You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 472 I can also talk, I can also cooperate
Qin Shaoyan's decision to develop an instant messaging software was so unexpected that Zhang Pingyi thought he was just joking.

But Zhang Pingyi later discovered that Qin Shaoyan was not joking at all, and he seemed to really want to make an instant messaging software.

"Why do we need to develop instant messaging software?" Zhang Pingyi was puzzled. "Our campus network and Qvod are both doing well. There is no need to challenge such a difficult project, right?"

"Then have you ever thought about what to do if Campus Network and Qvod fail?" Qin Shaoyan asked seriously, "When these two websites start to decline in two years, we will have missed the best strategic opportunity."

Zhang Pingyi was stunned, looking at Qin Shaoyan in disbelief, "What nonsense are you talking about? The campus network has just been launched. Can't you wait a little longer?"

"I'm not kidding." Qin Shaoyan said very seriously, "Campus networks may seem to be flourishing, but in fact they have already reached their upper limit of development, and it will be difficult for them to make any breakthroughs in the future."

"In another five years, the campus network will be abandoned by the times and gradually become a part of the Internet's memory."

"Why?" Zhang Pingyi was very puzzled. He was not questioning Qin Shaoyan's judgment, but the campus network had just become a US-listed company with a market value of tens of billions of US dollars.

With this kind of size, they can make a living by reaping profits in the stock market for a long time. It shouldn't be like this in just five years, right?
"The real-name social networking path has no future." Qin Shaoyan thought for a moment and tried to explain it in simple words, "Have you read the science fiction novel that we recently bought the copyright for? It's the Three-Body Problem."

"I just took a few glances, what's the problem?" Zhang Pingyi was a little confused as to why they were talking about science fiction again.

"The author Liu Cixin once talked to me about a theory called the Dark Forest Principle." Qin Shaoyan gestured, "The universe is like a dark forest. Every civilization is a hunter with a gun, trying to hide its whereabouts in the forest because every civilization is a potential enemy. Once it reveals its target, other hunters in the dark forest will shoot at it."

"It's the same on the Internet. Every individual could be a potential enemy. The Internet allows people to communicate across geographical boundaries in the virtual world, but it also amplifies the dark side of some people."

"There was once a famous saying that on the Internet you never know whether the person you are talking to is a human or a dog."

"When the other person doesn't know you at all, you can freely express emotions that you dare not express in real life, whether they are positive or negative."

"Real-name social networking will fully expose users to the maliciousness of the Internet and even affect their real lives."

"Just imagine that you exposed your name, your school, and even your real-life photos on the campus website, and those anonymous perverts could attack you recklessly, and even send you threatening letters and packages offline, but you don't know who they are."

"The risk is too great, and I don't think the campus network can bear this responsibility."

Zhang Pingyi shuddered when he heard this, and was a little confused, "If that's the case, why can the campus network still develop?"

"Because the overall online social environment was relatively friendly before," Qin Shaoyan explained. "People who had access to the Internet were curious and kind to strangers, and this trend continued until the establishment of the campus network."

"As for why the overall Internet environment has deteriorated, it is because the number of Internet users is increasing. With such a large base, even a small proportion of perverts and idiots is still a huge number."

"These people vent their inner darkness everywhere, are submissive in real life, and strike hard online. Most netizens are the silent majority, and the voices of a small number of people will become louder and louder, making the social environment increasingly worse."

Of course, this is only part of the reason, and there are some that Qin Shaoyan is not convenient to talk about.

Zhang Pingyi was silent for a moment. "You are the most outstanding product designer I have ever seen. I believe you can continue to lead the campus network."

"Human power is limited, and I am not a god." Qin Shaoyan sighed, "The best I can do is to delay the decline of the campus network as much as possible, but I cannot change the outcome of the decline of the campus network."

"The Internet is developing so fast now. Look at those popular websites before the millennium. How many of them are still alive? Except for NetEase, the other two of the three major portals are not doing well."

"What is popular now may not continue to be popular in the future. No one can predict how long it will survive in the Internet wave."

"Is this also the reason why you started Weibo?" Zhang Pingyi asked, "I thought you wanted to continue to expand the campus network and expand the user base to urban white-collar workers."

"I thought so before, but later I felt that working social animals might not be willing to continue socializing with real names." Qin Shaoyan smiled, "Weibo is just a product to keep the campus network alive, and it is also a platform for public opinion."

"Making good use of public opinion is actually very useful at certain times."

"But these are all unorthodox methods. On the Internet, users are the foundation and traffic is king."

"Whoever controls the users and traffic will be able to prosper forever." Qin Shaoyan said very seriously, "Do you remember the moat theory I mentioned?"

“Internet companies continue to build moats because their own websites are not strong enough and they need more products to enrich their ecosystems so that they can survive longer.”

"Look at Sina, NetEase, and Sohu. They are expanding everywhere and constantly looking for new models, while the portal websites that started out as a business are getting worse and worse."

"On the other hand, Penguin and Baidu are companies that went public after the millennium. Their businesses already have their own traffic, so they have great advantages in everything they do."

"Especially Penguin, which claims to have 300 million users. If we reduce the number, it would still have at least 20 to 30 million active users, and this number is still increasing."

"With this as a foundation, you can do whatever you want. If you copy someone else's product, no matter how good you are, you can't compete with Penguin."

Zhang Pingyi was thoughtful, "So you are interested in instant messaging software."

"That's right." Qin Shaoyan sighed, "I know this road is not easy to take. Once the product is launched, it will definitely be suppressed by Penguin. The difficulties we face then will be completely different from now."

"Difficult?" Zhang Pingyi smiled. "Why do I feel that your attitude towards penguins is very different?"

"Before, you were always disdainful of Shanda, the leader in the gaming industry. When you were building the campus network, you even ignored the competitors. The same was true for the video website. You even looked down on the three major portal websites. Only Penguin was different."

"Because the penguin poses the greatest threat. The longer it goes, the stronger it becomes. Do you think I should be wary of it?"

"Happy Farm is our core business, but for Penguin, QQ Farm is just a failed attempt. We can give up at any time. The gap between us and Penguin is too big."

"Don't be so pessimistic." Zhang Pingyi laughed, "It's not too late for us to become Penguin's rival. I don't believe that Penguin is really impregnable."

Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised, "You are very confident."

"I'm not confident, I'm confident in you." Zhang Pingyi said seriously, "I've been following you all the way to start a business. The conditions before were more difficult than they are now, but you always managed to lead us to success. I believe you are still the same now."

"It's just a little penguin, let's get rid of it!"

"It's a Hong Kong-listed company, so why is it so arrogant? We are a US-listed company, and our market value is much higher than theirs!"

"Well said!" Qin Shaoyan also laughed and said in a relaxed tone, "Let's do it!"

“If three years doesn’t work, then five years. If five years doesn’t work, then ten years. The waves behind will push the waves ahead, and the waves ahead will surely die on the beach.”

"I have so much liquid capital in my hands now that I can just throw money at it and start building it."

Zhang Pingyi immediately said: "I will select programmers tomorrow and set up a new project team."

"Let's set up a separate company," Qin Shaoyan warned. "One more thing, don't hire employees who left Penguin."

"Why?" Zhang Pingyi was very surprised.

"I'm afraid Penguin will use the non-compete agreement to cause trouble." Qin Shaoyan thought for a while, "Recently there is a very good voice software called YY, do you know it?" "I know, when playing World of Warcraft dungeons, players use YY to communicate." Zhang Pingyi was a little confused, "Why did you mention this?"

"I think we can put YY to good use." Qin Shaoyan thought for a moment, "Either acquire it or poach its people."

Zhang Pingyi laughed, "Your trick is too old-fashioned."

"Don't worry about whether it's old or not, as long as it works well." Qin Shaoyan said calmly, then picked up the phone, "Hello, Xiao Chen, call General Manager Zhou Yuan of the Operations Department over."

Zhou Yuan quickly rushed to the CEO's office after hearing the call, "Boss Qin, you're looking for me."

"Does 51.com know?" Qin Shaoyan asked.

"I know." Zhou Yuan nodded. "51.com has put up advertisements everywhere in Internet cafes. Our salespeople have met their people, but our businesses are different, so there isn't much overlap between the two sides."

When Zhou Yuan was promoting his online games, he would often meet people from other Internet companies in Internet cafes, and they also did not give up on the Internet cafes.

In this mixed place, it is normal for people to see each other and say hello when they meet.

Not only 51.com, Penguin also has a lot of sales staff doing promotion in Internet cafes, and the competition between the two companies is very fierce.

Often I put up an advertisement, and you send someone to tear it down, or cover it with your own advertising posters. Then, I tear it down again and cover it up again.

As a result, the two sides will fight each other, which will be much more intense than the competition between Campus Network and Giants.

"It's enough to know him." Qin Shaoyan said directly, "Go find the boss of 51.com and tell him that there is no future for 51.com to do this now."

"They rely on copying Penguin to attract users, which is effective in the short term, but they will definitely not be able to compete in the long run. It is better for them to think of other ways as soon as possible and make good use of the user resources they have."

"Either you hang out with us or get strangled by the penguins."

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment, "What if the other party refuses?"

Qin Shaoyan said with a cold face: "Then tell him that if he doesn't agree to the conditions, we will join forces with Penguin and destroy 51.com first."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and nodded solemnly, "I understand, President Qin."

……

Pang Shengdong is in high spirits right now. He recently received another investment and is continuously increasing his investment in local promotions.

For most of 2006, the user growth rate of 51 has been higher than that of QQ Space, which has a lot to do with his willingness to spend money.

The number of registered users of 51.com is now growing rapidly, and it is very close to 51 million users. With such a large number of users, the valuation of .com will increase further.

According to a report from an authoritative organization, among the top ten social networking sites, QQ Zone ranks first in traffic and visiting users, and ranks fifth in interactivity.

51 ranks second in traffic and number of visitors after QQ Space, Sina Blog and Baidu Space, but ranks first in interactivity.

This is a very outstanding achievement for 51, which has no entry resources.

Pang Shengdong was very surprised at first about the sudden visit from someone on the campus network, but then he realized that this was a good opportunity.

He was also aware of the recent lawsuit Penguin encountered. The cause was because QQ Space plagiarized the campus network's "Happy Farm".

Then Facebook jumped out and started a direct confrontation with Penguin, and then launched a package of lawsuits and public opinion, which made Penguin very anxious.

It is a very happy thing to see competitors in trouble. Now that Campus Network has come to me, it must be to join hands with 51.com to take down Penguin.

Pang Shengdong warmly welcomed Zhou Yuan into the office, specially treated him with fine tea, and greeted him with a smile.

But Zhou Yuan's first sentence stunned him. "I'm here to pass on a message today. Our CEO Qin said that 51.com's current model won't last long. You can't compete with Penguin. Stop it as soon as possible."

No, your campus network and Penguin are rivals now, so why are you speaking for Penguin?

There is something wrong with the saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend!

Pang Shengdong thought he had misheard, so he asked, "We are doing this to put pressure on Penguin, which also diverts their attention and is helpful to the campus network. Why do you want us to stop? Is there a misunderstanding?"

"It's not a misunderstanding." Zhou Yuan said calmly, "Don't compete with Penguin anymore. It's a waste of time and money. If Boss Qin says you can't beat them, then you definitely can't."

Pang Shengdong said angrily: "We have to fight first to see whether we can win or not. Besides, we have the upper hand now."

"If Mr. Pang doesn't listen to our advice, then we will join forces with Penguin and kill you first." Zhou Yuan said lightly.

"..." Pang Shengdong found it unbelievable. This development was not right.

Isn’t the campus network currently fighting with Penguin? Why are they joining forces to attack us again?
"Has your campus network gone crazy?" Pang Shengdong said angrily, "How can you do this? We are allies..."

"You, 51.com, are qualified to call yourself an ally of our campus network?" Zhou Yuan sneered, "From the number of users, influence to market value, you are not even qualified to support the campus network."

Pang Shengdong was angry, "Don't go too far, don't look down on the young and poor!"

"We at 51.net are not easy to bully. If you insist on fighting, then I will fight you to the death!"

Zhou Yuan looked at the other person in surprise, "Boss Pang, how come you don't understand good and bad?"

"Our President Qin is doing this for your own good."

Pang Shengdong laughed angrily, "You guys call forcing 51.com to death for my own good?"

"Who said I was going to force you to death? I just told you that the current path is not feasible." Zhou Yuan laughed, "Now you have two choices. Either you are forced to give up by Penguin, or you cooperate with our campus network."

"Cooperation?" Pang Shengdong immediately became excited. "Cooperation is good."

What's wrong with you? You said you wanted to cooperate a long time ago, but why did you come here and start shouting for war and killing? You almost scared me to death.

Zhou Yuan laughed. "Boss Pang said before that we had to fight to the death. I thought there was no point in talking about it."

"I can also talk and cooperate." Pang Shengdong immediately expressed his opinion, "How exactly can we cooperate?"

"It's simple. Help us promote Farmville."

(End of this chapter)