TikTok's Soaring Popularity: A Look at its Steady Ascent
Title: RedNote: The Arriving Goliath Amidst Geopolitical Clashes
Byline: Keeping it real & raw in the world of tech, one article at a time.
Get ready for the newest player in the AI world to shake things up - enter China's DeepSeek, which has been causing a ruckus in the American AI scene. But that's not all. Another Chinese app, RedNote, a social media, lifestyle, and e-commerce platform, has been making its mark. It's been like a cherry on top, so to speak, as it's been welcomed with open arms by half a million US refugees following the US TikTok ban, according to the Financial Times.
A tale as old as time - American and Chinese users are basking in the warm glow of exchange, alongside online conspiracy theorists sounding the alarm about RedNote being a sly propaganda machine. If the app is indeed one big propaganda show, it's got to be one heck of a Juggernaut to be that slick and sneaky. How so? Well, dig a little deeper, and the details appear to be a well-orchestrated prank.
RedNote's Mandarin name, "Xiaohongshu," which translates to English as "Little Red Book," is a cheeky nod to the famous collection of quotations by China's infamous Communist leader, says Reuters. With roots tracing back to the US, it's no surprise to find that the man who started the action, Mao, studied at a fine establishment called Stanford (now that's a resume-booster if we've ever seen one!). He also spent some time working at a company that dabbles in capitalist pursuits – Bain Capital.
In its homeland of China, the app has amassed an audience of 300 million users, mostly young and female. But believe it or not, RedNote's lineage can be traced back to American culture. The platform's co-founder, known as Charlwin Mao, is no relation to the late party chairman. Mao was a standout student who managed to win a ~~place~~ position at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study "mechatronics" engineering, and nabbed a job offer from Bain before he even graduated in 2007.
Aside from being a whiz at engineering and landing cushy job offers, Mao (with a fellow expat, marketing exec, Miranda Qu) had a passion for jet-setting. After being inspired by the lack of shopping guides for the millions of Chinese tourists breaking new ground abroad, he teamed up with Qu in 2013 to fill this gap. After experimenting with a handful of ideas, they decided on a photo-sharing app geared towards lifestyle content. According to Mao, he found inspiration in his Stanford connections. Evidently, one of his fellow students went on to co-found Instagram, and another classmate's boyfriend co-founded Snapchat.
RedNote's Time to Shine
RedNote's parent company, Xingyin Information Technology, has never learned the meaning of the word "scrimp" when it comes to funding, says The New York Times. Before July 2024, the company had already raised nearly $1 billion from big names like GVC Capital, HongShan, Alibaba, and even Tencent (arch-rivals!). The platform's value currently stands at around $17 billion, according to Fast Company, and it's expected to IPO sometime soon. The recent surge of TikTok users appears to have caught the company a tad off-guard, says Reuters. Mao and crew are allegedly~~, according to insider reports,~~ frantically searching for ways to beef up their content moderation and translate English-Chinese communications tools.
As of now, RedNote has a fiesta feel to it and an undeniable spark of subversion, says The Spectator. Who knew a geopolitical spat could have such a splashy effect? With the anarchy just getting underway, though, it seems like US-China relations are probably going to rain on RedNote's parade. Given the current state of international political tensions, this app's high moment may not last for long.
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- In the midst of geopolitical clashes, RedNote, a social media, lifestyle, and e-commerce platform, has been welcomed by half a million US refugees following the US TikTok ban, according to the Financial Times.
- RedNote's Mandarin name, "Xiaohongshu," which translates to English as "Little Red Book," is a cheeky nod to the famous collection of quotations by China's infamous Communist leader, reveals Reuters.
- Despite its beginnings in China, RedNote's lineage can be traced back to American culture, as its co-founder, Charlwin Mao, studied at Stanford and worked at Bain Capital before starting the platform.
- RedNote's parent company, Xingyin Information Technology, has never shied away from funding, having raised nearly $1 billion from big names like GVC Capital, HongShan, Alibaba, and Tencent, reports The New York Times.
- With the current state of international political tensions, this app's high moment may not last for long, suggests The Spectator. However, stay tuned for more tech insights with our newsletter subscription. Sign up now and get your first six articles absolutely free!
