This paper is the final assignment of graduate school courses Organizational and Institutional Analysis. It was supervised by Olivier Driessens, the host of the course seminar Digital Media: (Infra)structure, Labor and Equality.  The paper is a collective work joint by my classmates Yujia Zhang and Wenqing Yin.

Abstract

This article proposes to understand how WeChat becomes a platform and operates under the framework of platform capitalism. It will make up the limitations shared by current studies that the issues of platform, platform capitalism and platformization primarily focus on the case of Western Internet companies. We conduct a political-economic analysis combined with case studies to depict the platformization of WeChat. By deploying a ‘walk-through method’ in the light of documents including WeChat annual data reports and the update log in a timeline, the platformization of WeChat can be divided into four stages: from an instant messenger to an SNS app, to a ‘lifestyle’ and finally to become a ‘semi-system’. Through the transition from an instant message software to an integrated platform, WeChat has built an ecosystem to continue its process of platformization in facing the competition with other technology companies. However, when it met the disputes with mobile devices companies, WeChat was more passive. 

Keywords

WeChat, Platformization, Platform Capitalism

Content

Introduction
Platform, Platform Capitalism and Platformization
The Platformization of WeChat

From an Instant Messenger to a SNS Application
From a ‘Lifestyle’ to a ‘Semi-System’

External Challenges Confronting WeChat’s Platformizaton

To Compete against Other Platforms: Building a WeChat Ecosystem
Clashes Between Two Infrastructures: Devices or Platforms

Conclusion