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3 Hurdles in Using WeChat and How to Cross Them

We all know WeChat is such a powerful tool as it has 28 unique useful functions that Whatsapp and Facebook do not have.  Why are people not using WeChat as much as Whatsapp?

There are 3 hurdles when it comes to using WeChat:

1. Lack of friends

Yes, the reason we use Whatsapp and Facebook so much is that we have many friends on them but we have few friends on WeChat.  

We know that in Singapore, 3 out of 4 mobile phone users are using WeChat. This means that there are not few but at least 4 million people using WeChat in Singapore. The question is are your friends using WeChat?  If they are, are you guys WeChat friends? 

One way to check if your friends are using WeChat is to simply find them on your phone's contact list. Simply go to 'Contacts' page on WeChat, press the '+' on top, select 'Add Contacts', then select 'Mobile Contact' and press 'Upload Contacts'.  Your WeChat account will simply tell you which of your friends on your phone contact list that you can add as friends on WeChat. 

Note that when you press 'Add', you are sending a friend request to your friend.  Your friend must accept you before the two of you are friends on WeChat

2. Don't know Chinese

We know that WeChat has a built-in translate feature that can translate 21 languages into the language of your phone.  So if your phone's language is English and your WeChat friend sends you a message in Chinese or Vietnamese, you can simply long press that message and translate that into English in less than 1 second. 

Note that everything on WeChat can be translated, including Moments posts and news in 'Top Stories'.

3. Don't Know What to Post on WeChat Moments

Actually, WeChat Moments is just like Facebook newsfeeds, and you can post anything you like, including 9 photos and videos within 15 seconds.  

But note that unlike Facebook and Whatsapp where there is little censorship, in WeChat you cannot post things about politics in China, sex, gambling, Hong Kong or Tibet or Taiwan Independence and extreme religious views.

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