news, Aaron Corbett (Aaron Corbett) graduated from Indiana University Bloomington, once studied in Tsinghua University. He recently shared his knowledge of Wechat, the international version of WeChat, in an article on the technology blog TheVerge.

The following is the full text of the article:

For an app with more than 1 billion users, my first impression on Wechat was not very impressive.

Bad initial impression when I first opened Wechat at the orientation party at Indiana University, I was surprised by the casual style. Its design looks out of date and is overshadowed by a terrible green shadow. I don't understand why Wechat chat can only post low-resolution photos, and even the basic navigation is illogical and confusing. I know that Wechat is the cornerstone of online life in China and can be said to be the most powerful application in the world. Is it at this level?

For most non-Chinese college students, Wechat is not well known. Only non-Chinese people who have special ties with China will use it. However, as my Chinese level continued to improve and gradually penetrated into the lives of local Chinese students, Wechat became my gateway to another Bloomington. There, thousands of Chinese in southern Indiana gathered entirely on Wechat to create their own community and economic circle.

Wechat's core functions are information and social media applications, which include the functions of almost all applications on your phone. For non-Chinese users, Wechat may just be a messaging app for contacting friends currently living in China. Many other features of Wechat can be found in Discovery and I. the Discovery section includes moments, official accounts and thousands of Mini Program that can serve as apps, from bike rental and online shopping to travel and package delivery.

Corbett

Although most enterprises and applications are domestic in China, but major brands such as Airbnb, Lego, Yves Saint Laurent, Aldi, Air New Zealand and thousands of other foreign brands all use these Mini Program to contact their Chinese customers directly, eliminating the need for customers to browse their websites to order and so on.

The real power of Wechat is the "I" tag in the wallet, which integrates users' bank accounts, identity cards and recently launched health information. By integrating all this information directly into Wechat's functions, the app extends to almost every conceivable service, including, but not limited to, food delivery, bicycle rental, train tickets, utilities, health certificates, car purchases, investments, and charitable donations. It is easy to pay in a brick-and-mortar store, as long as you scan the cashier's QR code or show the cashier the Wechat QR code.

If you haven't studied Wechat, you may find it ridiculous to stare at an app most of the time. But in China, this kind of deep cross-functional integration is taken for granted.

In my first year at Indiana University, because I didn't have a Chinese bank account, I couldn't use many of the functions offered by Wechat, and there was an international app available. Wechat downloaded outside China is slightly different because of data privacy and lacks many of the features of the domestic version. Most importantly, my Chinese proficiency is not good enough to understand these functions.

Studying abroad changed my understanding in 2018. By studying at Tsinghua University in Beijing, I had the opportunity to come to China for the first time. I have experienced that Wechat is more than just a chat and social media app, it has taught me what true digital convenience looks like.

From locating my location to automatically bringing up the restaurant menu, to displaying all my transportation options from A to B on one screen, Wechat has almost simplified my digital life into a single app. However, it does take some time to get used to immersing in the world of Wechat. For example, in a restaurant, you don't interact with the waiter at all except picking up and clearing the table, which is a whole new experience because ordering and paying are done through Wechat. Scanning Wechat's QR code has become as common as shaking hands, with various courses, occasions and friends having their own groups.

After coming back from China for the first time and experiencing the magic of Wechat, I made up my mind to come into contact with more Chinese cultural and social scenes in Bloomington. I linked to their "video number" by scanning some community-oriented QR codes on the windows of many Bloomington Chinese shops and restaurants. My information stream is full of posts about local events, business newsletters from local Chinese farmers, sales of used luxury cars and the daily menus of countless restaurants.

WeChat

Through the recommendations of my friends and a bunch of QR code screenshots, I found the most Chinese convenience in Bloomington. I can receive fresh coconut smoothies and hot dumplings within 15 minutes, and they will be delivered directly to my desk in the library, indicating that there is a large smoothie and dumpling making workshop in a nearby dormitory building. When I tried to ask more about the virtual kitchen, the girl who brought me a smoothie with a Hello Kitty backpack left as quickly as she had come.

With the improvement of my Chinese level and more and more participation in Wechat-centered campus life, I slowly began to understand why Wechat is essential for Chinese people living abroad. In addition to communicating with friends and family in their hometown, Wechat also provides a direct channel for overseas Chinese to get in touch with the material comforts of their hometown that they miss. Like Facebook groups that cater to American expatriates and immigrants, Wechat provides a support network that provides services such as US tax rebate assistance and Mandarin therapy. For me, Wechat provides me with a way to keep in touch with China when it is difficult for me to get in touch with China.

After graduating from Indiana University, I moved to Munich, Germany, to work full-time as a consultant. By swimming in various official accounts and having brief conversations with some of the Chinese visa applicants who lined up with me in the offices of foreigners, I soon opened up another secret world of Wechat in Munich. It is full of foreign groups, grocery delivery companies and, of course, more dumpling dealers.

For some in the international community, Wechat's attractiveness to Westerners may be disturbing because of their security concerns. But if Wechat is blocked in the United States, we will lose more than an app. Wechat makes me feel like I'm in close contact with the Chinese-speaking world, which makes me think it's worth browsing through the spam that pops up in my group chats and the huge social dynamics that can't be filtered.

This is not only a way to experience the convenience of China's science and technology, but also a ticket to the overseas Chinese community and the world of economic secrecy. Although I like Wechat's confidential delivery service and event invitation very much, what I am most grateful for is that Wechat has increased my own cultural understanding and let me experience daily life in China. I really hope to return to China one day.

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