New wave of communication tools in China

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced its intent to ditch the famous instant messaging tool, MSN messenger, and replace it with Skype everywhere in the world, except in China. Yet how long can MSN survive in China?

The 13-year-old MSN messenger has met its end in the global market. Though its services remain in China, it is not likely to turn the table.

27-year-old Meng Zhengyuan is among the earliest MSN users in China. She remembers its golden age.

Meng Zhengyuan, a bank employee in Beijing, said, “MSN was very popular as an office communication tool a few years ago, and many of my friends were using it. But in recent years, it’s been disappointing. Viruses, junk mails, advertisements, frequent disconnections. I didn’t feel the company were working to address these problems, so I dropped it.”

Many others have made the same choice. MSN, with over 300 million global active users at its heyday, has only one third left in 2012. In China, a mere 5 percent market share makes it non-comparable to its local competitor Tencent QQ.

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