Days before popular US social media app TikTok is proposed to be banned, Chinese social media app Red Note is seeing a flood of new users as the little-known company eases English language restrictions while strategically taking advantage of the sudden influx.
More than 50,000 users from the United States and China participated in a live chat dubbed “TikTok Refugees” on RedNote on Monday. Veteran Chinese users welcomed the American users, with some trepidation, and exchanged notes on topics such as food and youth unemployment, although at times the conversation delved into more sensitive subjects.
Such impromptu cultural exchanges were happening across Red Note, also known as “Xiaohongshu” in China, as it rose to the top of the US download rankings this week. Its popularity was boosted by social media users in the U.S. who had been searching for alternatives to ByteDance Inc.’s TikTok in the days before its impending ban.
RedNote, a venture capital-backed startup valued at $17 billion, allows users to curate photos, videos, and text to document their lives. With more than 300 million users relying on it for travel tips, anti-aging creams, and restaurant recommendations, the company is considered an IPO candidate in China.
In just two days, over 700,000 new users have joined Xiaohonshu, and Red Note downloads in the U.S. have increased significantly, according to estimates from app data research firm Sensor Tower.
The surge in U.S. users comes ahead of a Jan. 19 deadline for ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban on national security grounds. TikTok is currently used by about 170 million Americans, about half of the U.S. population, and is overwhelmingly popular with young people and advertisers.
Stella Kittrell, a 29-year-old content creator based in Baltimore, Maryland, expressed her support for Americans using Red Note as a response to concerns over business and privacy issues with the U.S. government. She joined RedNote in hopes of collaborating with Chinese companies and finding an alternative to other social media platforms.
Brian Atavansi, a 29-year-old business analyst and content creator from San Diego, California, noted that apps like Instagram and Facebook are not able to recreate the sense of community found on TikTok due to its organic nature.
Source: www.theguardian.com
