China's WeChat is all-encompassing but low-key − a Chinese media scholar explains the Taoist philosophy behind the everything app's design

The design philosophy of the everything app WeChat may seem paradoxical, being simultaneously pervasive and inconspicuous. But this idea of “everythingness” goes back to ancient Taoist philosophy.

Jianqing Chen, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures and of Film and Media Studies, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis • conversation
Oct. 4, 2023 • ~8 min

Elon Musk aims to turn Twitter into an 'everything app' – a social media and marketing scholar explains what that is and why it's not so easy to do

Everything apps offer a wide range of features, combining social media with personal finances. But creating the perfect everything app is no easy task.

Kristen Schiele, Associate Professor of Clinical Marketing, University of Southern California • conversation
Aug. 10, 2023 • ~8 min

Smartphones and contact-tracing: balancing care and surveillance

A wider understanding of cultural values will be crucial to the successful implementation of contact-tracing technology across the world.

Daniel Miller, Professor of Anthropology, UCL • conversation
June 21, 2021 • ~7 min

The US has lots to lose and little to gain by banning TikTok and WeChat

Banning the Chinese-owned social media platforms raises free speech concerns and could worsen the US-China trade war.

Jeremy Straub, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, North Dakota State University • conversation
Aug. 28, 2020 • ~10 min

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