WeChat Stories

Chinese messaging superstar WeChat is testing a new feature with a limited user group on the “Top Stories” page. Users in a test group get a separate page that shows all the articles liked by them for the last 7 days (“Wow” tap). This can also be viewed in turn by friends.

While these features are and have been ubiquitous in the “other social network” world such as FB and Reddit, this is one of the first instances of an instant messaging major bringing in such an option. On one hand, these instant messengers allow for better collaboration on the content side with WeChat becoming increasingly more important as a source of information. This comes in light of the huge growth rates, shown by Jinri Touiao the top news aggregator in China which has 239 million monthly active users.