In mid-July, WeChat underwent a major version update.
WeChat version 3.0 had two revolutionary features, which were video and voice calls, and Official Accounts and Mini Programs.
In addition, the WeChat PC version was officially launched.
When the WeChat PC version was being developed, there were two different opinions within the group.
One group firmly supported WeChat's development of a PC version, even though WeChat's initial purpose was to serve mobile users, but as users and features grew, user scenarios and demands were also constantly changing.
Another group believed that the WeChat PC version was a conceptual damage to WeChat itself.
The appearance of the PC version changed WeChat's "always online" concept.
"Users no longer believe that the other party can receive messages immediately, because we might send it to a computer where no one is present, so they will choose other tools that can find them quickly."
Both sides had valid points, neither could convince the other, resulting in a deadlock for a while.
It eventually reached Li Xi, and after an internal meeting, the decision was made to greenlight the project.
What convinced Li Xi was this sentence:
"Our internal communication is still using QQ, because QQ is clearly more convenient for office use. I don't understand why we would ignore WeChat and use a competitor's product."
Indeed, computers are essential office tools, something mobile phones cannot compare to.
If both ends cannot communicate, it would be difficult for WeChat to penetrate the office sector.
No one can stand constantly picking up their phone to check messages while working.
Especially after the launch of Video Accounts Official Accounts, WeChat's office capabilities were continuously enhanced.
Official Accounts are essentially a type of self-media, but they are divided into member accounts and subscription accounts, which is similar to Weibo's blue V.
Official Accounts opened a gap in community marketing, achieving effects that Weibo could not, the most obvious being efficient reach.
To place an advertisement on WeChat, users still need to open the app and browse to it.
However, with Official Accounts, once followed, pushing a message will make a "ding" sound on the user's phone.
Precise, efficient, widespread.
Chen Pingjiang once jokingly said that the era of WeChat commerce was coming.
And Mini Programs were an even bigger game-changer; to put it simply, their function was to move apps into WeChat.
Users can access different types of Mini Programs through WeChat.
E-commerce, local services, hotels, food delivery, ticketing, games, after-sales service, online customer service, and so on, can all connect with users through Mini Programs.
Some small businesses no longer need to go to great lengths to develop their own apps, saving a lot of costs.
Internally, WeChat calls Mini Programs pioneers of change, capable of subtly changing users' habits of using apps.
Industry professionals pointed out:
"WeChat's move is very clever; it has, to some extent, changed WeChat's nature. WeChat is no longer just a social application based on communication as it was when it first launched; its positioning has shifted to a powerful office and lifestyle tool that transcends the boundaries of online and offline."
"What does 'Scan' mean? What can it scan?"
"Isn't it written above? It can recognize QR codes, and you yourself have a QR code."
"To put it simply, it's a business card. Everyone has their own exclusive QR code. In the future, adding WeChat friends can be done by simply scanning the QR code, no longer requiring the input of complicated phone numbers or WeChat IDs."
"This is quite useful, but its use doesn't seem very widespread?"
"Haha, not widespread? Please go have a meal at Tai Er Sauerkraut Fish and you'll see."
...
Su Guocai and his girlfriend Xu Xiuyan, after work on Friday, passed by Yuanfang Mall near their home to eat.
Tomorrow was a day off, and they wanted to go shopping in the evening, so they decided to eat nearby.
After waiting in line for about half an hour, it was finally their turn to be seated.
"Every time we come to Tai Er Sauerkraut Fish, we have to wait a long time."
"There's no way around it, their business is too good. Luckily, we got off work early; if the meeting had dragged on, there would be even more people later."
After sitting down, Su Guocai waved at the waitress:
"Ordering, beautiful."
However, to Su Guocai's surprise, when the waitress came over, she didn't have a menu, but smiled and said:
"Hello sir, there's a QR code on the corner of the table. You can scan it directly to order; we can see it in the backend. After your meal, you can go to the counter to pay."
Su Guocai was stunned for a moment:
"What do I use to scan?"
"You have a smartphone, right?"
"Yes, Orange S1."
"Open WeChat, there's a 'Scan' function in the '+' icon at the top right corner. Just point it at the QR code and scan."
After watching the waitress leave, Su Guocai looked at his girlfriend as if he had seen a ghost:
"How do I feel like we haven't eaten out for just half a month, and the world has already developed like this? Now ordering can actually be completed through a mobile phone."
His girlfriend Xu Xiuyan also felt curious and urged:
"Let's try it, I haven't seen this before."
Following the steps prompted by the waitress, Su Guocai opened 'Scan' and aimed it at the QR code on the table corner to scan.
After hearing a "ding" sound indicating the scan was complete, the page automatically jumped to Tai Er Sauerkraut Fish's ordering page.
On the left side of the page were clear categories.
[Sauerkraut Fish], [Jianghu Cuisine], [Home-style Dishes], [Cold Dishes], [Staple Foods], [Drinks].
After selecting a few regularly eaten dishes and clicking send, the page automatically jumped to follow the Official Account.
What the two didn't expect was that there was also a ten-yuan cash coupon in the Official Account.
"This is quite interesting. Although it feels no different from ordering before, using a mobile phone feels particularly upscale?"
"Not at all. It makes no difference to you, but for the restaurant, the difference is huge. They can completely reduce the number of order-taking waitstaff."
His girlfriend Xu Xiuyan suddenly thought:
"Oh, that's not right either. When there are a lot of people, we don't have to queue to order food anymore, otherwise, every time we have to shout for a long time for a waiter to come take our order."
Su Guocai nodded:
"That's true, WeChat is awesome; they can even develop such good features. Last time at the snack street downstairs from the company, I also encountered a Tencent Wechat app promotion. They pestered me into installing the Wechat app, but no one used it, and it had very few features."
"Does anyone use the Wechat app? My company and my best friends all use WeChat. Especially my mom, who now video calls me every night for a chat; not only does it save phone bills, but I can also see her on the phone."
After WeChat version 3.0's major upgrade, every feature was both acclaimed and popular.
It was not a minor update or a self-indulgent revamp of some applications, but something that could genuinely change users' daily habits, benefiting both individuals and businesses.
Currently, version 3.0 has only recently been launched, and in the catering industry, all stores of the three major brands under Zhizhen Catering were the first to use it.
No longer needing to waste human resources on ordering, customer ordering information received in the backend could be quickly summarized, greatly increasing table turnover rate and serving speed, undoubtedly saving businesses labor costs to the greatest extent.
...
Mini Programs were also applied to medical services.
At the initial stage of Mini Program design, Renren.com found Dongjiang People's Hospital for cooperation to test the convenience of online hospitals, and now, after WeChat's version update, it finally came into use.
Dongjiang's summer was hot and humid.
Hu Xin ran to Dongjiang People's Hospital early in the morning.
He clearly knew he probably had air conditioning sickness, with dizziness, headache, and fever.
As soon as he entered the outpatient building, Hu Xin saw a huge sign in the center of the hall, which read:
"Please use your mobile WeChat to scan the QR code for more convenient medical visits."
Hu Xin had a severe headache and had no time to waste.
Without looking, he lifted his leg to walk towards the registration desk.
"Hey, handsome, handsome, please wait."
Hu Xin had just taken a step when someone grabbed his sleeve.
"?"
The person showed their work badge:
"Hello, I am a staff member of Renren.com; WeChat is from our company. Actually, it would be more convenient for you to use our online hospital for your medical visit."
The Renren.com staff member pointed to the long queue at the registration desk:
"People have been waiting since past 7 AM; the queue is now seven or eight meters long. If you go to register now, you'll have to wait at least forty to fifty minutes. You have a smartphone, right?"
Hu Xin nodded:
"Yes."
"Then why not try our online hospital? You can directly register and make an appointment on your phone by scanning a code, and then go directly to the outpatient department to wait, which greatly saves time."
Hu Xin looked at the long queue at the registration desk and couldn't help but feel a headache.
He immediately nodded and scanned the code under the guidance of the Renren.com staff member.
"See, you've now logged in. There's a 'Personal Center' at the bottom right corner; click into it to bind your mobile number. Our online hospital is integrated with the hospital's system. If you've been seen before, you'll have a medical card, and it will bind automatically. If you haven't been seen before, it will generate a medical card for you."
Hu Xin exclaimed,
"Wow! This is quite impressive; outpatient registration records and hospitalization records are all here."
"Hehe, yes. Now that you've bound it, click on 'Medical Services' in the bottom left corner. Yes, you see 'Outpatient Registration' there, click into it. Then select the department you want to register for, such as neurology, neurosurgery, gastroenterology, or you can directly type to search for a department."
"If you have a fever and cough, register for respiratory."
After Hu Xin clicked in, it was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden.
At the top of the mobile page was the date selection.
Below the date, there was a vertical list of various doctors.
Standard format: Photo + Name + Title + Remaining Appointments.
"Wang XX, Associate Chief Physician, 12 remaining appointments. Specializes in: chronic airway diseases, rare respiratory diseases, etc."
"Jiang XX, Chief Physician, 6 remaining appointments. Specializes in: common respiratory system diseases (cough, lung infection, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, etc.)."
"Xu XX, Chief Physician, 4 remaining appointments. Specializes in: chronic airway diseases, lung cancer, etc."
"..."
After a long while, Hu Xin chose a chief physician who looked quite young and confirmed the registration.
"How do I pay for this?"
The Renren.com employee said:
"After you go in and find the doctor, you can pay with cash or card; we have records in the backend. It will be convenient later, you can pay directly by mobile phone."
"Is that it? I just go directly to the triage desk and wait for my number to be called?"
"Yes, just go directly, unlike those without smartphones who still have to queue slowly."
Hu Xin grinned:
"I didn't expect smartphones to have this function, but your software is also good."
Hu Xin was surprised to find that in this Mini Program, besides self-registration, it actually also had "Report Inquiry," but after clicking in, it displayed "Your report data has not been found yet."
"Interesting, does this mean that in the future, after an X-ray or blood test, I won't have to make a special trip in the afternoon to pick up reports?"
The Renren.com employee said:
"If your report shows no abnormal values, you naturally don't need to come again; if there are abnormalities, then come again. You can check all reports in the 'Report Inquiry', and of course, you can print a physical report from the machine."
Hu Xin explored as he walked, smacking his lips.
"This world is changing too fast, I don't recognize it anymore."
"There's even in-hospital navigation, in-hospital ordering, wheelchair reservations, nursing aide reservations, truly convenient."
"Huh? What is this internet hospital?"
After clicking it open, Hu Xin was surprised to find that it actually also had online consultations and medication inquiries.
This was actually also part of the online hospital, and a major part at that, but since Hu Xin was already at the hospital, the Renren.com employee didn't specifically introduce it and went on to attend to the next user.
Many doctors actually welcomed the initiative of online consultations.
Before users can use online consultations, they need to pre-deposit a certain fee into their medical card, primarily because online payment was not yet available.
After depositing the fee, they could directly chat with a doctor.
The money earned was split 50/50 between the hospital and the doctors, which indirectly increased doctors' income.
Doctors could use their leisure time or off-work hours to answer consultations from patients in other locations or those who couldn't get an appointment.
The leadership of Dongjiang People's Hospital also found this Mini Program incredibly useful.
Saving registration time was a significant beneficial measure, convenient for their hospital and more convenient for users.
The benefits of Mini Programs extended far beyond this.
Almost every business could utilize WeChat Mini Programs, combining them with subscription accounts and service accounts, forming a complementary trio, maximizing their power to increase their traffic and serve their users.
Besides catering and hospitals, the tourism industry could provide one-stop travel services for tourists through Mini Programs.
Users could inquire about scenic spot information, book tickets, hotels, etc., via Mini Programs, conveniently and quickly.
The education industry could provide convenient learning services for students and parents through Mini Programs.
Educational institutions could publish course information, enable online registration, online payments, etc., making it easy for students and parents to understand course details and sign up.
The lifestyle services industry could provide convenient daily services for users through Mini Programs.
For example, industries like domestic services, beauty and hairdressing, and repairs could offer services such as online appointments to users via Mini Programs, allowing users to easily resolve daily chores.
This wasn't all; games were also the most compatible with Mini Programs.
In the decade of this period, there weren't as many diverse mobile games as in later generations.
Everyone was already tired of games like Temple Run; therefore, WeChat Mini Games would certainly have a considerable market.
(End of Chapter)