Category Archives: WeChat

Free Software, Social Networking, WeChat, WeChat

Explore the World with WeChat

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Photo of Shake 1
7158 KM away.

We’ve been using QQ for many years. QQ is similar to MSN or Yahoo but it’s mainly used in China. Tencent, the company that created QQ, has released WeChat (Weixin in China). WeChat is a fully tricked-out chat app that is taking the world by storm. We’ve put together some thoughts on the international flavor of WeChat.

Photo of Shake 2
A good reason to communicate with people from around the world, right?

1. Maybe we’re a bit sensitive, but we’ve noticed a vague trend of dissatisfaction among some WeChat users when they get mainly Chinese contacts on Shake or Look Around. We’re concerned because we’ve got hundreds of friends in China and, from what we’ve discovered, they’re pretty much like us. China has about four times the population of the United States, about forty times the population of Canada, so it stands to reason that there are more Chinese at the end of a Shake ‘shake’ than anyone else. Add to that the fact that WeChat originated in China and that the Chinese are well known to be early-adopters of new tech, well, you get the point.

Photo of Shake 3
8202 KM Away.

2. For many years, the U.S. seemed to be on the cutting edge of everything. That’s changed but the myth persists. Tencent named the international version of Weixin ‘WeChat’ so, naturally, most American users assume it’s an American product. Is that the reason for the surprise and seeming disappointment when social contacts appear who are half-way around the world? We think so. In this particular case, the rest of the world is way behind Tencent because the rest of the world seems to have forgotten ‘chat’. We never seen anything spread out around the world in quite the same way as WeChat.

 

Photo of Shake 4
Sao Paolo, Brazil.

3. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a fair amount of sabre-rattling going on now. 9/11 was devastating, to say the least, but the by-product of that fateful day was the ever-increasing xenophobia we see in the world now. If someone looks ‘different’, then they are considered a threat. We’ve been down that path before, history is full of these examples. But, if you let it, WeChat will open up your world and show you that people are the same all over the world. Will WeChat finally bring world peace? Hey, it might just help, right?

4. English is the constant in all of this. While WeChat supports other languages, the vast number of users, yes, even the Chinese, will default to English when necessary. If you already speak and write English, you’re miles ahead of many other WeChat users but you are also valuable to those same users, simply because they want to learn English. Live a little, take a chance and help them out. If you’re only looking for the girl or guy next door, maybe WeChat isn’t for you. If you want to know more about the whole world around you, then WeChat fills the bill perfectly.

Curiously enough, we just shook for a few photos for this post and got no one from Asia. Why? Because it’s almost 3 AM in Asia. If you’re in Europe, shake when Europeans are shaking, if you want to meet people close to you. If you want to live a little, shake when people across the world are shaking. We think you’ll have a lot more fun that way.

Thanks for reading! Comments, questions, observations are always welcome. Hey, why not Like us on Facebook? Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook . 

 

Free Software, WeChat, Weixin

WeChat Moments – Post words in photos

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WeChat Moments is great, isn’t it? Everyone can share photos and words at the same time. What if you just want to post your thoughts instead of a photo? Here’s how to do that on an Apple product, iPhone or iPod Touch.

1. First, you have to learn how to do a screen capture. That’s the easy part. This can be done from any screen that happens to be showing, anything at all. Press the shut off button and the home button at the same time. On an iPod Touch, for instance, push the button on the top of the device at the same time as you press the button at the bottom of the screen, the one that takes you Home. The screen will go white for a second then go back to normal. If your screen turns white, then you’ve successfully done the screen capture.

2. It doesn’t matter what app you use but we used Notes. Go the the app and type out your thoughts. Once you’re done, press Off and Home to capture the screen that shows the note you just typed.

Photo of WeChat Post Words 1
Our subliminal message as seen in Notes.

3. Go to Moments and press on the camera up on the top right.

Photo of WeChat Post Words 2
Press the camera icon.

4. Choose the screen capture you just took, it will be in your Camera Roll, and use it. You can add a comment above it or just post the pic, it’s up to you.

Photo of WeChat Post Words 3
Choose Existing is what we need here.
Photo of WeChat Post Words 4
Choose Camera Roll.
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Our note in WeChat where we choose the style.
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Here it is, ready to post.

OK, so now you know how to do screen caps, at least on Apple products, why not post caps of games, videos, whatever else you can find. It makes WeChat a bit more interesting for your friends, we think. Malls, trees and beaches are good but let’s mix things up a bit, right?

Thanks for reading!

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WeChat, WeChat FAQ, WeChat.WeChat Voice, Weixin

WeChat FAQ

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WeChat (or Weixin) is the hottest new chat app out there. We’ve written about it a few times before. Today we want to get Moments straightened out. There seems to be some confusion as to who can see the photos that you show in your Moments’ albums. Here is the pathway to the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions):

1. In any area of WeChat, look for the gear icon on the lower right. Press it:

Photo of WeChat FAQ 1
Settings. Look for the gear icon.

2. Next, scroll down to the word FAQ:

Photo of WeChat FAQ 2
Scroll down a bit, look for FAQ.

3. Press on the word FAQ and then look for Moments:

Photo of WeChat FAQ 3
There are several sections for Moments.

4. We would suggest that you read all about Moments before you start using WeChat. We love the app but we can see that some users are having problems with privacy. Look for the FAQ that reads ‘How private is my photo album?’ :

 

Photo of WeChat FAQ 5
Look for the FAQ on your photo album.

5. Read over this section and make sure you understand it. If you need help, just ask us. We’ll do our best to explain it:

Photo of WeChat FAQ 6

 

TIP: If you want to send a photo to someone, then it’s completely private. Use the attachment button (the + icon on the lower right) to attach a photo. That way, only you and the person you send it to can see it. Make sure you choose the right person!

Thanks for reading! If you have questions or comments, please feel free to use the form at the bottom of this page. Better yet, why not Like us on Facebook? Here’s the link: Computers Made Simple on Facebook. 

 

Facebook, Link WeChat to Facebook, WeChat, Weixin

Link WeChat and Facebook

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Even though we don’t recommend doing this, you can link your WeChat account with a Facebook account. If you do, just remember that you can’t do much once the two accounts are linked. This may change but we think that as long as WeChat is based in China, Facebook will prevent it from accessing your friend list. Here’s how you set up the link:

1. From any WeChat page, press Settings on the bottom right. Here is what you see:

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 1
Press My Account

2. Go to My Account. This comes up next:

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 2
Press Facebook. You can see here that the two are not linked yet.

 

3. Press on the words ‘ Facebook Not Linked’ :

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This tells you that WeChat will share content to your Facebook wall. Hmmmm….

 

4. If you are already signed in to Facebook, this screen will come up. Remember, if you aren’t signed in to Facebook, you will have to sign in from your WeChat screen, complete with email address and password:

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 4
Now WeChat wants to access your profile, friend list, etc. We’re not sure why.

 

5. If you agree with the menu above, press OK and this screen comes up:

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 5
Now WeChat wants to post on your behalf. Really? That’s nice…not.

 

6. Well, we didn’t want WeChat to post on ‘our behalf’ so we chose to Skip this menu. Here’s what came up next:

 

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 6
There you go! It’s done.

 

7. Now, about all you can do is share your WeChat QR Code and, remember this, your Moments photos on Facebook.

Photo of Link WeChat with Facebook 7
Do you want to post your Moments photos on Facebook?

At this point, there is no way to add your Facebook friends They can add you if they scan your QR code, same as on QQ but that’s about it. Right now, there is no way that we can see to add your Facebook friends to WeChat. If we find out how to do it, you’ll be the first to know.

Facebook is much more personal than WeChat, in our opinion. WeChat is fun, great for meeting people and tends to be more ‘open’ than Facebook. We think you should question whether you want to link the two social networking apps with one another. Once you do, you’re into a completely different privacy level. Facebook is much more invasive as far as your personal details are concerned. We’d advise you to think twice about linking, OK?

Thanks for reading!

Free Software, Translation, WeChat, Weixin

WeChat Revisited – Translate your chats

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We’ve done a couple of posts on WeChat (Weixin in China) in the past and, surprisingly, this free app is much more popular than we thought it would be. We get questions and comments about WeChat on an almost daily basis. Since our last post, WeChat has added support for the Nokia S40 and Symbian phones as well as for the Blackberry. We don’t have a Blackberry phone but we’re going to try WeChat on a Playbook to see if it works. Stay tuned for that post.

For now, we’re looking at translating our chats. Unfortunately, WeChat doesn’t have a built-in translation yet so we’re suggesting that you download Google Translate. Here’s how it works:

1. Obviously you have to download and install Google Translate on your device. It’s free.

2. When you get a chat message in another language, rest your finger on the words on screen for about a second. A bubble will pop up that says ‘Copy’ on it. Press Copy.

Photo of WeChat Translate1
Press the words and Copy pops up. Then press the word Copy.

3. Go back to your main menu, find the Translate app and open it.   Once Translate opens you will see a white window at the top, much like a chat window.

Photo of WeChat Translate 2
Press your finger inside the window at the top.

 

 

4. Press that and a keyboard will open at the bottom. Forget the keyboard, press your finger in the white window for about a second. A bubble will pop up that reads ‘Paste’.

Photo of WeChat Translate 3
Now press the word Paste.

 

 

5. Press Paste and the words appear in the box:

Photo of WeChat Translate 5
The words you want to translate are pasted into the window.

 

6. Press Go down on the lower right.

Photo of WeChat Translate 6
Translation is instantaneous.

 

There you go! The words are translated into whatever language you use. You have to remember that this is Google Translate, right? It isn’t perfect by any means. It will, however, give you a good idea of what the person is saying. It’s fast and free, so give it a shot.

 

TIP: Translate can be used in Moments, too. If you see a post in another language, run through the same steps to translate them. Translate will work backwards, too. Write your message in the translate window, press Go and then press the translation and choose Copy. Go back to WeChat and press the message window, then press Paste. Cool huh?

Thanks for reading!

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