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Project Refuge: Feature update to Rednote for users changing from to Red Note

How Rednote quickly responded to the TikTok ban, attracting millions of new users?

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Hannah (Yuehan Zhang)

Project Management in the Information Age

MASY1-GC1250

TIKTOK

TIKTOK

TIKTOK

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Project Background

  • Why did TikTok users move to Rednote?
    • Timeline
      • Jan 10, 2025 – TikTok ban confirmed in the US
      • Jan 19, 2025 – TikTok is officially banned, Rednote downloads surge by 200%
      • Jan 25, 2025 – TikTok is restored, but some users stay on Rednote
    • Key Data
      • Rednote's DAU in the US: 700K → 3.4M
      • App downloads grew 200% in a week
    • Opportunities & Challenges
      • Huge influx of users, international expansion
      • Retention, product localization, regulatory differences

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Project Scope Management

  • Project Goal: Adapt Rednote to attract TikTok users
  • Key Feature Updates

Short video UI/UX optimization

Translation feature

Recommendation

algorithm

Update

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Agile Development: How did Rednote launch features so quickly?

Key Timeline

    • Sprint 1 (Jan 14): Marketing Campaign (Marketing/Operation)
    • Sprint 2 (Jan 15): Marketing Campaign + Requirement Analysis (Product) + UX Design (Design)
    • Sprint 3 (Jan 16): Marketing Campaign + Backend Development (Backend) + Recommendation Algorithm Server Deployment (Recommendation Algorithm)
    • Sprint 4 (Jan 17): Marketing Campaign + Frontend Development (Frontend- Android/iOS)+ Recommendation Algorithm Server Deployment Test (QA) and Release
    • Sprint 5 (Jan 18): Marketing Campaign + Testing (QA) + New Version Release

*Due to the sudden surge in users, a traditional 2-week sprint cycle was compressed into daily iterations.

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Project Time Management

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Project Risk Management

Major Risks

    • Regulatory Conflicts
    • Tech Challenges (development efficiency)
    • User Retention

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Rednote’s Response Strategies

    • Two-tier content moderation
    • Enhancing community engagement

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Was the project a SUCCESS?

Short-Term Success

    • Explosive user growth
    • Smooth feature launch within 1 week
    • Increased brand recognition in the US

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Long-Term Challenges

    • Retention risks
    • Regulatory adjustments
    • Market competition

VS

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Conclusion & Future Outlook

Key Lessons from Project Refuge

    • Agile development is crucial
    • Regulatory risks must be managed proactively
    • User engagement strategies determine

long-term success

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Future Considerations

    • Will Rednote continue expanding in international markets?
    • Can Rednote sustain its US user base?

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THANK YOU

THANK YOU

THANK YOU