China-based popular instant messaging platform WeChat introduced its two new features called “Sight” and “Mojime” yesterday (27/11). Those two are already available on WeChat’s latest version, 6.0, for both iOS and Android. By next year, WeChat aims to build more effective partnership with MNC to add more local content and upgrade the user experience.
In the latest update, WeChat added the “Group Chat with Password” feature which enables users protecting their group chat with four digit security key.
Now, users may also attach 6-seconds short videos into their chat or moment using the “Sight” feature. The other newly introduced one, “Mojime”, allows users to embed their own face to sticker characters. Interestingly, all stickers available in the feature are motion pictures.
Andy Lau, PT MNC Tencent’s Chief Marketing Officer, said, “We want to give better experience to our WeChat users and those who have yet used our services by enriching them with new features, in which they may send videos and create their own stickers which can be shared to their friends and others. We focus on our users and how they feel about our services. By doing so, hopefully we can create a domino effect so that more and more non-users will join us.”
While revealing about the specific number of users they’ve got is something restricted by the company’s regulation and ethics, WeChat cited a research by the Global Web Index (GWI) which suggested that the company had the most significant growth of number of users during 2013-2014, up to 895%.
When being asked about the next feature that WeChat will launch in the end of 2014, Lau confirmed that his team is in the course of developing a number of new features. In addition, WeChat also periodically releases local content, which is the stickers of celebrities, once every two weeks.
PT MNC Tencent’s Public Relation Dept. Head Herwindra Sulistyobudi explained, “We release local content once every two weeks. We use images of celebrities to be turned into stickers and we will keep launching it until next year. In global context, our development team is indeed currently preparing for new features which,hopefully, can be released before the end of this year.”
As in 2015, Lau emphasized that WeChat will upgrade its partnership with MNC Group and focus more to user experience to expand the market. As we all know, Tencent, WeChat’s parent company, has been partnering with MNC Group since the beginning of 2013.
Furthermore, WeChat will also give bigger portion to local content. The company is currently conducting a survey on types of game that Indonesians like to play the most, so that it may provide appropriate games at its game portal.
[Header Illustration: DailySocial Doc.]
