WeChat, the Swiss Army knife of apps, defies imitation. Its ecosystem seamlessly integrates messaging, payments, social networking, and more. No app has replicated WeChat’s multifaceted success. Digital strategy consultant Jeffrey Towson explains why the “everything app” model remains elusive.
What Lies Ahead: As WeChat’s dominance endures, the tech world anticipates the next wave of super apps. What innovations will shape the future?
In this week’s podcast, we focus on the phenomenon of WeChat, an app that has embedded itself into daily life as the ‘everything app’. I provide a strategic breakdown of how WeChat managed to achieve this status. Tune in to understand the graphics, slides, and insights shared on this platform, also available on iTunes and Google Podcasts
ChatGPT has added a mobile app and plugins. That gives it the same 3 things WeChat had on smartphones: A 10x product that everyone uses A position at the front of the cue for users on their phones An innovation platform (plugins are like mini programs). ——Transcription Below
In Tech Strategy Podcast 161, Prof Jeff discusses the international success of TikTok and Shein, contrasting it with the less global impact of WeChat and Kuaishou. He identifies three key factors: having a 10x product and user experience, offering a service that’s standardizable across borders, and the ability to build on or develop competitive advantages rapidly.
A few years ago, I went to the WeChat Open Talk meeting in Guangzhou and founder Allen Zhang (see photo) gave a talk that really stuck with me. He talked about about the powerful role of information flows in society and life. And how the digitization of these information flows has created a situation where […]
In 2019, Mark Zuckerberg released a memo on “privacy-focused messaging and social networking” – and charted a new direction for Facebook. In theory, the memo had some big implications. It looked like the first move in a strategy to turn Facebook into a much larger and even more powerful company. From very big to ridiculously […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses Elon Musk’s attempt to purchase Twitter and his plans for the company. He talks about Musk’s vision for Twitter as a platform for free speech and how he plans to make it more open and transparent. He also discusses the challenges that Musk faces in his attempt to transform Twitter, such as the company’s culture and its financial situation.
There is a lot to like about Alibaba (from a strategy and competition perspective). Massive, almost unprecedented, competitive strength. It’s a complementary platform and a digital-physical hybrid. That puts it at the top of my competitive strength pyramid. It is riding the mother of all secular trends – the rising wealth of Chinese families. And […]
In this podcast, Jeffrey Towson discusses the potential value of WeChat Mini Programs, which are small, standalone applications that run within WeChat. He argues that Mini Programs could revolutionize the way people use WeChat, and could make the platform even more powerful for businesses and consumers.
This week was the annual WeChat Open Class conference in Guangzhou. And one of the perks of being an influencer-type is I get invited to most of these. I find them to be really helpful for getting a good read on what management is focused on. On what they think the strategic imperatives are. On […]