Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication Section 11. Communication System The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication 1

Outline Introduction Formats Usage Challenges Road ahead 2 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Introduction A widely circulated duanzi on WeChat users. Wifi Password ? ⁻WeChat users marched in the National Day Parade in Tian’anmen Square, looking glassy-eyed and half-dead. Wearing pajamas and shouldering pillows, they are muttering inspirational classics and duanzi to themselves. Then, President Xi Jinpin said, “Hello comrades! Did you just wake up?” The WeChat group answered loudly, “Hello, Mr. President! What is the Wi-Fi password of Tiananmen Square?” 3 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Introduction Closed circle communication: anyone in the circle can function as a sender as well as a receiver One cannot join a circle unless the circle wants to accept her 4 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Formats Closed circles are critical components of Chinese society. Banned Facebook and its Chinese copycat Renren Network. WeChat ̶a mobile text, voice, and video messaging communication service developed by Tencent ̶launched in 2011 ̶WhatsApp 5 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Formats Milestones of WeChat ⁻hit the 300 million user mark in January 2013; ⁻it had 100 million registered international users in August 2013; ⁻In mid-2013, daily messages sent surpassed 1 billion. Because of the widespread adoption of smart phone during in China. E.g., 66% of the Chinese use smartphones 6 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication Lionel Messi was using the WeChat.

Formats WeChat has drastically transformed the way people communicate: ⁻communication can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; ⁻real life interaction can be emulated via real-time multimedia; ⁻privacy; ⁻through public platform, enterprises, organizations, media or individuals can send mass texts to subscribed users. 7 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Usage As a bidirectional communication tool, WeChat users spend the majority of their time in Groups and Moments. Groups: ⁻normally are set up by one person, and new people can be added to the Group only by existing members; ⁻any member can post to the Group, via text, voice or video; ⁻the amount of information can be overwhelming as the size of a Group increases and/or one joins more Groups. 8 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Usage Moments: ⁻slightly different and more similar to posts on Facebook; ⁻Diverse contents: personal updates, reflections, useful information, and entertaining pieces (e.g., duanzi). ⁻WeChat will only show your comments to your WeChat connections. 9 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Usage Monetize connected circles: Red Envelope : ⁻during the Chinese New Year season, about 4.82 million used the Red Envelope app; ⁻Tencent has now effectively converted WeChat into a popular mobile payment method. 10 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Challenges Addiction ⁻indulging in the virtual world. e.g., 80% of white collars ⁻longer psychological distance e.g., family conflicts Rumor ⁻people tend to trust the information much more because they know their contacts personally. 11 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Challenges Commercialization ⁻one crosses an important line when he tries to leverage friendships for money. ⁻the bottom line ? Liability/ lawsuits ⁻a risk of defamation and sexual banter. 12 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication

Road ahead The future of closed circle communication, especially WeChat, depends on how some of the challenges listed above are addressed. We do not expect the role of closed circle communication to change. In a few years, a new type of closed circle communication tool emerges that take China by storm. 13 The Chinese Way, Ding and Xu, 2014 Chapter 52. Closed Circle Communication