WeChat has released a major new feature: WeChat Circle Experience

WeChat is no longer just an IM. Since WeChat 4.X, WeChat has had strong social attributes. The addition of "Friends Circle" has enabled Tencent to break through the encirclement of Sina Weibo in one fell swoop. Tencent has since had its own flagship social product.

However, Tencent does not seem to be satisfied with this. The Moments can only view the corresponding dynamics of friends. In other words, this is a product of "acquaintance social networking".

In comparison, SNS communities such as Weibo, Tieba, and Douban groups are not limited to "acquaintances" and have a wider audience and applicable fields.

Now, Tencent is using WeChat to strike again! WeChat has launched the "Circles" feature, which allows users to join different "circles" and communicate with netizens from all over the world.

Different WeChat circles have different themes, which sounds very similar to Tieba or Douban groups. So what is the experience of WeChat circles like? Let's take a look.

How to use WeChat Circles?

WeChat Circles are now available on WeChat. If you are using a newer version of WeChat, just turn on "Search" and you can see the entrance to the circle in the search interface.

If you don’t see it, just search for “circle” directly to find the services or mini-programs of WeChat circle, and click to enter the circle function.

How to join a circle?

WeChat circles exist in the form of mini-programs. Recently, it seems that many new function entrances launched on WeChat are mini-programs when you click on them. Perhaps this is the general trend of WeChat functions and even Tencent products.

When you open a WeChat circle for the first time, circles with different themes will be recommended to you, such as circles based on interests and hobbies, circles based on region, and so on.

For example, if you are in Guangzhou and are interested in photography, you can find the "Casual Photos of Guangzhou" circle under the "Guangzhou" category and browse the content there.

In terms of browsing, WeChat circles currently do not have any thresholds. Any user who has not joined the circle can browse the content in the circle, unlike some communities that restrict browsing by unregistered users.

Currently, there are as many as eight or nine thousand WeChat circles. If you want to find more circles, you need to slide to the bottom of the interface and find the "Explore All Categories" button. You can search for circles directly, or find the circles you are interested in based on more detailed categories.

After finding the circle you are interested in, you can join it directly. The author has tried several circles and there are no restrictions on joining the circles.

Is it fun to swipe the circle?

After joining a circle, you can see the update reminders of the circle on the circle's homepage.

However, if you want to see what updates are in the circle, you still have to enter the circle to view it.

After joining a circle, you can be the first to see any updates in the circle.

Browsing content in a certain circle is similar to the experience of browsing forums, post bars, and Weibo.

In a circle, there are often several different topics built in. You can browse the content under a certain topic, or you can like certain content (here called "like").

If it were just like this, it wouldn't be fun to browse the circle. Now the most enjoyable way to browse posts is to use short videos like on Tik Tok, where you can switch between short videos by swiping up and down.

WeChat Circles has also learned this trick. Various short videos can be viewed in the "Circle View" section, but the current content richness is naturally not as good as that of Tik Tok.

What if you post content in the circle?

There is a special thing about posting content in WeChat circles, that is, you don’t necessarily need to specify a specific circle to post the content to.

We know that to post content on Tieba or Douban groups, we need to post the post to a certain Tieba or group, but this is not the case with WeChat circles.

You can publish content to a certain circle, or you can submit content to the "Submission Space" without specifying a circle, and the content will be pushed to the appropriate circle.

In addition, there are currently no restrictions on sending content within the circle. When sending content, you can upload pictures, type text, and classify the content into topics within the circle.

You can earn points by sending content in WeChat circles. These points are very useful and will be mentioned below.

Open a circle

The charm of Tieba and Douban groups lies in the fact that users can build their own communities, and WeChat circles have also learned this.

In the WeChat circle, click to enter the personal center and you can see the option to create a circle.

There is a threshold for creating a circle in WeChat circles. You need to upgrade to a one-star author to be eligible to create a circle.

A one-star author needs 10 points, and if the content he or she contributes is included as a work, he or she can get 1 point, and a maximum of 5 points can be obtained per day.

By posting in the same circle every month, you can get up to 50 points.

If you keep posting content in the same circle, there will be a cap on your points. In addition, with the "submission space" setting mentioned above, WeChat circles obviously encourage you to submit to different circles.

Summarize

In general, WeChat Circle is still in its infancy and the content is still not very rich, but the mechanism is still unique.

If you are tired of Weibo, Tieba, and Douban groups, you can also try WeChat circles, which may bring you a different social experience.