At this Apple press conference, who will be the protagonist of the "Spring Festival Gala of the tech circle"?

The differences in the "content mechanisms" of different platforms determine the variations in topic popularity, content preferences, and user atmospheres. Douyin is the fastest hit - maker, Bilibili is the most professional technology evaluation platform, Xiaohongshu is the most life - oriented, Weibo has the best atmosphere for breaking through circles and public discussions, and Zhihu is characterized by being rational and objective.

Every year around this time, Apple becomes the focus of the world.

After all, in the tech circle, the Apple press conference has become equivalent to the "Spring Festival Gala" - it's not just a showcase of new products, but also a major shift of attention and a content carnival across the entire industry.

While other bloggers are busy making parameter comparisons, arguing about "whether Apple products are still appealing", interpreting "whether the new products are worth buying", or creating content during the new product launch, the topic we want to discuss is: In the narrative of this "tech Spring Festival Gala", which platform is the main arena of public opinion?

Next, we will analyze the performance of platforms such as Weibo, Bilibili, Douyin, and Zhihu from three dimensions: topic popularity, user participation, and content richness.

01. Topic Popularity: Which Platform is the Main Arena of the "Tech Spring Festival Gala"?

According to the general law of communication, after a specific super - hot event occurs, under the effect of "expected consensus", the popularity will show a concentrated outbreak.

Correspondingly, topics related to the Apple press conference soared to the top of the hot search lists of all major social media platforms early on September 10th. However, what we are more concerned about is the persistence of topic popularity. After the initial curiosity fades, which platforms' users are still actively discussing?

We captured the hot search lists of different platforms around 15:00 on September 10th.

Let's first look at the Weibo hot search list. There were still 7 topics related to the Apple press conference on the list. Among them, "Apple Press Conference" had dropped to the 38th place, replaced by a series of new topics derived from the press conference, covering different dimensions such as price, star effect, peripheral products, and social controversies. The evolution from a "single main topic" to "multiple sub - topics" marks the fermentation and fission of information.

There were also 7 topics related to the Apple press conference on the Douyin hot list, mainly concentrated on expected topics such as price and color schemes, with relatively limited derived discussions. The Douyin hot list represents the "greatest common divisor of information", but public discussions and the ability to break through circles are restricted by algorithms.

The Bilibili hot search list was dominated by the "Apple Press Conference". Related topics accounted for more than one - third of the list, including in - depth analysis, hands - on experience, and price summaries from different dimensions. Bilibili has relatively weak topic derivation and cross - circle ability, but the technical concentration and quality within the "circle" are extremely high, maintaining attention for a longer time and allowing UP owners to polish their content.

Topics on the Zhihu hot list were concentrated on the iPhone 17. Apart from discussions on technical details such as the 120Hz refresh rate, other topics mainly focused on the press conference itself. Related to Zhihu's question - driven and answer - precipitation mechanism, it is easy to form a "slow - burning long - tail" knowledge compound interest, but the volume is moderate and the peak is not high.

Comparing only the number of hot searches may be a bit one - sided, as there are significant differences in the user volume and activity of different platforms. We captured the reading volume and interaction volume of topics related to the "Apple Press Conference" during the same period as reference indicators for horizontal comparison.

Taking the topic of "Apple Press Conference" as an example, the reading volume on Weibo within 24 hours was about 150 million, generating 151,000 discussions and 536,000 interactions; on Xiaohongshu, there were more than 39 million views and over 100,000 discussions; on Zhihu, 10.61 million people were "hotly discussing". Douyin and Bilibili did not disclose detailed topic data, but the reading volume of related hot topics on Douyin was generally in the tens of millions, and the playback volume of several recommended videos on Bilibili reached 100,000.

Judging only from topic popularity, Weibo is still the most concentrated traffic platform, Douyin has the advantage of high reach, Xiaohongshu is still in the process of fermentation, and Bilibili and Zhihu are good at extending information over a longer period. To sum it up simply: Weibo is a "national carnival", Douyin is "concentrated on hits", Xiaohongshu focuses on UGC content, and Bilibili and Zhihu are more like "long - tail positions".

02. User Participation: Which Platform's Users are the Most Active?

Topic popularity represents the "number of onlookers", while user participation reflects "who is willing to stay and voice their opinions", which is related to the platform's activity and operation ability.

Weibo Digital organized a "big V reporting group" one day before the Apple press conference, connecting with multiple KOLs to interpret the content of the press conference in real - time. After the press conference, it provided a series of long - form pictures and video "summaries" and immediately produced hands - on videos and professional interpretations of products such as the iPhone 17 series, the new Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro 3.

Bilibili and Douyin created special pages for the "Apple Press Conference" to highlight the cooperative content; the operation of Zhihu and Xiaohongshu is relatively "laid - back", mainly relying on algorithmic recommendations without much human - operated or waterfall - style recommendation.

Therefore, these platforms show obvious differences in user participation.

For example, the hit content on Douyin is mainly from top KOLs. Ordinary users prefer to "watch", and their participation mainly involves likes and comments. Most of the comments are short, either emojis or one - sentence expressions, and in - depth discussions are relatively scarce. Generally speaking, the core of Douyin is "high - intensity exposure + lightweight interaction", more like an emotion amplifier.

The in - depth content on Bilibili drives the overall topic popularity. The expressions of ordinary users are mainly in the form of bullet comments, mostly synchronized complaints or instant emotional expressions. This "companion - style" interaction allows users to have a sense of presence and a community atmosphere while watching videos, which is a unique way of participation on Bilibili.

The traffic distribution on Xiaohongshu is relatively even, and many amateur notes can also get considerable views and exposure. User participation also mainly involves likes and collections. The overall interaction data is impressive, but the comment section is relatively restrained, and the discussion atmosphere is not as active as on Weibo and Zhihu.

Zhihu users mainly participate by writing long - form answers. The answers are in - depth and logical, focusing on technical details, product comparisons, and usage experiences of the Apple press conference. Even for non - highly popular questions, dozens of high - quality answers can be generated, but the overall number of participating users is limited.

Weibo, which is good at content operation, has already formed a social platform with an interaction chain of "posting → reposting → commenting → replying": Big Vs drive discussions through in - depth analysis, reposting creates more views, and the comment section provides a place for the collision of ideas.

This mechanism not only accelerates information dissemination but also enriches the diversity and depth of topic discussions. For example, the derived topics on the hot search list are continuously amplified under the action of the interaction chain, completing the closed - loop from single - point information → multi - dimensional discussion → social dissemination.

Since the content of the press conference itself is one - way communication, the threshold for ordinary users to participate in content creation is relatively high. Whether multi - dimensional discussions and secondary dissemination can be formed is the key factor to encourage user participation, which depends on whether the platform provides enough derivative entry points and has a timely feedback mechanism. It is also a measure of the operation ability and topic vitality of different social platforms.

In terms of results, mature content operation and a complete interaction chain have boosted the enthusiasm of Weibo users to participate in discussions; the user participation on Bilibili and Zhihu is limited, but high - quality discussions are achieved through in - depth content and interest - driven; Douyin and Xiaohongshu are more inclined to information reach.

03. Content Richness: Decoding the "Password" of Hot Topic Breakthrough

To some extent, content richness is the result of topic popularity and user participation, and it is also a traffic magnet.

The higher the popularity of a topic, the more users it can attract to "watch", and some of them will transform from consumers to creators. Based on their own knowledge, experience, and perspectives, they create text, pictures, videos, and secondary creations, which form the basis of content richness.

The differences in user participation methods and discussion atmospheres on different platforms have shaped the differentiation of content. The question we need to answer is how hot topics break through on social media and what kind of communication code is behind it. Taking the Apple press conference as an example, it can be divided into a three - layer structure of "skeleton - flesh - temperature":

The "Skeleton" of the Event - Authoritative Media and Institutions.

In the era of information explosion, accuracy is the cornerstone of the content system. This is why platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, and Bilibili cooperate with media and big Vs to interpret in real - time and increase the exposure of authoritative content through special pages and official recommendations. These basic contents form the "skeleton" of information dissemination, allowing users to learn about the details of the Apple press conference, including which products are launched and at what prices.

The "Flesh" of the Event - KOLs and Professional Content.

KOLs from the digital field organize the originally single and scattered factual information into in - depth and systematic analyses and viewpoints, meeting the users' demand to "know the reason" after "knowing the fact". For example, Weibo collaborated with on - site bloggers to experience products such as the iPhone 17 and AirPods Pro 3 around the functions and selling points that users are concerned about, transmitting more incremental information.

The "Temperature" of the Event - Expressions of Millions of Ordinary Netizens.

The "genius replies" such as complaints, emojis, and comics generated by netizens around the Apple press conference inject the most vivid "emotion" and "temperature", greatly lowering the threshold for topic participation. For example, the long - form picture created by "Genius Panda"