How far can Luo Yonghao’s “Bullet Messenger” fly?

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one

The Luo family crosstalk performance at the Cadillac Center on August 20 was much better than the one at the Bird's Nest on May 15.

On May 15th, I sat in the Bird's Nest wearing a raincoat and was stunned for five minutes after watching TNT come out. When I reacted, there was only one thing in my mind - Lao Luo was too arrogant. After just a few days of peace and stability, he started to mess around again.

Of course, this time TNT is not so stubborn, connecting other monitors can provide desktop-level operation experience. The 999 yuan "Zhuangb156" touch screen recommended by Lao Luo on Taobao makes you feel that TNT seems to be quite affordable.

Of course, Lao Luo is still a little bit arrogant this time. Making an operating system is too complicated, so let's not talk about it for now.

I would rather regard the infinite screen solution as "shaking your head to brush your teeth". When chatting with a friend, I said that it was probably because the VR subsidiary of Hammer Technology went bankrupt, and finally the UI creativity inside was brought to the mobile phone.

However, Bullet Messenger really surprised me. There was even talk in my circle of friends that Bullet Messenger would overthrow WeChat.

Frankly speaking, I don’t think Bullet Messenger can subvert WeChat. But I think Bullet Messenger has the potential to carve out a piece of the pie for social networking among acquaintances.

two

When WeChat was first launched in 2011, a few friends interacted with each other without any scruples on WeChat. They just posted on Moments about eating, drinking, having fun, and whatever they thought. WeChat at that time was full of warmth and affection, without the burdens of today.

I have always had a logic that every adult needs a "QQ space" - the adult world is no longer easy, they need a corner to complain and record their trivial lives bit by bit. Only a few friends can see it, so you won't be embarrassed even if you lose your composure.

Many years ago, WeChat served as the "QQ space" for adults. But as WeChat became more and more popular, all this no longer exists.

Nowadays, when you post to Moments, you may have to think about whether to block your boss or colleagues. When you send a message, you have to think it over in a Word document before sending it to a client. Every picture you post to Moments has been modified through layers of filters, and the self you show is only the self you want others to know. Some people even simply choose to "only view the last three days."

I also have another point of view, Weibo is becoming "QQ space for adults". After graduating and starting work, adults lock up their space and forget about school. All the little thoughts on QQ space in the past are moved to Weibo - they complain about the unpleasant things in work and relationships on Weibo, and set the people they like as special attention.

A friend even told me about his interactions with his ex-girlfriend on Weibo, unfollowing, re-following, and reading the Weibo posts they shared together. The inner drama was almost identical to the messages he left on QQ space and the erasing of access records.

The reason why Weibo has become the "QQ space for adults" is precisely that people always feel that there are no colleagues or customers here. The huge flow of information will drown personal emotions in information and jokes. People who care about you will naturally come to see you, and people who don't care about you just can't see your little emotions.

When you quietly wipe your tears in the corner of Weibo, passers-by can still see you, but they won't say much or disturb you, so you can enjoy your solitude freely. But Weibo is still a public place, it's a square.

After all, people still need a private space where they can lock themselves in and only let in those who are willing to come in - just like QQ users ran into WeChat many years ago.

three

Bullet Messenger has the potential to become a private domain. It is lightweight, simple and easy to use, and it vaguely reminds me of WeChat from six or seven years ago.

The logic of sending voice + text is absolutely not seen on WeChat. In fact, in daily work and business communication, you are unlikely to send voice messages to others. This is a very impolite, inaccurate and inefficient behavior.

But on Bullet Messenger, intimacy makes typos caused by voice recognition errors seem more heartwarming. When you find a text error, you sometimes even listen to the other person's voice - this is definitely the best way to bring friends closer.

Unfortunately, I still see too many compromises in Bullet Messenger.

For example, information flow. Real acquaintance social networking will not give such a high priority to information flow. I can only understand that Smartisan Technology added information flow here to earn installation fees from Toutiao and Tencent News.

The lack of a Moments feature is also a major drawback. In a private space where a few friends gather, Moments is the best tool to show real life and mood. I think Mr. Luo will add this feature later.

Bullet Messenger has a good foundation and the ability to carve out a piece of the social pie. What happens next depends on Smartisan Technology's own luck.

Four

Some people say that Luo Yonghao should have been a product manager at WeChat. When I heard this view, I agreed with it at first, but then I changed my mind and felt that I was overthinking it.

This view is merely an emotional expression of the public's dissatisfaction with WeChat and Zhang Xiaolong.

Luo Yonghao, holding a hammer, can smash a refrigerator, or he can smash the rut of WeChat - but if you think that Luo Yonghao can make WeChat sexier by being its product manager, that may be some kind of idealized wishful thinking.

WeChat's reform has entered a deep water zone, and internal and external interests mean that any small change will affect the entire system. Interest groups, partners, and user opinions are mixed together, forcing Zhang Xiaolong to restrain himself.

Zhang Xiaolong certainly wants to reform, but it is really difficult for him to do so - WeChat is no longer his WeChat.

It takes half a year to revise the information flow of a public account, and half a year later there are rumors that it will return to the previous subscription model. This shows how difficult reform is.

This also reminds me of a detail that someone mentioned in WeChat Moments when Sohu's homepage was redesigned two years ago - Sohu wanted to redesign a few years ago, but each editor had his own piece of land in each tofu-sized area. It's not that they didn't want to change, but that they couldn't.

It can even be said that Luo Yonghao, sitting in Zhang Xiaolong's position today, would not be able to do much after finishing the first three tasks of a new official.

It is easy to turn a small idea into a small product, and it is not difficult to turn a small product into a large platform. What is really difficult is how to find the best balance in the difficult quagmire of interests after becoming a platform.

Luo Yonghao's Bullet Messenger is like an instant messaging product that was started from scratch. Naturally, he could do so many dazzling functions without any scruples, which made some people sigh, "Bullet Messenger is going to subvert WeChat."

I just don’t know whether Mr. Luo can find a new social path amid internal interests and external pressures.