Off to Neverland! WeChat Party 2013 kicks off in full swing
April 10, 2013 by thejessicat
With faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust, I flew off to Neverland with Peter Pan!
Actually, no I didn't. How I wish, really.
In reality, I did zoom off to Neverland after work though. But it was Club Neverland, to be exact.
WeChat Malaysia threw a massive party in the city for social media influencers and I had the pleasure to be invited along with many others!
Konzy and I at the WeChat Party 2013 photo wall
Here's a little background information for those of you who have not got the slightest clue about what WeChat is all about yet. (But really, who hasn't heard of it by now?)
WeChat is a new mobile phone text and voice messaging communication service. It was initially launched as Weixin in China in 2011 but was subsequently rebranded as WeChat in 2012 for the consumption of the worldwide market.
To date, WeChat boasts more than 300 million user accounts. (Wow! Yup, I'm one of them too)
Personally, I was introduced to WeChat since late last year, and have been using it particularly to talk to my friends residing in France and China as well as my family who don't seem to be using any other instant messaging platforms.
Witnessing the advent of the hoardes of other instant messaging platforms like Whatsapp, BBM, Viber, Google Talk, LINE, Skype, Facebook Chat, I personally think WeChat stands out from the rest because of its additional features, apart from the usual text messaging, video chatting, photo & video sharing, broadcast messaging and contact information exchange.
Just random screenshots of my instant messages, playing with
emoticons and walkie-talking with my buddies
As a WeChat user myself, here are the features that makes it different.
It has a hold-to-talk voice messaging (just like a walkie-talkie!), super cute & animated emoticons, doesn't have a limit to how many people can be included in a chatroom, a social networking feed (much like a mini-version of Facebook), available on Blackberry, and if you're feeling bored or a bit more sociable than usual, there's also location based plug-ins like 'Shake', 'Look Around' and 'Drift Bottle' to start conversations with other WeChat users nearby or around you.
Now, it's on to the party!
Konzy and I waiting for some friends to arrive
at the staircase of Club Neverland
Party peeps, hey ho, let's go!
This party also marks the celebration of the official launch of their new local TV commercial, featuring two Malaysian personalities in the film industry, Lisa Surihani & Shaheizy Sam, using the video call feature of WeChat.
http://youtu.be/CSzHzFwYflg
Video-calling is only ONE of the many features of WeChat!
The moment we got inside, we saw many people queueing up to take photos at the instant photo booth.
It almost reminded me of the Japanese purikura sticker photos machines!
We wasted no time in taking one home for ourselves.
Well, actually, *I* wasted no time. After I chose this cute green frame with a funny-looking singing cat, I had to drag him to take a cute photo with me. Boys will be boys! Haha.
Greeting us along the entrance, the WeChat balloons were aplenty!
Cuddling both my new WeChat plushies
Thanks WeChat Malaysia!
As we were all hungry by the time we arrived, we made a beeline to the buffet area to grab dinner.
There were heaps of food to go around. Think: spaghetti bolognaise, anchovy-fried rice, spicy noodles, chicken satay, pies & pastries and more.
I particularly took a liking to the cut mangoes and seedless grapes that were going around.
MINE! AAALLLLL MINE!
But Guess what was the highlight of at the buffet table?
Something so cute and a really clever touch to this WeChat party! Wait for it…
A tower of little custom-made WeChat cupcakes!
How cute are these things?! I heard it tasted yummy too.
Couldn't resist taking a photo with it
Take two!
While enjoying our dinner, us guests were entertained with performances on stage.
Kicking off the evening was an opening dance of hip-hop nature by a street dance crew.
They were brimming with energy!
Mr. Poshu Yeung, the Vice President of Tencent International Business (the company who operates WeChat), gave us a warm welcome, a brief introduction of WeChat in Malaysia and expressed his delight seeing such a huge crowd turnout at the party!
We should be the ones welcoming you, Mr. Yeung, as it is your first time in Malaysia!
It was quite a tight squeeze with the crowd jostling about everywhere, but we managed to park ourselves at one of the tables close to the stage. Here are some photos with some of my buddies!
To keep us entertained apart from all the mingling and catching up we were already doing, there were more stage performances in store for us.
This time, it was a vocal performance by local singers Vivian Chua and Henley Hii.
Vivian belting out several Mandarin songs. I loved her dress!
At one point, they also did a short duet!
With his stunning good looks and melodic vocals, Henley worked the crowd superbly
Performances aside, there were also many funny and engaging games being played.
Five males and five females from the crowd were welcomed to join MC Rudy on the stage. This game was almost like a battle of the sexes! It was hilarious watching the boys answering questions about make up and manicures while seeing the girls being questioned about cars and football were no less entertaining!
Photo credits: Kee Hua Chee
While the games were on, I took the chance to catch up with more friends!
I just realized that the only times we do actually meet up, chit-chat and hang out are only somehow limited to when we coincidentally get invited to the same events. LOL!
The next performance was by popular, Warner Music Malaysia record label singer Awi Rafael.
I could already hear screaming fangirls even before he began singing.
It was my first time watching him sing, and I must say, his vocals were pretty impressive!
More games ensued, followed by a spinning session by SykoGroove.
Get it down on the dance floor party goers!
Dance dance dance
Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay too long to enjoy the music.
I left shortly after, as it was a working weekday the next morning. Bummer!
That wraps up my night at the WeChat Party 2013
Supported on Wi-Fi, 3G and 4G data networks, WeChat is now available on iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Phone devices – making it the first and only social messaging application available on all major mobile platforms!
Thank you for having me at your party, WeChat Malaysia!
I had a great time catching up with many friends over a good buffet dinner, entertainment and the adorable plushie
For more information on WeChat, check out these pages below:
WeChat's Facebook Page at – www.facebook.com/wechatmalaysia
WeChat's official website at – www.wechat.com