Why is it still there after deleting Weishi? ——Analysis of short video platform competition and user retention phenomena
Recently, the “sense of presence” of Tencent’s short video platform Weishi has once again aroused heated discussions. Despite multiple reports of business adjustments, Weishi is still active in the app store. This article combines the hot topic data of the entire network in the past 10 days to analyze this phenomenon from the perspectives of industry competition and user behavior.
1. Top 5 hot topics on the Internet in the past 10 days
| Ranking | topic | heat index | Related platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Douyin launches AI painting function | 9,850,000 | Douyin/Weibo |
| 2 | Commercialization of WeChat video accounts accelerates | 7,620,000 | WeChat/Financial Media |
| 3 | Collective rights protection incident of UP owners at Bilibili | 6,930,000 | Station B/Zhihu |
| 4 | Kuaishou agriculture, rural areas and rural content growth data | 5,410,000 | Kuaishou/Industry Report |
| 5 | Rumors of Weishi’s “resurrection” resurface | 4,880,000 | Technology Forum/Maimai |
2. Three major reasons for Weishi’s “strategic staying behind”
1.Tencent ecological defense needs: As an important chess piece in the fight against Douyin, Weishi plays a strategic role in preventing traffic from completely flowing out. Data shows that Tencent applications still account for 35% of users’ average daily usage time.
2.Technology mid-level value retention: The video processing technology incubated by the Weishi team has fed back the WeChat video account, and most of its key personnel have been transferred to the video account project, forming a "front store and back factory" model.
3.Licensing and Compliance Reserve: Weishi, which holds the "Online Audiovisual License", is an important filing entity for Tencent in the radio and television regulatory system.
3. Comparison of user behavior data (2023Q3)
| index | Micro vision | Douyin speed version | quick worker |
|---|---|---|---|
| DAU (10,000) | 620 | 12,800 | 9,500 |
| Average daily usage time of users | 18 minutes | 98 minutes | 85 minutes |
| 30-day retention rate | twenty one% | 67% | 59% |
4. Industry Observation: Short Video Enters the “Post-Competition Era”
1.Functional convergence: The basic functions of each platform are more than 80% similar, and Weishi’s special functions such as “one-click MV generation” have been quickly copied by competing products.
2.Traffic entrance value: Even if the activity decreases, Weishi still serves as one of the traffic portals of Tencent and maintains its ability to conduct traffic in scenarios such as QQ browser and App Store.
3.strategic trial and error costs: Compared with the brand damage caused by a complete shutdown, the marginal cost of maintaining low-power operation is lower, and the possibility of future technology iterations is retained.
5. Expert opinions:The New Media Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences pointed out that the "zombie" operation of Internet products has become a common strategy, and leading companies usually retain 1-2 members of the defensive product matrix. The case of Weishi shows that in an ecosystem dominated by super APPs, the value assessment of secondary entrances requires multi-dimensional considerations.
The current short video track has formed a "2+N" pattern (Douyin + Kuaishou account for 78% of the market share), but the continued existence of Weishi reveals the "hidden logic" in Internet competition - some products are not alive to win, but to prevent opponents from winning too easily.
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