Am sure Linkers find your experiences of life in China fascinating Scott. Please keep us informed of additional appropriate impressions when you have time..
Cheers, Scott .. Stephen ---- On Tue, 01 Nov 2016 15:43:37 +1100 Scott Howard<[email protected]> wrote ---- > Whilst it's certainly clear that WeChat is the dominant chat program in > China (similar to Line in Japan/Singapore, and WhatsApp in much of the rest > of the world), from what I've seen the non-chat features seem to be little > more than marketing. > > For example, yesterday I bought a coffee at Starbucks in Bejing. On the > receipt is a QR code, with instructions (in both Chinese and English) that > if I want an invoice I should scan that QR code in WeChat (A Chinese > invoice is similar to an Australian tax invoice, except it needs to include > the details of the purchaser, so they are not provided by default in most > cases). > > > Sure enough, if I open WeChat and tell it to scan that barcode then I am > prompted for details like my name/company name and email address in order to > obtain an invoice - all from within WeChat! > > > However if I instead scan the QR code in another application, exactly the > same thing happens - only this time using the devices default web browser. > The WeChat app is seemingly doing nothing more than providing a barcode > scanner and a web browser, but by specifying WeChat on the receipt it gives > the impression that this is some specific WeChat integration. I suspect the > menu ordering mentioned below is exactly the same setup. > > > If there is an application that is revolutionary, it's the mobile payment > systems like AliPay. Open the app, and either display a barcode that the > merchant then scans, or scan a barcode belonging to the merchant with your > phone, and your purchase is paid for. Within seconds the details of the > transaction will be shown on your phone. > > > In one particular shop I was in a few days ago, the 4 people in line before > me all paid with Alipay. > > > Scott > > > > > > > > > On Fri, Oct 28, 2016 at 6:57 PM, Stephen Loosley <[email protected]> > wrote: > Chinese tech companies that are changing the world > > October 28, 2016 > http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/chinese-tech-companies-that-are-changing-the-world/news-story/24a6929c4a8d23d7c4c52612a009ba5d > > > IF YOU have travelled to China in the last six months, you would know > something was up. > > But it’s something you wouldn’t believe was happening if you didn’t see it > with your own eyes. > > Once considered a backwater of innovation, technology has become so > integrated into Chinese people’s lives that some restaurants no longer offer > physical menus. > > During a visit to the country a couple of months ago, Sydney University > Business School lecturer Dr Barney Tan saw the transformation first hand. > > “I asked for a menu, they said ‘sorry we don’t have a menu anymore’,” he > told news.com.au. > > Instead the group was asked to use their mobile phones to scan a QR code. > > Using the app WeChat, they could look at the menu, order collaboratively > and once satisfied with their order, they could send it to the kitchen. > > “It’s a simple innovation enabling businesses to use e-services,” Dr Tan > said, and it has the ability to change the western world too. > > WeChat is owned by Tencent ... one of the group of three mega companies > referred to as BAT in China ... Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent. > > “They are the e-commerce giants of China,” Dr Tan said, “and they are the > ones driving innovation”. > > Dr Tan said they do this mainly through providing platforms for business to > innovate using services they provide, and have enjoyed huge success. > > In contrast to western countries, where different products such as > Facebook, Skype, Uber, Amazon, Instagram, Yelp, Paypal, Expedia, Spotify and > Tinder are separate services, in China they are rolled into one super app. > > Chinese people can order food, post photos, make a doctor’s appointment, > access investment services, pay bills, buy cinema tickets, train tickets and > interact with their friends and family using WeChat. > > One Bloomberg reporter said refusing to download WeChat in China was seen > as “socially weird, like refusing to wear shoes”. > > Dr Tan said WeChat, which is owned by Tencent, started as an imitation of > WhatsApp, with the added feature of voice messages, but it had grown into > much more. > > “It’s become an integrated thing that’s just massive, most importantly it > offers a digital wallet service,” Dr Tan said. > > “Friends tell me when they go out they don’t need to bring a wallet > anymore,” he said. > > The app is just one way that e-commerce is transforming China, leading > western countries to look to it for inspiration. > > “If you want to know what’s possible with e-commerce, to find the answer > you have to look at China,” Dr Tan said. > > “At least in e-commerce they are already leading the way. Anyone who has > been to China in the past couple of months, it’s apparent to see. > > “The extent to which e-commerce has been integrated into the lives of > regular people is just amazing and you cannot imagine it happening in the > west. We are so far behind, we are playing catch-up.” > > > FROM COPYCAT TO INNOVATOR > > Up until recently, China has been known as a ‘copycat’ nation which has > imitated the innovations of other countries. > > But the country is amping up its start-up culture and is looking to people > like Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, as an example of the rewards of > innovation. > > There are many reasons why China has emerged as a tech player but many of > them come back down to what western countries would see as limitations. > > One reason why WeChat became so big was because text messages were > expensive to send in China and many people didn’t have computers at home so > most people accessed the internet via their mobiles. This provided a > powerful incentive for the development of mobile technology and mobile > e-banking. > > The lack of maps in China, where many places don’t have a street address, > is another area where technology has filled a gap, with advanced > point-to-point geolocation and GPS-enabled devices. > > Online shopping giant Alibaba benefited from the lack of retail stores in > China. > > “There’s not much of an established physical retail infrastructure, so > people are going directly to a purely online world,” Doug Gurr told McKinsey. > > “They don’t go to a physical store at all — they simply look online and > then purchase. If you talk to a group of Chinese women between the ages of > 20 and 25 and ask them where they shop, they’ll just look at you like you’re > a bit stupid.” > > China doesn’t have as many shops as other western countries. > > Dr Tan said Alibaba was an innovator to watch in the future. The company > traditionally connected international buyers with Chinese suppliers but was > now looking to expand its services overseas, including in Australia, to > allow international suppliers to access the rising middle class consumers in > China. > > “They are trying to rival Amazon in that,” Dr Tan said. “It’s about > bringing international buyers and sellers together.” > > Like Tencent, integration is a key factor of Alibaba’s success. > > For example, on Alibaba’s Taobao shopping app, which offers online shopping > similar to eBay and Amazon, people can also buy groceries and other goods. > But it also acts as a social media platform where buyers can share their > recommendations of the products. > > In order to understand how integral it has become in people’s lives, Maggie > Zhou, Alibaba Australia and New Zealand managing director told the recent > Sydney China Business Forum, the average user of the Taobao app launched it > seven times per day, and spent more than 25 minutes per day in the online > shopping app. > > The app has become a place where social interactions happen and is now a > portal for commerce and digital entertainment. > > Live streaming is a new innovation and a recent event where celebrity > Angelababy, known as China’s Taylor Swift, live streamed the new Maybelline > lip gloss was watched by five million users. “10,000 units (were) sold in > only two hours,” Ms Zhou said. > > Alibaba is also branching into other areas, including looking at the > potential for virtual reality to transform the consumer experience. The > company is also looking at ways of integrating its platform with an internet > car, further entrenching it into everyday life and helping to develop > smarter transportation and smarter cities. > > “There’s a battle between Alibaba and WeChat to make the easiest, most > integrated payment system in the world,” Brian Buchwald, CEO of consumer > intelligence firm Bomoda told Digiday. “Alibaba’s advantage is being the > world’s largest marketplace. It was around before WeChat, but it’s a > desktop-first product. WeChat was built with a mobile-first mentality.” > > > THE NEW SILICON VALLEY? > > While many people don’t realise it, China has already begun influencing > products in the west. > > For example, Dr Tan said that taxi hailing apps like GoCatch and Ingogo had > been developed in China first. > > Others have pointed to the development of dating app Momo in China, before > Tinder became popular in the west. WeChat also offered in-app news articles > well before Facebook and integrated the use of QR codes before Snapchat. > > Now Facebook is copying WeChat. WeChat started off copying WhatsApp. > > Like WeChat, Facebook now has a voice messaging function and is also > developing a payments system. > > “Quite frankly, the trope that China copies the US hasn’t been true for > years, and in mobile it’s the opposite: The US often copies China,” Ben > Thompson, the founder of the tech research firm Stratechery told the New > York Times. “For the Facebook Messenger app, for example, the best way to > understand their road map is to look at WeChat.” > > But Dr Tan said it was unclear how much of the technology being developed > in China would make its way to western countries because of concerns over > privacy. > > “By integrating mobile payment they also have data surrounding your > consumption patterns,” he said. “They know where you’ve been, which > restaurants, what food or dishes you like to order,” he said. > > He said it was likely WeChat was selling this data to companies for > analysis. They were other potential downsides of integrating so many > services into one app. > > “I also know IT security experts (in China) who are so paranoid, they don’t > keep any money in the bank anymore,” he said. “Because now if someone knows > your mobile number, they can get access to your bank account because of > integration. > > “So on one hand there’s benefit to ordinary people having things in one > place but there is an issue of data security, privacy and all that.” > > Despite the issues, Dr Tan said some level of integration was inevitable in > western countries and the development of e-commerce in western countries > would be driven by China. > > “The extent of what they are doing is so unbelievable, you have to be there > to believe it.” > > [email protected] > > > _______________________________________________ > Link mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link > > > > > _______________________________________________ Link mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/link
