Let’s check out what a video looks like on Bilibili.
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:47 am
If Tencent Video (left) is more Netflix-ish, Bilibili (right) is definitely more YouTube-esque in how it feels and how people use it.
Bilibili attracts a younger user base, with users in their teens to early thirties.
In Canada, everyone uses YouTube regardless of their age…well, almost everyone; in my family, my parents, and older family members all use it. However, on my wife’s side of the family over in China, not all of them are using Bilibili, but I’d bet that many of the younger ones are.
Bullet Comments
Bullet comments on Bilibili
Notice anything a bit weird?
At the top of the screen, you can see pieces of Chinese-language text philippine cellphone number superimposed over the video. These are user-added “bullet comments” introduced at specific points of the video, which then fly across the screen.
This is a way for users to watch the video and interact with the content and other users simultaneously.
You might be asking yourself: Why would users want to see all those comments all over the place and flying across the screen at high speed?
One theory (which I’m not 100% sure of) is that Chinese characters are easily interpretable in this format.
If the same bullet comments were applied to a YouTube video, the English language sentences would be much harder to follow. Compared to Chinese, English words are longer, and the sentences cover more horizontal space.
The (Un)Usual Features
It’s worth mentioning that like other platforms (e.g., YouTube), Bilibili has a lot of free content; however, some users pay a subscription to access more types of content and unlock certain features.
Some of Bilibili’s video features you’ll also find on YouTube.
Underneath the video, you have the following options.
interaction under Bilibili's video
You’ll probably recognize these from other social media platforms as well. From left to right: You have the (hopefully) recognizable like
, favorite 
, and share buttonsshare button .However, there’s one thing a little different here, and it’s unique to Bilibili.
Coins > Likes
In between the like and the favorite button is an option to give the content creator a “coin,” which is a way of supporting the creator.
bilibili coins
Coins are maybe a bit stronger than a regular “like” because users only have a limited number of them to use. A user can give an infinite number of likes, but they can’t do this with their coins.
The content creators can then use these coins to buy things within the platform.
Underneath the video, we have a comment thread. These ar
Bilibili attracts a younger user base, with users in their teens to early thirties.
In Canada, everyone uses YouTube regardless of their age…well, almost everyone; in my family, my parents, and older family members all use it. However, on my wife’s side of the family over in China, not all of them are using Bilibili, but I’d bet that many of the younger ones are.
Bullet Comments
Bullet comments on Bilibili
Notice anything a bit weird?
At the top of the screen, you can see pieces of Chinese-language text philippine cellphone number superimposed over the video. These are user-added “bullet comments” introduced at specific points of the video, which then fly across the screen.
This is a way for users to watch the video and interact with the content and other users simultaneously.
You might be asking yourself: Why would users want to see all those comments all over the place and flying across the screen at high speed?
One theory (which I’m not 100% sure of) is that Chinese characters are easily interpretable in this format.
If the same bullet comments were applied to a YouTube video, the English language sentences would be much harder to follow. Compared to Chinese, English words are longer, and the sentences cover more horizontal space.
The (Un)Usual Features
It’s worth mentioning that like other platforms (e.g., YouTube), Bilibili has a lot of free content; however, some users pay a subscription to access more types of content and unlock certain features.
Some of Bilibili’s video features you’ll also find on YouTube.
Underneath the video, you have the following options.
interaction under Bilibili's video
You’ll probably recognize these from other social media platforms as well. From left to right: You have the (hopefully) recognizable like
, favorite 
, and share buttonsshare button .However, there’s one thing a little different here, and it’s unique to Bilibili.Coins > Likes
In between the like and the favorite button is an option to give the content creator a “coin,” which is a way of supporting the creator.
bilibili coins
Coins are maybe a bit stronger than a regular “like” because users only have a limited number of them to use. A user can give an infinite number of likes, but they can’t do this with their coins.
The content creators can then use these coins to buy things within the platform.
Underneath the video, we have a comment thread. These ar