Picture this scenario: you’re strolling down Fifth Avenue in New York City and happen upon a trendy coffee establishment. Facing chilly weather, you decide to step inside for a warm cup of hot chocolate.
While awaiting your turn, observe that patrons are not reaching for their wallets to settle their bills. Instead, they simply tap their smartphones, and voilà, their macchiatos appear. You then realize that the platform everyone is employing for transactions is none other than Facebook.
However, you deactivated your Facebook profile several months prior. The establishment does not accept cash payments. Consequently, no hot chocolate for you.
A week later, during a midday meal with a friend, she informs you that all your mutual acquaintances convened at a club the preceding weekend. You inquire as to why you weren’t extended an invitation. She claims she overlooked informing you. Your lack of engagement with WhatsApp, a service owned by Facebook, means you missed the communication where the plans were coordinated.
When the bill arrives, you and your companion decide to divide the cost. She remits her portion using Facebook on her mobile device. As you prepare to transfer your share, you encounter difficulty. Having discontinued your use of Facebook, you cannot utilize its integrated “Bill Splitter” function. This necessitates a trip to an ATM to retrieve cash.
You proceed to the train station to board the commuter rail destined for your parents’ residence. Passengers are seamlessly entering the train, merely swiping a digital ticket acquired through Facebook. You find yourself in a lengthy queue to purchase a ticket from the sole remaining ticket agent, nearly missing your train.
Should the notion that an application could achieve such pervasive integration and become indispensable to daily existence seem implausible, reconsider. This reality already exists in China.
WeChat, known domestically as Weixin, has been characterized by The New York Times, in a video examining the imitation of Chinese applications by Western corporations, as a “Swiss Army knife.”
Over a period of six weeks in China last spring, I personally witnessed the profound essentiality of WeChat to contemporary Chinese life.
Each of the hypothetical situations I’ve just recounted actually transpired during my time in China.
China’s ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Application Permeates All Aspects of Life
(Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider)
As articulated by a resident of China, WeChat is universally adopted. It transcends being merely an application or a service; it embodies modern existence. With well over one billion users, this platform has consistently held the position of China’s paramount application for an extended duration.
While WeChat initially functions as the primary communication platform for its parent company, Tencent, its functionalities extend far beyond messaging, encompassing social networking, e-commerce, ride-hailing, bicycle rentals, and travel reservations.
Establishing contact with individuals in China, whether for professional or personal engagements, bypasses traditional email or phone calls; communication is conducted via WeChat messages.
Upon commencing my reporting assignments in China, I encountered considerable difficulty locating email addresses. Even when successful, responses were infrequent. The subsequent installation of WeChat granted me immediate access to every potential source I required.
This transition was akin to regaining sight after a week of blindness.
The remarkable aspect is the widespread utilization of WeChat’s diverse functionalities, extending beyond the younger, tech-proficient demographic.
My partner’s grandmother, a native Chinese speaker, possesses no internet proficiency, yet she expertly navigates WeChat on her mobile device.
In business meetings within China, instead of exchanging phone numbers or business cards, participants engage in a QR code scan to share their WeChat identifiers.
As one wanders through urban areas, itinerant musicians and individuals seeking alms do not solicit monetary contributions or cash; rather, they display signage featuring their WeChat Pay QR code.
I distinctly recall witnessing this phenomenon firsthand. While standing before the ancient city walls of Xi’an, a metropolis of thirteen million in northwest China, I encountered a gathering of Chinese students enjoying a musical performance by several artists on a Saturday evening.
The musicians lacked an open guitar case for receiving tips. However, at intervals between songs, one of their companions exhibited two cards imprinted with QR codes – one for Alipay, WeChat Pay’s principal competitor, and the other for WeChat Pay.
Numerous attendees raised their respective smartphones, swiftly scanned the QR codes, and within moments, transferred modest sums to the performers.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Ambition Also Entails Enhanced User Data Acquisition
This level of omnipresence appears to be what Mark Zuckerberg was alluding to in his recent blog post concerning Facebook’s future trajectory.
As documented by BI’s Shona Ghosh, Zuckerberg “seems to envision a future where individuals interact with a Facebook-owned service for every facet of their daily lives, mirroring the experience of WeChat in China.”
It is imperative to understand that, notwithstanding Zuckerberg’s recent pronouncements on safeguarding user privacy, this strategic business model is primarily driven by the objective of obtaining more intrusive user data, not less.
The most significant innovation within the Chinese technology sector is the widespread adoption of ecosystem-centric technology platforms, exemplified by WeChat and Alibaba.
Frequently likened to China’s Amazon, Alibaba originated as an e-commerce platform but has since diversified into travel bookings, cinema ticketing, social networking, live streaming, culinary delivery, and entertainment services.
Alipay’s data repositories and service offerings are deeply integrated within its primary application, linking user accounts to a money market fund, loan facilities, and a credit evaluation enterprise.
The consumer data harvested from these services is instrumental in constructing comprehensive user profiles. Corporations can subsequently monetize these profiles for targeted marketing endeavors directly within their applications, a prospect that would pique the interest of even Facebook and Google.
One executive from the Chinese tech industry shared an anecdote, explaining how the consumer data they collected was so precisely targeted and detailed that it aided brands in determining future product development and sales strategies, as well as identifying optimal consumer segments, rather than merely informing current advertising campaigns.
Such granular data represents the long-term strategic advantage that appears to align with Facebook’s objectives.
In China, a significant portion of the populace accepts the pervasiveness of applications like WeChat due to a perceived equilibrium between convenience and privacy. The rapid evolution of Chinese internet services has been facilitated by extensive access to user data generated through mobile payments, food delivery, ride-sharing, messaging, and an array of other services.
This integration has demonstrably enhanced the ease of daily life. Considering the limited historical emphasis on privacy within Chinese cultural norms, many individuals have exhibited indifference towards WeChat’s ubiquitous presence.
The trajectory of the American technology industry in emulating this model will likely hinge on whether the populace opts for a comparable trade-off.
Harrison Jacobs serves as Business Insider’s international correspondent, focusing on global dynamics, international technology sectors, and travel.
This article was initially published by Business Insider.
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