Abstract
Since 2013, WeChat has entered a period of steady development. This report is a quantitative study of the development of WeChat in 2013 with a sample size of 1200 people from Beijing, Wuhan and Guangzhou respectively. From the perspective of the number of users, functional improvements, and business models, this report is a comprehensive review of the developmental status of WeChat and demonstrates that WeChat’s development is in line with the diffusion of innovation theory. It explores features of WeChat, including user behavior, user structure, user relationship, etc. It analyzes the advantages of WeChat in communication, such as user-friendliness, multimedia communication, cost-free usage and higher user loyalty, as well as the disadvantages of WeChat, such as information overload, the proliferation of spam and poor security. In addition, this report does a comparative study of WeChat and Weibo in terms of communication modes and communication impact. The report finds that WeChat has greater credibility. The credibility of WeChat, Weibo, online news information, newspaper, radio and television news was 63.4, 38.6, 21.7, 19.6, 14.6 and 33.9% respectively. Finally, it looks into the future of WeChat and proposes development strategies, including conducting technological innovation, enhancing the user experience, strengthening strategic cooperation with operators and developing platforms to increase profit.
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Notes
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Hui Tong, “Self-representation of WeChat and interpersonal communication,” Chongqing Social Sciences, 2014, Issue 1.
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Shurong Zheng, “A study on innovative options for cooperation with its operators from the debate on whether WeChat should introduce paid services,” Telecommunications Industry Management, 2014, Issue 2.
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Jia Ge, “LINE knows better than WeChat about how to make money,” Business Review, 2013, Issue 10.
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Jia Ge, “LINE knows better than WeChat about how to make money,” Business Review, 2013, Issue 10.
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Jia Ge, “LINE knows better than WeChat about how to make money,” Business Review, 2013, Issue 10, pp. 124–126.
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Kuang, W. (2017). Development Report on China’s WeChat in 2013. In: Tang, X., Wu, X., Huang, C., Liu, R. (eds) Development Report on China’s New Media. Research Series on the Chinese Dream and China’s Development Path. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3683-5_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3683-5_2
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