TikTok lookalike Zynn brings Chinese video iphone app rivalry to US
08 June, 2020
Chinese short video application makers took their rivalry overseas, with TikTok facing stiff competition from a newcomer that has surged in popularity abroad -- by paying users to keep scrolling.
Zynn, something of China's number-two video iphone app maker Kuaishou, launched in May and became the most used free application in the U.S. Apple App Store only a month later.
With Zynn, Kuaishou is trying to dethrone TikTok, the iphone app by its Beijing-based competitor Bytedance that has been a worldwide sensation.
Zynn's interface is a near-clone of TikTok, allowing users to see a continuous feed of short videos featuring other users dancing or performing stunts to upbeat music.
But unlike TikTok, Zynn promises a lot more than just entertainment.
Zynn, which isn't obtainable in China, rewards users in the U.S. and Canada with cash if they invite friends to download the application -- up to $20 per invite, based on how active the friend is on the app.
Users also earn points for simply watching videos, which can then be converted into cash.
Zynn's model is familiar to users in China, where startups have thrown an incredible number of yuan in gifts and cash at users as a way to grab a larger share of the market than competitors offering practically identical services.
Nasdaq-listed news aggregator Qutoutiao was one of the primary apps to provide users cash rewards in what it calls "loyalty programs" that "cost-effectively acquire new users".
"It requires persons who are sensitive to small financial incentives which there are lots in China's vast inland rural areas," Shanghai-based mobile technology expert Matthew Brennan told AFP.
Kuaishou is going for a gamble in exporting its model to THE UNITED STATES, where few programs have were able to build long-term audiences by paying persons to use them.
Success will rely upon whether the key attraction of the software is the money shared, or whether payment is "only a secondary 'side benefit' to using Zynn", Rui Ma, a tech advisor and host of the Tech Buzz China podcast, told AFP.
Most online reviews of Zynn are centered on the money reward system, with reviewers either complaining about being struggling to withdraw their winnings or grateful for the amounts they've made off the app.
Kuaishou has chosen a "smart" time for Zynn's debut, with many young persons stuck at home as a result of COVID-19, and with the summertime holidays approaching, said Man-Chung Cheung, an analyst at Insider Intelligence.
But in the long term, retaining users will rely upon Zynn's "capability to attract top content creators, talent and brands to share videos", Cheung told AFP.
Kuaishou will also need to contend with rising China-US tensions, that have already put rival TikTok and other Chinese tech companies under increased scrutiny from the US government.
U.S. officials have warned that TikTok, which includes denied any ties with the Chinese government, could become another tool exploited by Chinese intelligence services.
Zynn has sought to downplay its Chinese origins, using its website offering little information about its background and giving an address in Palo Alto, California.
Zynn spokesman Rocky Zhang confirmed that Kuaishou is behind the upstart app.
"Zynn is a product only for the US, and we launched Zynn for the U.S.," he told AFP.
Zhang said Zynn plans to continue paying users in the long run, but will shift towards rewarding "content creators" later on, while generating income through advertising.
A years-long rivalry between massive Chinese tech companies lies behind Kuaishou's new foray across the Pacific and into THE UNITED STATES.
Kuaishou is backed by Tencent, the Chinese tech giant behind payment and social media software WeChat, which includes long sought to expand its share of the short-video market.
The Chinese short-video industry is likely to generate almost 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) in advertising earnings by 2021, according to Daxue Consulting.
Tencent has launched a number of short-video apps of its, but none reach the amount of popularity enjoyed by Kuaishou and TikTok's Chinese version, Douyin.
Kuaishou in February said it had reached 300 million daily active users, just behind Douyin, which said it hit 400 million users in January.
IN-MAY, Kuaishou sued Douyin for redirecting looks for "Kuaishou" on a third-party Chinese software store to adds for the Bytedance app, a court in Beijing said.
When asked about the similarity between TikTok and Zynn, Zhang said the app had not been "targeting any brands existing that you can buy".
Source: japantoday.com