Perhaps the essence of Momo is not stranger social networking?

The essence of Momo is instant social interaction

Momo has undergone another major revision.

More than two years ago, I put forward a statement that "the essence of social media is to build media." In this article I mentioned:

Another thing to pay attention to when making social products is the "instantaneity of the media."

There are two types of needs when people use social products. One is the need for Momo and Shake, which is to solve the immediate boredom at the moment. I don’t care who is replying to my post, but I hope to get immediate feedback on what I send out.

Another type is the conversion and cultivation of long-term social relationships, such as products like Douban , Zhihu, and Linkedin. The messages I send can receive replies after a few days or even longer.

Now let’s look back. Momo got started by leveraging the LBS attribute, which refers to the attribute of people nearby. Users will subconsciously equate "a person is near me" with "I can contact him/her more easily and immediately".

So, I think what Momo really solves may never be the problem of stranger social interaction, but instant social interaction .

So the question is, can Momo’s original model really solve this problem best? It is definitely not possible. Most men’s messages go unanswered and most women are excessively harassed.

Over time, people will not have too high expectations for LBS products, nor will they open Momo when they need instant social interaction. As a result, there is a decline in monthly active users in 2015 as shown in the above figure.

Therefore, Momo’s transformation is necessary.

If we draw an axis for the entire social product line, the leftmost side is asynchronous and the rightmost side is instant.

Asynchrony works because users are more interested in "things" rather than "people" and can tolerate waiting time.

For stranger social networking like Momo, "getting to know people" is much more important than "chatting about things". Therefore, how to move closer to instant communication has become the key for Momo to improve its social efficiency.

(Between asynchronous and instant, there is a "pseudo-asynchronous" mode, namely the photo matching mode of Tinder and Tantan . Among the photos seen by men, there is a certain probability that they are girls who are interested in him. If both people like each other, they will be matched immediately. Although the subsequent communication is still asynchronous, the pleasure of successful matching will still stimulate users to stay on the platform.)

Therefore, Momo later launched the live broadcast model, which is undoubtedly the most immediate product form. If the Tinder model still requires boys to knock on the door, then live streaming has become "the door is open for everyone to watch." Live streaming solves the problem of the scarcity of female users on social platforms by using a one-to-many approach.

The advantage of Momo's live streaming is that its users have a strong desire to make friends, rather than just passing the time. This purposefulness enables Momo to handle the distribution of long-tail live streaming content better than other platforms. Compared with the show model, users are more sensitive to the host’s geographical location rather than his fame.

However, compared with LBS and Tantan-type social networking in the past, live streaming is difficult to establish one-to-one social relationships. It allows users to meet new people, but the quality is far lower than in the past.

Therefore, Momo continued to focus on video social networking in Q2 this year, packaging one-to-one (Monkey, Tiki), many-to-many (Houseparty) and the existing one-to-many (live broadcast), and adding them all to its products.

No matter what you want to do, as long as you come in, I have product functions that can satisfy you immediately. And the key point here is the word " immediately ".

This is what Momo is doing: solving instant social needs rather than socializing with strangers. So as the title of the article says, maybe everyone’s positioning of Momo was wrong from the beginning. Socializing with strangers is superficial, and the need for instant socializing is the essence.

Starting from the "synchronous-asynchronous" model, we can continue to analyze the social markets in China and the United States.

In the above picture, we divided the four quadrants into synchronous-asynchronous-strangers-acquaintances, and listed the top 50 social apps in the United States.

• Asynchronous + acquaintances: the most crowded market segment.
• Asynchronous + strangers: can be roughly divided into three categories: one is interest community applications represented by Pinterest and Tumblr; one is marriage and dating applications represented by POF and Match.com; the last one is list expansion applications represented by Flamingo and Getfriends. Users enter their Snapchat , Instagram, or Kik account, add a brief introduction and tags, and the system will display other strangers' information and social network accounts based on the LBS location and tags.
• Synchronous + acquaintances: Houseparty is the originator of many-to-many video social networking, and in fact, Houseparty focuses on building second-degree connections, which can also be said to span acquaintances and strangers. The other two products, Airtime and ooVoo, supplement the scenarios based on it.
• Synchronous + Strangers: Monkey is the originator of random online social networking, and Melon is its tribute. After entering the product, fill in the information and start matching a 1-on-1 60-second video call. Discord mainly promotes real-time game voice and anchor fan groups, and currently has a large exposure on Twitch.

Following the same logic, we made a Chinese version.

• Asynchronous + strangers: Unlike the United States, which focuses on acquaintances, asynchronous + strangers is actually the most crowded market in China. Apart from dating and marriage platforms like Tantan and Zhenai , most are communities based on interests and content, covering games, writing, literature and entertainment. The expansion apps that are very popular in the United States are ranked very low in China.
• Asynchronous + acquaintances: Big Brother’s market, no need to say more. However, there are no major video applications.
• Synchronous + acquaintance: It can barely be considered a small affection . The Houseparty- imitating Kaipa is currently ranked 107th. Why does social interaction among acquaintances in China tend to be asynchronous rather than synchronous? My understanding is that video social networking is not yet mature, and latecomers are still in the stage of polishing products and educating users. In the United States, Snapchat pioneered the use of cameras to make friends, laying the foundation for the explosion of video social networking in the United States. However, in China, products that compete with Snapchat are still on the path of de- tooling and can hardly be called a strong social platform. Momo’s new version this time has also achieved the purpose of educating the market to a certain extent.
• Synchronicity + Stranger: This is another market that is very different from the United States. Among the eight products, six are based on games and use real-time voice and video to make friends. Games create scenarios and media for multiplayer voice and video social interactions. (Monkey's Tiki ranks 67th)

On the whole, at this stage, the opportunities in the overall social market should mainly focus on synchronization + strangers.

Under this category:

• 1 V 1 is the most difficult to do. Girls are a scarce resource in this world. 1 V 1 is undoubtedly a waste of scarce resources. Compared with girls, boys who can chat are an even scarcer resource. Therefore, the retention rate of 1 V 1 awkward chat will undoubtedly be very low.
• 1 V is the most proven one, but currently all live broadcast platforms are more inclined to the show mode, and it is difficult to achieve real social interaction.

Therefore, the area with the most room for imagination is the video social field with multiple Vs. Can apps like Houseparty and KaiPa solve the problems of matching efficiency and chat scenarios? Can games like Wanba and Werewolf really continue to have social attributes?

Let's wait and see. (If you see any good related targets, welcome to chat)

2. The inspiration of the people who built America to current content entrepreneurs

I watched a documentary last week called "Who Built America?", which tells the stories of how some of America's earliest capitalist tycoons made their fortunes. Unexpectedly, while watching the documentary, it made me think of many real-life issues.

This documentary begins by saying that Vanderbilt was a shipping tycoon. He keenly discovered the rising trend of railroads, so he dared to gradually transfer all his assets to railroads and eventually became the railroad king of the United States.

(Combined with the following people, this documentary actually talks about one thing, which is to seize opportunities keenly at turning points and then go all in.)

The railroad tycoons made a lot of money in the early days by monopolizing the market, but soon this market began to become a red ocean. At the peak, there were 300 railroad companies in the United States.

This actually corresponds to the current situation, which is too many channels and red ocean competition.

Vanderbilt saw the same problem, and his solution was to find cargo that would keep his trains permanently full. For him at that time, this cargo was kerosene. (At that time, every household needed kerosene lamps)

So, he went to find a company to support, and the founder of this company was called Rockefeller.

This actually corresponds to the present situation, where channels are looking for high-quality content.

Later, Rockefeller's business grew bigger and bigger due to the support of channels and he completely monopolized the oil market. He then began to suppress the channels and built his own oil pipelines, eventually becoming the largest monopoly company in American history, Standard Oil Company. (This shows the importance of platform-generated IP)

When I saw this, I thought that we have clearly passed the era of starting a business with large platforms and large channels. Now, whether investing in consumer products or IP, it is actually all about content.

So, what kind of content could eventually become the master, like Standard Oil, starting with the help of channels and eventually surpassing the channels?

The Standard Oil Company founded by Rockefeller achieved its success by monopolizing products with strong demand. This was feasible under the specific historical conditions at the time, but is almost impossible now.

So what are some similar examples in modern business society? Looking at it from a long-term perspective, Disney’s acquisition of ABC Television Company after it started is actually an example; looking at it from a short-term perspective, Luoji Siwei started out as a public account and then created Dedao, and then became a successful channel itself is also an example.

Therefore, establishing a strong bond with users and shaping IP is undoubtedly the best possibility.

There are two types of IP: story-based and image-based. A lot of people pay attention to story-based series such as the Marvel series or Grave Robbers' Chronicles, but fewer people pay attention to image-based series such as Uncle Tongdao or Building 12. Will a Chinese Hello Kitty appear in this field?

Also wait and see.

3. How to become the best VC?

What makes a good VC?

I think the picture above is the simplest and most essential answer.

• Talent + Luck – Capital = Waste
• Talent + Capital – Luck = Not as good as it could be
• Luck + Capital – Talent = Shit Luck
• Talent + Luck + Capital = The Best Investor

VC’s mid-life crisis recruiting techniques

This joke makes people feel helpless, funny and very real.

Most successful VCs are going through a mid-life crisis.

"We're old, let's hire some young socialites to socialize with the coolest young people. What if they find the next Snapchat?"

5. Two clues behind The Rap of China

The charm of the show "The Rap of China" lies in the fact that each hip-hop segment can be as short as one minute, and each contestant and the content of their performance are very real and easier to empathize with.

In this era of efficiency, whoever can use the least time, create the highest information density, and thus bring the greatest psychological benefits, will win users.

This leads to what I want to talk about, the two clues behind The Rap of China.

I think all successful things have two clues:

• One is the bright line , which is like a continuous pulse wave that impacts the user;
• One is the hidden line , which is to provide long-term guidance to users like a trickle of water.

In the show The Rap of China, the main plot is the rap segments that constantly give people a high-density impact, while the hidden plot is the progress of the contestants' advancement.

If there are only visible lines, users will become bored due to the high density and the same frequency of stimulation. If there are only dark lines, users will become bored due to insufficient stimulation. Both are tired, but different.

This dual-thread model can actually be seen everywhere. It is very common in novels and American TV series. Often in a season of an American TV series, there will be dramatic conflicts in every episode, but after a season you will find that the main plot may progress very slowly.

In fact, this kind of double clues also exist in Honor of Kings , and Honor of Kings even superimposes the double clues.

Every time you push a tower, it is a pulse of stimulation, as is every time you play a game, and the hidden thread is ranking and upgrading.

Therefore, all products must strive to pursue high-density and high-frequency stimulation for users, as well as long-term hidden attraction to users.

The combination of these two makes a successful product.