China, WTF?!

#4 A Day on Chinese Platforms

August 13, 2019 Qumin Season 1 Episode 4
China, WTF?!
#4 A Day on Chinese Platforms
Show Notes

Welcome back to the only podcast to ask: China, WTF?! What’s The Future? 

Arnold Ma, founder of Chinese creative agency Qumin https://qumin.co.uk/, gets to the bottom of what tomorrow may look like, globally, by dissecting China's today. The podcast focuses on Chinese tech disrupters, people and cultures.

For Episode 4 Qumin take a journey through time and replace the magic carpet with a phone. Arnold, Sam and Louisa whizz through 24 hours on both a UK and a Chinese phone and pinpoint differences and similarities. They look at user behaviours and habits, as well as the platforms these manifest on. 

Sam Phillips is Qumin’s Account Director who looks after all the global brands, while Louisa Loehrig takes care of Qumin's marketing.

Topics include:

3:37 The Chinese Dream vs ‘Generation sensible’ 

6:15 Why mobile apps are so powerful in China

9:30 Mornings in the UK vs in China

12:34 ‘Jinri Toutiao’, Bytedance’s hyper-powered news platform

13:19 How WeChat replaced email: The convergence of professional and social spheres

16:03 How AI algorithms and interest-driven content feeds cater to heightened user expectations

19:01 The commute to work: transport, in-transit entertainment and breakfast 

20:42 Omnipresent signal: zero downtime in China

23:41 What the fierce competition between Chinese corporations (e.g. Alibaba vs Tencent) means for consumers

33:01 The biggest difference between Western and Chinese platforms: Social operating systems

34:01 ‘Digital self’: Profiles and online identities in China vs in the West

35:27 The importance of desktop in the UK 

37:21 Work in the West is doable without a phone, but in China: no phone/no WeChat, no business

40:50 The Chinese favour culture

42:07 Red envelopes and social currencies connect life and work on WeChat

45:29 Ordering a takeaway for lunch in China: Cheap, quick, convenient services enabled through manpower

47:01 Saving time and convenience are key with mobile service design in China

48:24 The importance of food in China 

53:01 The death of TV in China and the rise of mobile short form videos

56:50 China’s content marketing is a preview of the future

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You can also watch the show on YouTube: https://youtu.be/avrSGAjOVlw