原文
什么是微信？
微信开始于2011年1月，是一个简单的聊天应用程序，其特点和功能类似于WhatsApp。它是由腾讯在广州的研发团队中的一个由8名开发人员组成的小团队创建的。在接下来的5年里，微信的发展超出了任何人的想象，成为迄今为止中国最重要的应用程序。微信经常被描述为一个瑞士军刀式的超级应用，似乎无所不能。它允许我们叫车、买电影票、玩游戏、办理登机手续、支付账单、听音乐、看新闻、买衣服或认识附近的随机人员。然而，尽管拥有令人惊奇的各种功能，微信的核心仍然是信息传递。它的主要功能是与朋友和家人沟通。微信成功的关键原因如下:
1.官方账户平台
一个开放的平台，企业可以通过它进入微信的巨大用户群（后面会有更多介绍）。
2.支付
在过去两年中，微信支付发展极为迅速。3亿多中国人的银行卡与微信相连。中国各地的商店都使用微信支付。特别是，点对点的小额支付在2015年在微信上变得非常流行。中国消费者现在可以放心使用微信支付。现在中国的大多数商店都接受微信支付。微信支付与激烈的竞争对手支付宝（阿里巴巴集团）和中国默认的借记卡和信用卡系统银联一起，成为中国消费者的三大支付选择之一。其他参与者，如苹果支付、QQ钱包（也由腾讯拥有）和百度钱包，都占有一定的市场份 额。
3.保护用户
微信是一个封闭和私密的网络，高度重视保护用户的信息。该应用程序仔细限制企业可以向其粉丝发送的未经请求的信息数量。它也不允许企业直接获得个人信息，如电子邮件地址或电话号码。
4.微信钱包
微信已经与一些企业进行了战略合作（如电子商务的京东，叫车的滴滴出行），以提供整个系列的在线商店和服务，直接烘托在小程序中。
5.二维码
微信在中国普及了二维码的使用，现在二维码在纸质媒体、商店和广告牌上无处不在。扫描二维码为虚拟和现实世界之间提供了一个方便的通道。
6. 微信朋友圈
一个非常受欢迎的功能，用于与朋友分享图片和短视频。用户会以类似于 Facebook 新闻源的方式滚动浏览这一内容流。在查看朋友圈和与朋友聊天之间切换的令人上瘾的组合 提供了核心循环。这吸引了用户，使他们不断反复使用这个应用程序。
参考译文
WHAT IS WECHAT?
WeChat began life in January 2011 as a simple chat app with features and functionality similar to Whats App. It was created by a small team of just 8 developers within Tencent’s R&D team offices in Guangzhou. Over the following 5 years WeChat grew beyond anyone’s wildest dreams to become by far the most important app in China. WeChat is often described as a Swiss army knife super app that seemingly does everything. It allows us to order cabs, buy film tickets, play games, check in for flights, pay bills, listen to music, read news, shop for clothes or meet random people nearby. Yet despite having an amazing variety of features, the core of WeChat is still messaging. Its primary function is for communication with friends and family.
KEY REASONS FOR WECHAT’S SUCCESS:
1. The Official Accounts Platform
An open platform through which businesses can access WeChat’s huge user base (more on this later).
2. Payments
WeChat Pay has grown extremely rapidly in the past two years. 300+ million Chinese have their bank cards linked with WeChat. WeChat pay is taken in stores all across in China. In particular, peer to peer micro-payments became extremely popular on WeChat in 2015. Chinese consumers are now comfortable using WeChat for payments. It is now commonly accepted in most stores across China. WeChat Pay sits alongside fierce rival Alipay (Alibaba Group) and China’s default debit & credit card system Union Pay as one of the big 3 payment options for Chinese consumers. Other players such asApple Pay, QQ Wallet (also owned by Tencent) and Baidu Wallet hold margin market shares.
3. Protecting users
WeChat is a closed and private network which places a high priority on protecting users’ information. The app carefully limits the number of unsolicited messages that businesses can send to their followers. It also does not allow businesses to directly gain access to personal information such as email address or phone number.
4. WeChat wallet
WeChat has strategically partnered with several businesses (e.g. JingDong for E-commerce, Didi Chuxing for ride hailing) to provide an entire range of online stores and services baked directly into the app.
5. QR codes
WeChat popularized the use of QR codes in China which are now ubiquitous across print media, stores and billboards. Scanning QR codes provides a convenient gateway between the online and offline worlds.
6. WeChat Moments
An immensely popular feature used to share pictures and short videos with friends. Users will scroll through this stream of content in a similar way to the Facebook news feed. The addictive combination of switching between checking moments and chatting with friends provides the core loop. This engages users and keeps them returning to the app.