WeChat has launched a "new WeChat" that focuses on social networking for young people

For some of the "older generation" netizens born in the 1980s and 1990s, you must have heard of Tencent's Friends Network (QQ Alumni). It was the peak of social networking in the early 2000s, but it began to decline after 2010 and has been gradually replaced by social apps. WeChat, Weibo and other apps have become the most common social applications.

Although Tencent's Friends Network was officially announced to be closed in 2017, Tencent did not give up on it. In 2019, it was "resurrected". The resurrected Friends Network has shifted from web social networking to an APP, and its name has been changed from "Friends Network" to "Friends".

Recently, Tencent launched the "Friends" App (currently only available in Android version), focusing on campus + workplace social networking. Users need to verify their school or company information before they can experience the full functionality. After numerous social products that challenged WeChat failed, Tencent once again took action on its own to do social networking. What kind of product will it be? What is the difference between it and WeChat?

Since the iOS beta version is full, I specially downloaded an Android version. I have to give a thumbs up to the icon of this App alone. It uses the same four-leaf clover pattern as the previous Friends Network, which makes it look very familiar.

After opening the App, you can use QQ or WeChat to log in. Since it is still in the testing stage, users need to enter the invitation code after logging in to complete the registration. The invitation code can be Baidu by yourself. After successful registration, the system will add the other party as a friend by default!

After completing the registration by filling in your personal information as prompted, you will have your own invitation code and can invite 50 more friends. Let's take a look at the main interface of this App. Since it is defined as a social application, it should look like a social application. The official account of Friends said that the features of the "Friends" App are mainly reflected in: real-name social networking, smart matching and selected dynamics.

There are five major functions at the bottom of the App homepage: Meet, Circle, Dynamic Release, Chat, and Me. It is a standard social application interface.

Among them, "Meet" should be the most distinctive function of this app. Just like the lyrics of "Meet", "Who I meet will have what kind of dialogue", through this function, you can meet strangers online. Click "Match Settings" in the upper right corner, and you can also choose what type of friends you want to meet, such as those who want to fall in love, make friends, make sports plans, go out, etc. After turning off the match button, others will not be able to match you.

It looks fun, but this "encounter" is not something you can just meet whenever you want. Two important conditions need to be met. One is that the personal data must be more than 80% complete, and the other is that it needs to be certified by the school (for those who have not graduated) and the company (for those who have graduated).

Personal information is easy, but corporate certification is not so easy. Not only do you need to find your company, but you also need to submit the corresponding work ID photo, employment certificate, etc. to pass the review. Just choosing a company is difficult for many people. Many people said that they can't find their own company. The editor also couldn't find it after testing it himself. Some netizens said that their company is one of the top 500 Chinese companies, but they still can't find it.

Since it is still in the testing phase, it is normal that there are relatively few companies for companies to choose from. I believe that more companies will be added after the official opening.

As for "circles", as the name suggests, it is similar to WeChat's circle of friends. Unlike WeChat's circle of friends, you can also see the circle of friends of users in the same company and the circle of friends of users in the same city. Click the upper right corner to add "people you may be interested in".

As for "posting status", I won't go into detail. You can just take a picture or record a video, add a text, and tag your friends. The overall layout is similar to Weibo and Instagram. Users can synchronize the status they posted on the platform to Weibo, WeChat Moments, and WeChat friends with one click.

As for "Chat", everyone will understand it better. It means chatting with friends. You can send text and emoticons. Currently, it does not support sending pictures and videos. I don’t know if it will be added later.

"I" is mainly used to modify personal information, including nickname, avatar, work experience, interests and hobbies, manage published content, etc.

In general, the current "Friends" APP is mainly a "real identity + semi-acquaintance" social product that connects the two core scenarios of campus and workplace. In the field of acquaintance social networking, WeChat and QQ have already occupied most of the market, while Tencent is indeed mediocre in semi-acquaintance social networking. This time, the "resurrection" of Friends Network should also be to fill Tencent's gap in this area.

In addition, many friends who bought an iPhone don’t know how to verify whether the phone is new, second-hand or refurbished. You can check it at the Apple Fan Home~ including checking the activation date of the new phone, whether there is a network lock or iD lock, etc.

As for the status of WeChat, it should be unshakable at present. At the beginning of this year, WeChat was besieged by many competitors, including Douyin's Duoshan, Wang Xin's Matou MT, Luo Yonghao's Chatbao, etc., all of which were defeated. As Zhang Xiaolong himself said: "WeChat has been around for eight years. WeChat has no competitors, and there is no need to always give us various competitors. If there is a competitor, it is ourselves." Instead of letting competitors revolutionize it, it is better for WeChat to do it itself and create a new social software.

Since the beginning of this year, campus social networking has once again become a hot direction for the iteration of social products. In October this year, Renren announced its return; JD launched Liouou; Alibaba launched Real Ruwo; Baidu also launched a social product for young people, namely, Listening Earpiece.

This time, can the resurrected "Friends" App become a new Tencent-based super traffic app? Let's wait and see!