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Comment by rqs | Hacker News Reader

> not long after that people switched back to WeChat and QQ. It's simply because WeChat and QQ are easier to use.

That is not completely right. People switch back because most of their contacts are using QQ and WeChat.

And that's actually why people keep using Tencent product -- because all your friends are using it, your mom using it, your boss using it, so you have to. In fact, I think most of those IM's gaining their user base because of this.

Also, encouraging Chinese people using domestic services is good for government, as they had better control of those services. So they did, by selectively making foreign services unstable.

Censorship is not just a mean of control, it's also a business: Government wants control, company wants money, so they formed an alliance to get what they want.

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> And that's actually why people keep using Tencent product -- because all your friends are using it, your mom using it, your boss using it, so you have to. In fact, I think most of those IM's gaining their user base because of this.

Is it cultural? I use signal. Most of my contacts don't use signal. I've forced the people I talk to the most to get signal. For everyone else, I'll use WhatsApp or just text. I don't need everyone to use something for me to use that thing. In fact, the day my mum joins Snapchat will be the day I'll uninstall it for good.

Maybe cultural related, but I don't really know.

In China, we have a some sort of social phenomenon called "Herd behavior"[0], simply put: If something is popular in crowd, then it tend to be more popular.

Also, I found that most Chinese people are lack of motion of trying something new: If something works, then we'll keep using it and stop worrying about it until it breaks.

> I've forced the people I talk to the most to get signal.

In China, this hardly works, because people you try to convincing may also binded to WeChat by their contacts. So a easier choice for them is just to silently ditch you.

(Of course, dad and mom are more likely to stick with whatever chat service you're using, so :DDDD)

BTW: There are no encrypted chat service in China, and Chinese people don't care too much of their privacy (By western standard).

So if you tell them: We should not let government listening our conversations, let's use Signal! You will usually get replies like: Yes, just let them listen, I have nothing to hide. And keep using WeChat.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herd_behavior#Everyday_decisio...

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