How do Alibaba and Tencent achieve interconnection?

Not long ago, there were reports that my country’s two Internet giants, Alibaba and Tencent, may open their ecosystems to each other and achieve interconnection with each other’s applications. Although neither company has announced how they will interconnect with each other, the news itself is of great significance.

Since the quarrel between Alibaba and Tencent in 2013 over the issue of sharing Taobao links on WeChat, the mutual blocking and mutual blocking between the two ecosystems of "Alibaba" and "Tencent" has intensified. . At first, the products of Alibaba and Tencent blocked each other. Later, the struggle quickly expanded to between the two major ecosystems.

Under this kind of dispute, the originally unified Chinese Internet was torn into two parts, which objectively caused many negative impacts. In this context, if the two giants can really shake hands and make peace this time, then the entire Chinese Internet ecology is likely to usher in a big change.

Two issues in interconnection

1. Interoperability

The so-called "interoperability" refers to the mutual communication and collaboration between different software applications Ability to work. For example, if we want to use MeituXiuXiu to modify a photo we just received on WeChat, this will involve interoperability issues between WeChat and MeituXiuXiu. Only if interoperability between these two applications is allowed, the above process can be completed successfully. Otherwise, it needs to involve more steps and a more complicated process - for example, you need to save the photo locally first and then open it with Meitu Xiuxiu. In this way, a process of downloading and reopening needs to be added in the middle.

Obviously, the purpose of "interoperability" is to enable different applications to better complement each other, thereby making it more convenient for users to use. Depending on the relationship between applications requiring interoperability, interoperability can be divided into "vertical" and "horizontal".

The so-called horizontal interoperability refers to the communication and collaboration issues between applications with similar functions and direct competition. For example, Tencent now has instant messaging applications like WeChat, and Alibaba also has messaging applications like DingTalk. If we want to use WeChat to communicate with friends who use DingTalk, then it involves horizontal interoperability issues, because the two applications themselves have overlapping functions and there is also a certain degree of competition in the market.

In order to ensure the realization of interoperability, applications usually need to use a common technical interface (such as API interface) to achieve communication and interaction. The interface can simplify access to a defined set of data or features, sometimes combined with authentication capabilities to ensure the user has given consent. When an application provides an API to third parties, it provides them with a mechanism to obtain information or functionality from the service.

2. Data portability

The so-called "data portability" means that the platform can transmit its own data to a designated third party according to the user's requirements. We know that when a user uses an application, he will generate a lot of data on the application. Sometimes, when he uses other applications, he will want to transfer this data.

For example, if a Taobao store owner is also selling goods on Pinduoduo, he will want to collect various data accumulated on Taobao, such as the sales volume of various goods, praise status, user feedback, etc., together with Bring it to Pinduoduo. At this time, the issue of data portability comes into play.

Of course, when a user uses an application, the data he may generate is diverse, which can at least include the following categories:

Intuitively, in the above Among several types of data, not every type of data should be carried and migrated between different applications. Generally speaking, everyone will agree that the first and second types of data should be migrated, because these data themselves come from users.

The fourth and fifth types of data are usually not included in the category of portability.

In fact, under normal circumstances, few people will ask Platform A to provide their own user portrait when using Platform B; or ask to read e-books they bought on Amazon on Apple’s iBook. Book. Because in the formation process of these two types of data, the user's own contribution is very small, and they are more intellectual property rights belonging to the application or other third-party providers.

However, there is some ambiguity between data that should clearly be portable and data that should not be portable. For example, it may be controversial how the third category of data should be characterized, because the formation of this type of data seems impossible without any party in the user or application.

It should be noted that although data portability and interoperability are regarded as two independent issues in many contexts, in many cases, these two issues are actually related to each other. They constitute two aspects of the issue of interconnection. For example, in the process of cross-platform data migration, the issue of mutual openness of API interfaces between the two platforms is often involved. In this process, the purpose is to achieve data portability, but to ensure the realization of this purpose, necessary interoperability between the two platforms is required.