A method of communicating with a peripheral device over a social networking platform, comprising: at a server of a support service provider for a type of peripheral devices including the peripheral device: registering with a server of the social network platform as the support service provider for the peripheral device; initiating a communication event to send an instruction to the peripheral device, initiating the communication event comprising: generating a push request data packet for the instruction, wherein the push request data packet identifies the peripheral device as a target of the instruction; and sending the push request data packet to the peripheral device via the server of the social networking platform and a user device coupled to the peripheral device; receiving a request data packet from the peripheral device via the user device coupled to the peripheral device and the server of the social networking platform; and in response to receiving the request data packet from the peripheral device, sending a response data packet to the peripheral device via the server of the social networking platform and the user device coupled to the peripheral device, wherein: the push request data packet, the request data packet, and the response data packet each have a fixed-length packet header and a variable-length packet body, the fixed-length packet header includes a predetermined command identifier and a packet sequence number, and the predetermined command identifier corresponds to a command for accessing a respective function of a social network platform, and the response data packet includes a first packet sequence number that matches a second packet sequence number included in the request data packet, and the push request data packet includes a third packet sequence number different from the first and the second packet sequence number. registering with a server of the social network platform as the support service provider for the peripheral device; initiating a communication event to send an instruction to the peripheral device, initiating the communication event comprising: generating a push request data packet for the instruction, wherein the push request data packet identifies the peripheral device as a target of the instruction; and sending the push request data packet to the peripheral device via the server of the social networking platform and a user device coupled to the peripheral device; generating a push request data packet for the instruction, wherein the push request data packet identifies the peripheral device as a target of the instruction; and sending the push request data packet to the peripheral device via the server of the social networking platform and a user device coupled to the peripheral device; receiving a request data packet from the peripheral device via the user device coupled to the peripheral device and the server of the social networking platform; and in response to receiving the request data packet from the peripheral device, sending a response data packet to the peripheral device via the server of the social networking platform and the user device coupled to the peripheral device, wherein: the push request data packet, the request data packet, and the response data packet each have a fixed-length packet header and a variable-length packet body, the fixed-length packet header includes a predetermined command identifier and a packet sequence number, and the predetermined command identifier corresponds to a command for accessing a respective function of a social network platform, and the response data packet includes a first packet sequence number that matches a second packet sequence number included in the request data packet, and the push request data packet includes a third packet sequence number different from the first and the second packet sequence number. the push request data packet, the request data packet, and the response data packet each have a fixed-length packet header and a variable-length packet body, the fixed-length packet header includes a predetermined command identifier and a packet sequence number, and the predetermined command identifier corresponds to a command for accessing a respective function of a social network platform, and the response data packet includes a first packet sequence number that matches a second packet sequence number included in the request data packet, and the push request data packet includes a third packet sequence number different from the first and the second packet sequence number.