Observation on the present situation of Internet in small towns of townships and counties： It seems like two worlds from metropolis

One day before the Spring Festival, my old classmate A Rong suddenly contacted me. I said I was driving home from Shenzhen and passing by Y city. I asked if I would like to go back to H county to meet my old classmates. H county is less than 100 kilometers away from Y city, where I spent my middle school days. There are many classmates in H county, so I promised to go when I thought about it. We stayed in H county for a day and met three classmates. The process was simple, that is, we had dinner and visited our alma mater.

H county is located in the old revolutionary base area, with an area of less than 700 square kilometers and a population of about 200,000. Compared with Y city, the economic development level of H county is inferior. However, in recent years, the development momentum is good, and non-ferrous metals, agricultural products, e-commerce and tourism are its emerging pillar industries. According to the official GDP in 2016, the per capita GDP of H County is around 37,000 yuan. The impression of returning home in this article mainly comes from what I saw in H County and the descriptions of the following four people: Brother Min, Liu and Hua Zai, and Brother Min’s daughter Xiaoxue. Here, first of all, I would like to express my sincere thanks to several friends who have been harassed by me for several days!

The county seat of H county is relatively small. Earlier, there was a saying that there were "small H county and three tofu shops". Nowadays, with the vigorous development of real estate, the area of the county has also expanded a lot. However, on the whole, the location of H County is still a small town. The small area and population make it difficult for the public transport system to reach the economic scale, and the cost factor limits the route, which in turn makes many areas become public transport blind spots, and it is difficult for many users to meet their travel needs.

Therefore, beyond the public transport system, more flexible solutions are needed as a supplement. At first, it was a rickshaw with three rickshaws. Later, motorcycles, taxis and black cars appeared one after another, and now Didi. com has a similar role. From rickshaws to taxis and motorcycles to online car rides, the triple jump in H county is a typical mode of travel market changes in many counties in Jiangnan.

When people in the north, Guangzhou and Shenzhen began to worry about bike-sharing’s excessive use of public resources, residents in H County were eagerly looking forward to bike-sharing’s presence. The county seat of H County is located in the mountainous area, and many buildings are built on the hillside. It is very difficult to buy a bicycle and carry it into the community. Think about opening Y city in bike-sharing, that is, riding and walking, getting off and stopping, without worrying about vehicle theft and maintenance. How convenient it is. Unfortunately, however, the expansion of bike-sharing has not sunk to H County.

Fortunately, Didi has been operating in H county, making up for the gap. The response speed of Didi Express H County is usually three to five minutes, which is slightly slower than that of Y City mentioned before. This may be related to the small population and weak demand for cars in H county, and the small market size can only accommodate a small number of drivers. In this way, the service area of each driver is relatively large, and the response speed of receiving orders is inevitably slower. Xiaoxue sometimes complains that the car comes too slowly. In fact, compared with the north, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, the response speed of H County is not bad.

Compared with the express train, Didi’s ride is actually more popular with users in H County. It is more convenient and comfortable than the shuttle bus, and cheaper and more affordable than taking a taxi. Take H County to Y County, which is 20 kilometers away, as an example. The bus fare is 7 yuan, and the ride is only 15 yuan. Xiaoxue’s boyfriend’s home is in a neighboring county, so he often rides to and from H county to see her. Therefore, people in H county like to take a ride, whether they go to a township or a nearby county or city.

Among the classmates and friends interviewed, some of them have never taken a drip bus in H county (the county is small, even if it is not far on foot), but all of them have the experience of hitchhiking, which is really unexpected. There are more and more people who own cars in H county, and the large number of people who make money with the wind may be one reason why hitchhiking is more popular than express trains.

However, it is difficult to get back from the countryside easily. Didi’s full line of products is only opened in H county, and it is a bad thing that users can’t use Didi on their return trip to the countryside. Of course, the platform should be based on the safety of drivers and passengers, and it is understandable that it has not yet sunk into rural areas. It is hoped that after improving the technical means and safety management mechanism in the future, Didi will fully open its operation area and provide better and more comprehensive services to consumers.

Smart phones have become a standard for individuals, and H County is no exception. The mobile phone users here seem to have different loyal user groups. Several students have their own favorites. Brother Min loves Xiaomi, Liu prefers Huawei, and Huazai’s family only buys VIVO.

Huawei has a very high reputation in H county, and it is the brand with the largest number of users mentioned and considered. It is generally believed that Huawei has a good brand and reliable product quality. Of course, Huawei mentioned here should include Huawei and Glory. Da Liu is a loyal Huawei powder, and almost every time he changes the machine, he only considers Huawei. Only two days ago, I bought VIVO X20 from a friend’s shop because of my kindness, but he said that the mobile phone is changing quickly now, and the next mobile phone will definitely be changed back to Huawei.

Followed by Huawei, it is the OPPO and VIVO of BBK. Their pleasing appearance and good service are the key to their success. Xiaomi can only be behind them, maybe a little ahead of Apple. Although the price of apple is obviously higher than that of domestic brands, there are still many fans in H county, accounting for more than 10%. In Xiaoxue’s view, the proportion of Apple users in her social circle is higher, which may be close to 20%.

Interestingly, although several students use different brands of mobile phones, the main reference indicators for buying mobile phones tend to be the same. They usually determine their favorite brand first, then check the price of mobile phones according to their own needs and budgets, finally compare their respective parameter configurations, and finally decide where to buy. It seems that the success of VO brothers is not accidental, and the efforts to spend money on brand wars have touched the user’s psychology.

Min Ge is a loyal user of Xiaomi, and several of his mobile phones are Xiaomi. Brother Min sighed that Xiaomi was once one of the brands with the largest number of users in H County. But many people around him changed their mobile phones to Huawei, OPPO and VIVO, and now he has become a minority.

Brother Min usually gives priority to ordering a mobile phone from Xiaomi official website. If it is out of stock, he will go to Tmall and JD.COM to buy it. However, there are fewer people who buy mobile phones online like him in H county, and most people still buy mobile phones through physical stores like Liu and Hua Tsai.

There are probably several reasons for choosing a physical store: 1. Physical stores can provide cash, which is more efficient than online shopping for three or four days; 2. The channel management ability of brands has improved, and the prices and gifts of physical stores are almost the same as those of websites; 3. The after-sales service of physical stores is more convenient and practical; 4. Many physical stores have cooperation concessions with local operators. Even if the price of mobile phones is slightly higher, they can get more benefits through package discounts and gifts.

In the mobile phone market in H county, it can be said that those who get physical stores win the world! Judging from the results reflected by everyone, it is precisely the brands that have successfully laid offline channels, such as Huawei, VIVO, OPPO, etc., which occupy more market share.

Brother Min, who returned to H County as a teacher after graduation, has already developed the habit of having a mobile phone in my hand. He basically travels without a wallet, and only needs to open WeChat or Alipay when paying. In his daily mobile payment, the proportion of consumption through WeChat payment has reached more than 80%, and Alipay is only used in living payment and a few scenarios. His daughter Xiaoxue relies more on WeChat payment in her daily life, and more than 90% of her consumption is completed through WeChat payment. Only when there are preferential activities on the platform will she think of paying with Alipay.

Liu, who used to work in a big city, was originally given a red envelope by Alipay’s code scanning activity, and gradually cultivated the habit of giving priority to Alipay payment. However, after returning to H County during the Spring Festival, he failed to continue this habit, but instead used more cash and WeChat for consumption. The reason is very simple. He found that many stores only have WeChat QR code and do not support Alipay QR code payment. However, Brother Min has different views on this. Before the Spring Festival, Alipay also carried out activities of scanning codes to receive red envelopes in H County, and then the number of shops supporting Alipay increased significantly.

According to my observation, the popularity of mobile payment in H county is slightly worse than that in Y city. Almost all shops in Y city print and post QR codes, while the proportion in H county is about 70% to 80%. It is common for open-air or mobile vendors in Y city to hang QR codes, but it is rare in H county. On the way to Brother Min’s house, I also saw a grandfather selling sugar cane hang an oversized QR code of A4 plastic paper on his tricycle, but it’s a pity that Arong drove by before he could reach for his mobile phone. Of course, not posting the QR code does not mean that the owner does not accept mobile payment. He can display the receipt code on the spot with his mobile phone, but the convenience of the transaction has decreased.

In terms of financial management, many students used to speculate in stocks, but they were afraid of being cut by leeks. Now there are not many. There are also high-return private lending activities in H County, and occasionally investors lose all their money because of running away with money. However, several students haven’t heard of the news that someone around them is involved in Qian Bao and kind-hearted. It seems that the Internet Ponzi scheme has not yet penetrated into H County. Brother Min is the opinion leader of people around him. When I asked about emerging Internet wealth management products such as P2P, he said that he had seen more negative news before and didn’t dare to contact. However, if the financial security is guaranteed, I am willing to experience compliant P2P products.

Because they are worried about the safety of funds, everyone chooses to deposit the remaining money in Yu ‘ebao or Licaitong. Brother Min himself was basically placed in Yu ‘ebao, but now there are more wealth management links on WeChat. There are two reasons: First, Licaitong and Yu ‘ebao are similar products, and their return on investment is equivalent. Since last year, the annualized rate of return of Licaitong has even been slightly higher than that of Yu ‘ebao; Second, most of the mobile payment relationships between people are transferred to WeChat, and the money received through WeChat is far greater than Alipay, so it is easier to transfer wealth management.

However, he speculated that other people’s money might still be more on the balance treasure, because the blind worship of Ma Yun’s father in society is very heavy, and many people have formed the concept of "big money balance treasure, small money WeChat". Like Liu, he told me that he only believed Ma Yun’s words. However, due to the obvious interception phenomenon of WeChat collection in daily work and life, Licaitong has already diverted Yu ‘ebao. Brother Min thinks it’s only a matter of time before people around him put their money in Tenpay and exceed Yu ‘ebao.

In social applications, WeChat has become a universal application, followed by QQ, and Tencent’s dominance in the social field is unshakable. Brother Min’s students usually only use QQ to contact him. It seems that middle school students all over the country have the same idea when they reach the rebellious period — — Avoid parents and create your own room for growth.

Weibo is mainly played by young people who like to pay attention to entertainment trends. Xiaoxue will open it once or three times a day to see the gossip of stars. Like Brother Min and Liu, they basically abandoned it. In Brother Min’s words, friends are all on WeChat, and they don’t care about the entertainment circle. What motivation is there to open Weibo? Andy even simply uninstalled Weibo to save memory space. Momo, who just bought the exploration in full, is said to have many users in H county. Brother Min once downloaded and installed it curiously. He recalled that there were indeed many people nearby.

Information applications are mentioned in WeChat, Today’s Headlines, Tencent News, a little information and Netease News UC browser. All of them said that today’s headlines are installed in their mobile phones, and they will be opened frequently, but the general stay time is more likely to be small videos and jokes. In fact, most people get information from WeChat and Tencent news clients. The sources of WeChat are divided into the third party WeChat official account, Tencent News WeChat official account and friends circle. Wechat has great user value potential. The Tencent News APP on Xiaoxue’s mobile phone was installed after she saw the content she was interested in from WeChat.

In addition, Xiaoxue also installed Meitu Xiu Xiu, Aauto Quicker, Tik Tok and other photo and video apps. Fun and easy to use is the magic weapon to conquer young users. There are not many outdoor live broadcasts in Aauto Quicker, H county. Several of them said that they have not seen the scene of online celebrity’s outdoor live broadcast on the streets of H county, but Xiaoxue’s boyfriend said that he had seen it in a neighboring county. There should be a large number of user groups in H county. You can see the works of many local users by opening the location. Tik Tok is another short video APP that young people like, and it has a high degree of overlap with users in Aauto Quicker. Xiaoxue said that her classmates and friends are basically users in Aauto Quicker and Tik Tok.

In terms of games, the glory of the king is as popular among young people as eating chicken, and the glory of the king is even popular among women. In the adult market, small games and chess games such as jumping and lianliankan are more common to help people kill time in their spare time.

A considerable number of people said that they actually have a lot of information applications that come with their mobile phones. They just deleted other applications that are rarely used and kept the common parts. Today’s headlines, a little information, Sohu News, etc. all follow this path. It seems that mobile phone pre-installation is still a very important application distribution channel, with low cost and large user coverage. As long as the products and content work hard, the value of this channel still has great potential to be tapped.

When asked what is the most commonly used e-commerce platform, almost everyone blurted out Taobao. Rich products, convenient package and complaints are the main reasons why people choose Taobao. Although the place in H County is small, the traffic is actually quite good, with two railways, two expressways and a national highway running through it. After placing an order in Taobao, you usually receive the goods in three to four days. For this aging speed, everyone generally agrees. In fact, if we can strengthen the process optimization management, the traffic conditions in H county should be faster.

Apart from Taobao, everyone is most impressed by Pinduoduo. Pinduoduo began to rise last year, and it has become well known by brushing the screen in the circle of friends. As in Y city, Pinduoduo faces the same brand credit crisis in H county. The image of Pinduoduo has been adversely affected by the mixed quality of merchants, poor quality control of goods and imperfect after-sales service.

Liu’s wife is a heavy user in Pinduoduo. Liu and her daughter always criticize her for buying a bunch of things that she doesn’t need. Her behavior has changed under the pressure of her family. In Brother Min’s view, Pinduoduo is an exclusive platform for middle-aged women who have more leisure time. Things are not right for them, but his wife occasionally makes a group with her friends. Xiaoxue, on the other hand, thinks that there are too many fakes in Pinduoduo, and it’s hard to tell them apart, so she stays at a respectful distance and only uses Taobao, which has more standardized platform management. Hua Zai has long given his wife the power to purchase goods at home, including online shopping. It seems that his wife has used Taobao instead of Pinduoduo.

JD.COM’s weak presence in H County is somewhat unexpected. Even in JD.COM’s powerful digital 3C category, few people say that they have bought such goods in JD.COM. Even an opinion leader like Brother Min only goes to JD.COM to check the information, and rarely places an order. In contrast, Vipshop, the main clothing, is used more often. He feels that the products of Vipshop are more real. Although sometimes the price is slightly higher than that of Tmall, he wants to buy it with confidence.

Netease koala is mentioned among young people, and Xiaoxue’s roommate will use it in activities as a supplement to Taobao. Brother Sanshi should be pleased that he has a certain brand influence among young people and can touch the potential user groups in the future.

The take-away market is dominated by young people, such as Liu and Hua Zai, who are not used to ordering take-away, and tend to take two steps to the restaurant for a fresh meal. Liu thinks that disposable tableware is not environmentally friendly and can be used as little as possible. Brother Min doesn’t order takeout many times. If he wants to order it, it is usually a fixed restaurant. He usually calls the boss directly to order food, and never uses the takeout platform. Because I am familiar with my boss on weekdays, the efficiency and service of ordering food by phone is better than through the takeaway platform. Buyers don’t spend delivery fees, and hotel owners don’t have to pay platform commissions, so it’s really a win-win situation for both sides to go to the intermediate link.

Or Xiaoxue, a student, is the one who orders the most takeout. She and her friends are used to ordering food by being hungry. She explained that it was not that she had a preference for selling platforms abroad, but that she was stationed in H County earlier because she was hungry. It is reported that Baidu take-out took the lead in landing in H county, and later hungry to follow up with Baidu take-out competition, and gradually gained the upper hand; However, the US Mission only entered the H county market in the second half of last year, and it is still in its infancy. However, the push ability of the US Mission has always been super strong, and we have clearly felt the strong impact of the US Mission on the street. It seems that the take-away market in H county is likely to change in the future.

Two days ago, I saw an article saying that the first-and second-tier cities were so hot that they answered questions live, but no one was interested in their hometown. It seemed that their hometown and the outside world were two different worlds. This phenomenon actually exists in H county.

Before the Spring Festival, you threw coins, I threw coins, and everyone threw coins together. The award-winning live answer was in full swing, and my circle of friends was full of advertisements and questions to show off. However, when asked about classmates and friends in H county, the answer was surprisingly consistent: I don’t know, I have never played. Xiaoxue has heard of it, but she is not interested in it.

Another thing that surprised me was the traveling frog. I thought this Buddhist game would become popular in H county like other popular games. Traveling frogs have entered the fading period of aesthetic fatigue in first-and second-tier cities, and Y city has just become popular, but it seems that it has not yet started in H county, and even the light snow that likes to chase the new trend has not been affected. According to this situation, traveling frogs are likely to have no chance to rise in H county, and no one wants to play an outdated game.

Xiaoxue said to me at dinner: Uncle, since I added your WeChat, I feel that the style of my circle of friends has improved a lot. I am a little puzzled to ask why, is it that I am more handsome than your father? She said no, her usual circle of friends is all trivial and chicken soup for the soul, but you sent some in-depth articles. At that time, I was shocked, because it was normal for my friends to share my own or my peers’ manuscripts, and some of them were even soft articles. In Xiaoxue’s view, this information is a clean stream in her inherent circle, something that has never been seen before.

Suddenly think of another little thing. Last year, I called several other students I hadn’t contacted for years, and they didn’t answer many times, but they didn’t refuse to answer. Later, I sent a text message to explain my identity before I got in touch. Asked about the reason, they said that they were worried about fraud when they saw that the incoming number was a strange number from other places, and I realized that it was a pot with a new mobile phone number. Being aware of safety is a good thing, but it also fully shows that many people in their hometown are too conservative.

In the last article, I compared Y city to the outer suburb of Beijing. Although it is far from the front line, at least the information is relatively smooth, but it lacks some development opportunities. The feeling in H County is that, like a village in a big city, it seems to be in a modern city, and the reality is completely different from the bustling CBD and business district. For most people in villages in cities, demolition may be the only way out. The same is true of the 18-line small county like H County, expecting the once-in-a-thousand-year "big demolition", such as merging into nearby strong provinces and cities and establishing high-standard open areas.

Nowadays, the mobile Internet has technically reduced the communication cost with the outside world and improved the productivity and quality of life, but it can’t solve the problem of information equivalence, let alone change the existing circles and horizons. Sometimes we think that the great progress we have made is actually just barely keeping pace with the times so as not to be left behind.

Like the children in the village, the children in H county have to go out if they want to change their destiny. When Xiaoxue go outside from H county after graduation, they may be as confused and uneasy as we were, lacking the confidence they deserve. This is obviously not what Brother Min and everyone want to see.

[titanium media author: ant worm, science and technology critic, columnist. Wechat WeChat official account: miniant-cn]