Behind 10,000 comments, the inspiration and lessons that Miaoya Camera brings to AIGC

Since its launch in July, the Miaoya Camera has quickly become popular on the Internet. This article details the development review, successes and shortcomings of the Miaoya Camera. It is recommended for students who want to understand product operations.

On July 17, Miaoya Camera announced that it was officially open to the public. This product, which features an AI camera and intelligently generates high-quality photos, quickly became popular on the Internet. During the peak period on the evening of July 20, there were even 4,000 to 5,000 people queuing up to wait for photos to be taken. To this day, it still takes about four hours to complete the production of a digital avatar. However, while Miaoya Camera continues to be popular on the Internet, it also faces endless controversies. Today, when AIGC continues to bring new changes to the cultural industry, what enlightenment can Miaoya Camera bring?

1. Review of the process: How Miaoya has come over the past month

Relevant information shows that the main company of Miaoya Camera has the same legal representative as Youku Video, and it is a startup project invested by Alibaba Entertainment. In the craze of AIGC and big models this year, Miaoya Camera began production in January, started internal testing in June, and officially launched the product on July 17. The usage process of Miaoya is that users generate their own digital avatars by uploading more than 20 photos, and then choose the photo base provided by the mini program to generate photos of different styles. It should be noted that this type of photo generation has not yet reached the technical level of users to shoot scenes at will, but is selected from dozens of templates. Each template can generate four photos at a time. If you are not satisfied, you can continue training.

Slightly different from other software, Miaoya does not choose to let users pay after experiencing it, but chooses to pay 9.9 yuan at the beginning of using the software before they can see their digital avatar. At the same time, for the generated portrait photos, you can continue to train the model, or spend 2 diamonds to pay to generate a high-definition version or download (depending on the recharge discount, 2 diamonds is about 0.2 yuan). High-definition and download are billed separately. If both are paid (the cost investment is no more than 0.4 yuan), you will get a photo with a resolution of about 1000*1500. According to the person in charge, "the price of 9.9 is enough to cover the cost."

△Payment options and new customer acquisition mechanism under digital avatar

People who are familiar with the AIGC industry can easily find that, compared with other large-scale model applications, the core technical principle of Miaoya is not complicated. Judging from the results presented so far, its learning ability and computational simulation ability have not reached an amazing level. Although its head said in an interview that Miaoya was different from previous face-changing products from the beginning of product definition.

However, compared with Deepfakes, ZAO, Avatarify and other video face-changing software that appeared as early as the end of 2017, Miaoya may still have a long way to go. In fact, similar technical applications and customized digital images have long been common, and even Wondershare's products only require uploading 5-10 photos.

But when it comes to breaking the circle, we have to mention Miaoya. In addition to the peak queue of mini programs mentioned above, Miaoya Camera was launched on the Apple App Store on July 28, and the number of downloads has continued to be high. Currently (August 8), it has risen to the second place in the free social list. These popularity not only made the phenomenal hit, but also provided more sufficient learning data for the development of the software itself, which is also conducive to telling a more attractive story in the next financing stage.

Although Miaoya has become a phenomenal hit in the AIGC field, it has been followed by endless debates. So far, 9,300 people have participated in the mini program rating, with a score of 2.4 points, and 396 people have participated in the Apple Store rating, with a score of 2.5. Despite the hot downloads and usage, its rating shows a clear C-shape - this means that consumers' evaluations of this software are clearly polarized. We captured these 10,000 comments and tried to find out the success and controversy of Miaoya.

2. Talk about success, why Miaoya successfully broke through the circle

△ Screenshots of mini program ratings and Apple Store ratings (both displayed by default)

1. Target pain points and accurately enter the photography blue ocean

Miaoya’s popularity is inseparable from its accurate grasp of user needs. Although the product manager said that it has never been benchmarked against certain brands such as XXX and XXX, users generally believe that Miaoya can surpass these well-known photo brands, and even expect them to do so. On the one hand, people have a rigid demand for high-quality ID photos, image photos, and portrait photos in their current work and life. Even the author, who almost never takes selfies or has others take photos of him, can’t avoid the need for personal introduction and image display. It’s obviously a bit embarrassing to rely on the short-haired ID photos that have been passed down since high school. Whether it’s to record life or to show yourself to others, high-quality portraits are necessary.

On the other hand, the prices in the photography industry are rising, and the quality of the finished photos is hard to guarantee. The above-mentioned XXX body charges more than 300 yuan for a portrait photo in Beijing, and the original photos are not provided. The evaluation of the quality of its photo editing is also mixed. Some people praise it for its good looks, while others say that it would be unrecognizable if sent to parents. It is true that the services of the photography industry actually include a series of fees such as clothing, makeup, and lighting, but its pricing standards are still far higher than many people can accept. Baidu search for XXX body, "XXX body ID photo was rejected", "XXX body ID photo can not be passed", "XXX body photo is so expensive", which also highlights the magical meaning. Outside these professional photography agencies, the price of appointments for independent photographers has also been getting higher and higher in recent years, and it is common to pay hundreds or even thousands.

Here, we must also mention a characteristic of the photography industry or all kinds of commercial art creations: there is always a difference, even a world of difference, between consumers' self-perception and expectations and photographers' abilities and aesthetics. This means that consumers not only have to pay first, but also have to bear the risk of not looking good and being unsatisfied with the finished film, and the photographer is unwilling to continue to modify and improve it, which will be very unpleasant.

△Some high-scoring reviews

Under the strong collision of these two aspects, there is actually a huge void in the photography industry - people always ignore the cost of photography, unrealistically hope to get photos that they are satisfied with, but do not want to pay high fees and take high risks. In contrast, the cost of the Miaoya Camera 9.9 is almost equivalent to zero trial and error cost, which is a good choice whether it is to keep photos or socialize.

2. Hot spot marketing, using social media to ensure the base

But why has MiaoYa achieved real success compared to other similar software?

This is inseparable from MiaoYa’s corresponding product design and social attributes.

First of all, people have paid close attention to various topics of AIGC in the past year, but many of them require certain technical thresholds or face the situation that foreign software cannot be used. Therefore, a software that is readily available, in which you can truly participate, and relatively free of foreign hot spots, will inevitably arouse everyone's interest.

Secondly, for marketing, "black and red are also red", with the blessing of the AIGC topic, coupled with the pay-first-then-use mechanism design, consumers, whether they are satisfied or not, "have spent money, share and share". Those who think they look like the real person will naturally share beautiful photos, while those who think they don't look like the real person have their own ways of sharing - for example, the funny flow, integrating unsatisfactory photos into jokes, saying bold words such as "everyone says they don't look like me, they are more handsome than me"; for example, the roaring flow, questioning why the photo doesn't look like themselves, and confiding the tragic experience of wasting 9.9, and attracting likes from all sides when one side is in trouble; for example, the technical flow, in-depth analysis of why the photo doesn't look like the real person, suggesting what kind of uu can use software, etc.... Under the bombardment of rounds of Moments, it is inevitable that you will be tempted.

In addition, the gimmick of AIGC inadvertently lowered people's psychological threshold for sharing photos. If it is a personal photo taken carefully, many people want to share it for more people to see, but they are worried that it will cause others to talk about it. However, sharing scientific and technological achievements under the name of AIGC has invisibly lowered the psychological threshold for showing one's beauty. Finally, the initial group of more than 10,000 trial users of Miaoya were in the field of Internet + entertainment, and received good positive feedback, anchoring the initial high-quality community for the marketing and promotion of the product, and laying a foundation for more active and disseminating power.

3. Operational pain: Why is MiaoYa constantly controversial?

1. Privacy debate, an operational premise that cannot be ignored

Among the many controversies caused by Miaoya, the question of privacy is the most acute and one of the important reasons that keep many consumers out. In the original privacy terms of Miaoya Camera, users need to authorize Miaoya Camera to enjoy a permanent, irrevocable, transferable, sublicensable, free and non-exclusive license in all categories (including virtual space), and to authorize Miaoya Camera to use the user's content in any form, any media or technology (whether now known or later developed). Although this clause was urgently revised three days later, it still became a lingering concern for many consumers.

Along with this, Miaoya requires users to upload photo information. In the process of Miaoya generating a personal digital image, you are first required to upload a frontal photo with clear facial features, and then you need to upload 20 photos from multiple angles. For those who are familiar with anti-fraud knowledge, it is not difficult to realize that such photo requirements are enough to generate a user authentication video that is indistinguishable from the real thing. In theory, it is completely possible to misappropriate information for various operations such as authorization and financial transactions. Although Miaoya has repeatedly promised that it will not use information for purposes other than generating photos, coupled with the influence of the previous "tyrannical terms", it is still difficult for many people to feel at ease.

△The requirements for uploading Miaoya’s first photo are basically as strict as those for ID photos.

From a long-term perspective, how to ensure that this information will not be leaked and how to avoid the improper use of consumer sensitive information by some companies in the past have attracted the attention of relevant regulatory authorities. This has also become a proposition that MiaoYa must work hard to prove if it wants to truly gain the recognition and trust of users.

2. Pay first, a risky move by AIGC

Payment in advance, an important feature of the cultural industry, has now been almost completely taken over by the AIGC industry.

From the perspective of the enterprise, prepayment is obviously conducive to recovering costs as soon as possible, but from the perspective of consumers, although 9.9 is not expensive, it will affect consumers' decisions to a certain extent. Some comments pointed out that it is difficult to guarantee the quality of the service by requiring prepayment before seeing anything, which feels deceptive. The more important problem of Miaoya in payment design is that there are problems with the payment link and timing.

First, the payment prompt appears after users upload a large number of ID photos. It is not easy for many consumers to find 20 usable photos. For example, I dug out my hard drive and finally collected 20 photos, sent them to WeChat Transfer Assistant, downloaded them, and switched back to the mini program to upload them. After finding the photos with great effort, I was faced with a payment interface instead of the common preview feedback in China, which was unpleasant.

After paying, something even more frustrating happened - the system would prompt you to wait a long time before getting the photos, and the occasional bugs made people even more annoyed and frustrated. As a popular comment said, "Why do others still have to wait in line when they are playing the game so badly!!!!!!" This kind of waiting in line was not something people had enough psychological expectations for when they paid, which further deteriorated the reputation of the game.

△The waiting interface I saw today is much friendlier in comparison

In addition, Miaoya’s payment settings were criticized by the Consumer Association because of the non-refundable clause. The existence of such an overbearing clause has further reduced the user evaluation of the program. Overall, Miaoya’s exploration of prepayment has been successful, proving that consumers have a strong willingness to pay for AIGC content and social recommendations, but it is more of a lesson - the Miaoya product team obviously did not make enough predictions in the design of the software mechanism. Although the team’s adherence to the concept is valuable, it is a risky move to make prepayment, and it needs to continue to explore how to make consumers willing to pay in a more humane way.

3. Algorithm core, user evaluation is the only criterion

Another point of complaint for Miaoya is that the final generated pictures do not look like themselves and the available styles do not meet their needs. Although Miaoya claims to have adopted the leading AI intelligent algorithm, for consumers, the numerous titles are meaningless. What matters is that the pictures taken are satisfactory. Taking my own generation experience as an example, there are many pictures generated, but they really do not look like myself.

Some of my friends commented, "Not like you, but more handsome than you", "Not like, a bit like Huang XX, Niu XX (two male celebrities' names)", "Much whiter than you". I also tried to return to the old saying and showed the photos to my mother, but all I got was the simple word "Not like". What's more dramatic is that when I chose the female template, the colorful pictures received unanimous praise from everyone, which was very joyful, but it did not achieve the purpose of generating a personal portrait.

Of course, different consumers have different expectations. Some may not care whether the photos look like themselves, but just want to look good. Some may seek a balance between good looks and personal characteristics. Through more personalized details, more consumers will be able to recognize the product. But no matter how we argue, the objective situation presented by Miaoya’s products at this stage is that photos are generated based on a limited number of template styles, and many people do not recognize the similarity between photos and themselves.

In addition, the requirement to upload 20 photos of the person has also caused complaints from some consumers who originally did not like taking photos but wanted to obtain photos. Compared with other related software, this number is indeed relatively large, and it is ultimately a problem of algorithm optimization. The huge market demand for portrait photography is indeed unique compared to "midjourney-like" products, but it also places extremely high demands on algorithms: only by preserving facial proportions, features, etc. while beautifying as much as possible and providing more customization options can the needs of consumers be truly met. This is also the key that AIGC participants and Miaoya itself must think about in the future so that they will not be surpassed by other imitation products in the future.

4. Computing power limitation, which cannot meet expectations

For AIGC's various products, product quality and response speed are equally important criteria for judgment. In various articles analyzing Miaoya's business model, some articles occasionally ask: Waiting in line for several hours to generate AI photos, is it a computing power limitation or marketing hype? Regardless of the actual situation, judging from the current evaluation, waiting in line has exhausted the patience of more and more consumers. From the initial several hours of waiting to generate a digital avatar to the subsequent waiting time of at least two minutes for each set of photos, people may be willing to wait as a novel experience, but when various competing products appear one after another, when people seriously consider and pay for AI photography as a real need, powerful computing power is one of the most basic links to meet consumer expectations.

4. Commonplace: Did the MIA Camera revolutionize the photography industry?

Putting aside the development of the AIGC industry, let's go back to an old topic: has AIGC made another industry unemployed? Or from the perspective of AIGC practitioners, how can we truly subvert this industry? Maybe it's because Miaoya's preparations are not sufficient this time. At least from the current situation, some low-end "shutter workers" may face unemployment, but the irreplaceable nature of high-level photography will be further highlighted. In short, there are the following points:

• Current AI photo-shoots have obvious shortcomings in terms of preserving personal characteristics, model learning is still not in place, and the quality of the generated photos themselves fluctuates greatly.
• The photography industry provides a series of services such as clothing and makeup, which are highly customized. Photography requires coordinating and selecting the most suitable clothing and styling based on the needs of consumers and the experience of photographers. At present, big models have hardly touched on these contents.
• When taking photos, the photographer's important task is to choose an angle that suits the consumer. This is not only a challenge to the photographer's ability, but also a process for consumers to constantly understand themselves, discover their own beauty, and find confidence. This includes communication and cooperation during the shooting process, and the experience of choosing the best position and light. This experience is irreplaceable.
• One of the main functions of photography is to record a specific time and place. This value is more prominent in the process of taking commemorative photos such as family portraits and checking in at specific tourist destinations. No matter how beautiful the photos are, they lack unique memory value.

Some of the above four points may be gradually resolved with the hot attention on AI photography brought by MiaoYa, but perhaps in the future, it will be more about how AIGC can achieve more efficient cooperation with photography practitioners. The industry threshold may be raised a lot, but photography as a profession will inevitably exist.

Author: Li Jinsha; Editor: Shi Guang; Editor: Bandao

Source: Official Account: Cultural Industry Review (ID: whcypl), the top new media in China’s cultural industry.