Thread by @lillianmli

1) Let’s talk about the product features of Weibo aka Chinese Twitter today.

Its double the size of Twitter in users and did all the things that Twitter didn’t by providing content creators with multiple streams of revenue.

Twitter PMs I’m here if you want to chat. 👌

2) So Weibo has no 240 character limit, you can and people do post pretty long articles with up to 9 pics, as well as short video, live-streaming and polls. It’s much more interactive and multi-media based

3) Accounts’ about me sections are much lengthier. You can also buy a VIP subscription that allows to personalise your page even further. And also follow more accounts. The about me section for this account lists their occupation, star sign and frequency of engagement

4) In terms of size Weibo has 510m MAU to Twitter’s ~330 MAU, so much bigger. So followers sizes are bigger too. That account had 7m followers

5) Weibo’s equivalent of a blue tick is called a big V (for verified). Their accounts pages are insane.

I can join their fan group
I can also ask them questions in Q&A
I can, pat their cow in a mini game.

There’s always a mini game in Chinese apps.

6) For the big Vs / content creators. They have a lot more monetisation streams on platform - they advertise, open up e-commerce shops (Weibo has strategy alliance with Alibaba remember?), they can run a subscription offering and also get tips from fans.

https://twitter.com/lillianmli/status/1346485922066362374

7) As the saying goes Substack is how Twitter monetises. Weibo has incorporated that into their product offering already. When I buy a subscription for an account I follow I get exclusive content created and unique access to that creator. Also access to their community

8) Weibo points out in their AR that they need to make sure creators are compensated well otherwise they may decrease output or leave the platform for others.

The downside to this is that they seem more slick and media oriented and doesn’t have the interactivity feel of Twitter

8) I would say there’s a fiercer competition among platforms for content creators in China so monetisation for them is always top of mind. I would expect the direction of travel to be the same for the west.

9) The next generation of social media platforms will put monetisation for creators first. You’ve got TikTok already showing up with this ethos, others have to follow or they will lose out on talent.

I’ll writing threads like this everyday this Jan, so follow me if you want these to spam you TL.

Thoughts?