Facebook is getting used to copying the Chinese tech giants. Facebook copied China's messaging app WeChat a few months ago when making plans to introduce private groups for online communication. See earlier Forbes post: Facebook Changes Sure Look A Lot Like WeChat.
Now, Facebook is copying again by releasing a payments option within Facebook, albeit with the twist of cryptocurrency to pay for goods and services.
But Facebook has a long ways to go before it can truly emulate WeChat. China's messaging app is ubiquitous in China, used by more than 1 billion people globally. WeChat is used for texting, making voice or video calls, paying for just about everything with a stored digital wallet. It's also used for commerce. Mini-shops are built into WeChat so you can talk and shop at the same time. See earlier Forbes post: China's Mini-apps Bring On New Source of Revenue and Beat Google to the Punch.
China is more advanced than the U.S. in mobile apps for several reasons. China skipped over the era of personal computers and went straight to mobile. The Chinese nation has the largest number of smartphone users: 783 million users: China's young, digitally savvy populations takes to new technologies quickly. China tech titans all have a large stake in this mobile app market from delivery services to payments to commerce.
It seems crazy to think that one of the U.S. tech titans would copy their Chinese counterparts. This would have been inconceivable just five years ago.
But China has gained fast in several sectors of technologies, as you'll read about in Tech Titans of China. The entrepreneurial spirit is strong and the pace is second to none.
China's business models for the Internet and mobile are particularly advanced, much more than Western tech giants. Unlike Facebook, which relies mainly on online advertising as a revenue source, Chinese net companies depend on sales of virtual goods, games and e-commerce.
Now Facebook is taking a lesson. But don't count on Facebook to play in the China sandbox. The social media is blocked by the Great Firewall.
