A Brief Discussion on the Future of Renren.com

I remember when I graduated from high school, everyone was filling out each other's yearbooks. I thought it was too much trouble, and since everyone would change their addresses and phone numbers anyway, I didn't bother. Then, after graduation, I went to an internet cafe with a classmate and saw him open the school's intranet. That was the first social networking service I ever saw. In an era when BBS forums were all the rage, this thing thrilled me. A few months later, the second wave of the internet arrived. The term "social networking service" became a hot topic, and people rushed to join these platforms. At least we could search for classmates online, find their QQ numbers, and add them.

This year, with the emergence of Weibo, various influential figures rushed to seize the market. My initial impression was that Weibo was a news and information social network, while Renren.com was a small circle where close friends were gathered, and you could find even more friends and classmates. But then it changed its name! "Renrenrenrenrenrenren"—a tourist attraction? I don't understand... What are they trying to do? Are they trying to expand their circle, or are they trying to extend Renren.com beyond the campus?

I believe the value of a product lies not in what it can do, but in what it can bring to a specific person. Renren (校内) has effectively brought students friends, a community, and things that only the internet can offer. Students' focus isn't on what the outside world is like, but on what their own world is like and how they can change it. While Weibo and Kaixin (开心网) are large and comprehensive, easy to use, and cover everything, allowing easy access to any information in the world, Renren offers interaction—interaction that is truly personal.

Let's speculate on what will happen after Renren (formerly Xiaonei) becomes Renren (formerly Renren): 1. It will introduce news from various microblogs; 2. It will add verified accounts, celebrities, etc.; 3. It will not only include students from Renren, but also people from outside the school.

A student has to compete with adults and influential figures in society for resources and friends, losing access to information that is uniquely student-oriented, replaced by a chaotic and disorganized environment... It's unimaginable how far such a campus network can go...

As a user, I would be very disappointed. Although I will continue to use it, I will choose to leave if there is a new alternative.