![]() ![]() The group’s auctioneer is none other than Yang Junling, a member of Doublefly, an art collective in China. The group’s members list is a mixed bag of artists, curators, gallery directors, critics and, of course, a ragtag bunch of professional and amateur collectors and they aren’t always strictly business-members keep up lively chatter about all and sundry into the wee hours of the night. Items go up at all hours and times, but bidding usually starts at 10 or 11 pm (because the auctioneer happens to be a henpecked husband with a full-time job). Starting prices for this WeChat auction normally range from zero to 10 RMB, shooting up into the thousands in the blink of an eye. The reason for its popularity? What’s in it, and its name-The Best Auction Group in China.Īn “auction group” is led by an auctioneer who is responsible for introducing a piece and its artist, announcing prices, creating time limits and setting the starting price. It is a group so popular that, like many other members, I have been deleted from it and rejoined it again and again. “Beep, beep…” goes the WeChat notification in my groups, and I reach out to silence it. Owned by the Chinese tech giant, Tencent, the service has in the past year bundled additional services like an online payment service, mobile payment services, online wealth management, taxi calling service, among others. Indeed, it has stolen much of the buzz from Sina Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter, for all kinds of reasons (see link here and here). Newest versions of the software include VOIP functions similar to viber, extending the functionality of the platform even further. Originally, it started off essentially as a mobile text and messaging app, much like WhatsApp, but gradually added photo and text sharing functions, becoming something like-in Western tech terms-a cross between WhatsApp, Instagram, and Twitter (or like Kakao Talk in Korea or Line in Japan). Editor’s note: WeChat / Weixin is a mobile app in China that has taken off like wildfire since it was first released in 2011-now with over 300 million active users. ![]()
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