What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 518 The Sin of Not Fighting
The CEO of Tencent really wants to invite Alibaba to hold a seminar together.

See Weizhi book.

Software from Lingang may have already taken the lead in certain dimensions.

As for how much of a lead...

Anyway, Liu Chiping had almost tallied the software usage time of most of the employees at Tencent headquarters, and after gathering everyone together to compare the accounts, he was not optimistic.

Why are there so many singing videos in the videos you're watching? I like singing.

Why are there so many travel guides in the videos you're watching? I love traveling.

Why are there so many videos of beautiful women changing clothes in the videos you're watching? Uh, not many, just occasionally.

What surprised Liu Chiping the most was that he was being pushed content about Christian culture. He naturally didn't use real information when using Douyin, but he didn't know when his competitor's software had captured his interest in this area.

This intrusion was so silent and stealthy, it was terrifying!
So here's the question: why doesn't Alibaba's Leyin have as much engaging content as Douyin?

The current Weishi focuses on vertical content such as short music videos, so it naturally cannot compare with the multi-faceted nature of Douyin. However, this issue can also be transformed into a reflection on the past: why was the first version of Weishi not as attractive as Douyin?

Whether it's Leyin or Weishi, they are backed by two giants and don't lack traffic, so they don't lack users. So why are they not performing as well as Douyin?

Liu Chiping keenly realized that there might be a more fundamental problem here.

He brought this up and encouraged an open discussion, which quickly led to a somewhat reluctant guess: Douyin, or rather the company behind it, Silicon Carbon Data, may have already taken the lead in terms of technology and algorithms.

What did I notice this time?
Simply put, it's about the degree of matching between people and information.

If this leading position is not acknowledged, there is another "hot topic" under Carbon Silicon Data Company whose advertising revenue is rapidly expanding. According to the current speculation, it is a text-based information matching technology.

After noticing the rise of silicon carbon data in the mobile internet field, Tencent tried to counter it by making its "TianTian Express" interface look similar, but the effect was not significant and it still could not stop the progress of "Latest Hot Topics".

Looking back now, setting aside traffic and funding for the moment, has Tencent fallen behind in terms of technology?

Liu Chiping found this answer hard to accept.

However, when he saw the employees participating in the discussion in the meeting room and their somewhat dejected expressions, he felt even more distressed.

This shouldn't be happening, it shouldn't be like this.

Tencent revived Weishi, unified internal voices, gathered numerous resources, and pursued vertical differentiation in the market. It should have been a smooth and effortless process, but why is it rushing around in such a hurry?

Continuous statistics, emerging intrusions, intensive discussions, and the reality that must be accepted...

Liu Chiping began to consider a problem: music short videos seemed unable to save Weishi.

Assuming a technological gap truly exists, Weishi shouldn't continue like this. If Douyin gains a comprehensive lead, how long can the short music video genre maintain its dominance?

He felt that the problem wasn't with the initial route he was considering, but rather that the other party's development speed and technological evolution had exceeded his expectations.

So, did Leyin realize this, which is why it quickly shifted from music short videos to all forms of short videos?

Liu Chiping raised his idea of ​​changing the content format of Weishi within the company.

Weishi was merged, Weishi is going to be revived, Weishi is going to operate independently, Weishi is going to make music short videos, Weishi is going to stop making music short videos...

The idea revealed by the president of Tencent has caused some commotion.

Liu Chiping believes that this unrest is controllable and must be addressed in accordance with changes in market competition.

On the evening of November 17, Liu Chiping attended the Penguin General Office meeting as usual.

As soon as he entered the meeting room, he was surprised to see Zhang Zhidong, the co-founder who had already retired.

Liu Chiping greeted them but didn't pay much attention. When the meeting started, he formally proposed the change in direction that the Weishi team had been discussing: to change from music short videos to all-format short videos similar to Leyin and Douyin.

Pony Ma didn't speak, and no one in the general office conference room made a sound either.

Liu Chiping briefly observed the expressions of the core executives and continued to explain his and his team's observations, but was interrupted after only a few words: "We believe that in this competition..."

"Change, change, change! We changed it yesterday, we changed it today, are we going to change it again tomorrow?" Ren Yuxi, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Tencent, interrupted the president and questioned, "Does changing it again and again guarantee success? I have never seen software that frequently changes its core features succeed."

Liu Chiping hadn't expected to encounter resistance so quickly, and patiently explained, "Mr. Ren, it's like this, regarding Douyin's position in the short video field..."

Ren Yuxi interrupted again: "Since you attach so much importance to Weishi, since you're using so many resources to promote it, and since you think that what needs to be changed now is the right thing to do, then what was wrong before? Why didn't you think it was right before?"

Having said that, he went all out and stated his position: "Isn't someone going to take responsibility for this?"

Ren Yuxi is not only the COO, but also the president of two major business groups: Interactive Entertainment Group (IEG) and Social Network Group (SNG). He has launched new hit mobile games such as "Temple Run" and "All-Star Plane Battle", and manages content platforms such as QQ Zone and QQ Music.

It can be said that, amidst the struggles of Penguin over the past three years, the business he was in charge of was a highlight in the financial reports.

Having achievements gives you the right to speak out.

Ren Yuxi didn't name names, but his stance was already clear.

Liu Chiping's gaze fell on Ren Yuxi's face, and only then did he realize that today's general office meeting had already turned into a storm.

His mind raced, and he immediately declared, "I spearheaded the revival of Weishi because I believe we cannot allow competitors to expand unchecked in the short video field. Weishi is currently in a bad situation, and I bear some responsibility for that, but I cannot refrain from doing anything for fear of making mistakes. I believe that not daring to try is the biggest mistake."

Why did Weishi need to change? Because its competitors are developing rapidly.

Given how rapidly the competition is now, wouldn't it have been a mistake not to launch Weishi earlier to try and seize the market?

Liu Chiping's words made many members of the general office nod secretly. His efforts to revive Weishi were not long ago, and everyone had seen it back then. Now it seems that we can't be too harsh on someone who is willing to do things.

“One is one, two is two,” Ren Yuxi said coldly. “The correctness of one cannot make up for the mistake of two. I agree with President Liu’s vision, but I have doubts about whether President Liu can really operate Weishi.”

Vision is vision, and ability is ability.

The COO's words clearly pointed him out.

Liu Chiping remained calm and pondered for a moment before saying, "Short videos are a new market. Just like Alibaba changed its music platform and Weibo restricted Miaopai, everyone is indeed trying to find the right product direction."

His words were quite appropriate; it's not just Tencent that's making changes, what about Alibaba and Weibo as well?

At this moment, Lu Shan, the person in charge of WeChat, slowly spoke up: "Weishi does need the right direction, but this is not the first time for Weishi. Weishi was the first software in China to test the waters of the short video market. Back then, it was all-encompassing content. The fact that it has been going on like this until now suggests that there is a problem with its internal strategy."

Lu Shan is half a sinner to Tencent because he failed to lead WeChat to defeat WeChat. At the same time, he's also half a hero because he led WeChat to avoid being defeated by WeChat.

He has kept a low profile in the past two years. The fact that Tencent's former dominant position and its current struggles make anyone in the position of head of Weibo pale in comparison.

However, WeChat still occupies half of the mobile communication software market and has brought positive profits through commercialization attempts such as mobile games, official accounts, and Moments ads. At the same time, it has substantially enriched Tencent's ecosystem and has now gained a slight advantage.

The mentality of past dominant players was that if they didn't make a lot of money, they were losing money.

The current mindset of these industry giants is that they've finally made a profit.

By speaking like that, Lu Shan was practically on the opposite side of Liu Chiping.

One is the COO who controls the financial results, and the other is the Senior Executive Vice President in charge of WeChat.

Liu Chiping realized that he was facing a severe test tonight.

His gaze was slightly lowered, his voice calm and composed as he pondered, "We have discussed the advancement of the company's strategy many times. Back then, there was the 3Q dispute, and then we encountered the rise of WeChat created by Yu Xing. The situation was indeed very complicated, but over the past few years, there have been both successes and failures."

The company's strategy is not something that he, as the president, can decide alone; it is a collective decision and is also approved by the leader, Pony Ma.

"Mr. Liu, I'm not blaming you. I think you're right about one thing: the market is changing, the competition is changing, and we all need to adapt to change." Lu Shan spoke eloquently, "In the past, we talked about using capital and traffic to expand Tencent's ecosystem, but group buying ran into Meituan, e-commerce only enriched JD.com, Alibaba successfully went public and became the world's second-largest internet company, and now short videos are so lost and confused..."

He shook his head and offered his thoughts: "Weishi is being led by others. It's learning from Vine, MusVid, and now Leyin and Douyin, but it hasn't been effective. Times are changing. Mr. Liu, you also said that there's a gap in technology. So, should we use technology to drive innovation and focus on internal innovation?"

Lu Shan is a tech-savvy individual within Tencent, and his proposed "technology-driven" and "focus on internal innovation" approach represents a correct correction from his perspective regarding Tencent as a large company.

Liu Chiping was genuinely shocked to hear this.

Capital in one hand and traffic in the other – this is Tencent's strategic focus in the mobile internet era. Now, Lu Shan is not just talking about Weishi, but about using Weishi to talk about the mobile strategy he himself is driving – that's launching an attack from the root.

The president of Tencent is naturally a high-ranking and powerful executive.

However, there have been instances of core executives losing power due to operational failures.

Wu Xiaoguang joined Tencent in 1998 as its sixth employee. As a core member of the QQ R&D team, he participated in the development of the first version and was known as "Tencent's first product manager." However, he has now been marginalized.

His leadership of Tencent's e-commerce business was a complete failure. With the collaboration with JD.com using a "capital + traffic" approach, Tencent's e-commerce platforms Yi Xun and Paipai.com were merged into JD.com, marking the end of his tenure within Tencent.

Although Wu Xiaoguang has not officially announced it, it is almost certain that he will leave Tencent. As a sign of respect for the veterans, he will be given a senior management consultant title in a non-executive position.

Liu Chiping immediately thought of 006 Wu Xiaoguang.

Strategic changes will undoubtedly lead to changes in the allocation of internal resources and the power structure.

Liu Chiping immediately objected to Lu Shan's perception, while simultaneously seeking the approval of the core members of the General Office with his gaze.

His gaze fell on Tang Daosheng, who was in charge of cloud business, hoping that this veteran would lend his support.

However, Tang Daosheng simply remained silent as an observer.

Remaining silent in such situations is a tacit form of opposition.

Liu Chiping's gaze went unanswered, and his heart sank instantly. Lu Shan and Ren Yuxi, who also sensed the situation, immediately launched a sharp rebuttal, criticizing the penguin's failures over the past three years.

“Alright, alright.” Zhang Zhidong, the retired co-founder, spoke up to quell the argument and said slowly, “President Liu is doing things and he has difficulties. We must give him room to try and make mistakes. Besides, Weishi has not yet reached the point of being judged wrong and guilty.”

Liu Chiping breathed a slight sigh of relief, finally receiving the first word of support from the attendees at the meeting that evening.

However, Zhang Zhidong changed the subject: "But now, companies like Alibaba and Silicon Carbon are either heavily investing in cloud computing or researching technical algorithms, and they are already very powerful. We also need to increase our investment in technology. At the very least, the various business groups cannot fight their own battles. We can consider a 'technology middle platform' approach."

After saying that, he turned to Pony Ma, who had been watching from the sidelines, and asked, "Pony, what do you think?"

Pony Ma only said one thing: "Investment in technology definitely needs to be increased."

Liu Chiping suddenly seemed to be in a daze, pursed his lips, and a sense of enlightenment dawned on him. The appearance of General Manager Zhang Zhidong today was probably a subtle signal.

but……

There are no buts.

The general office is either confrontational or indifferent, and there's also a subtle inclination in the leader's mind. What else can be done?
When Liu Chiping left the company, he was completely bewildered. His position was not affected, and his power was not ostensibly diminished, but Weishi was clearly about to face even greater difficulties.

However, the prospects of short videos are being increasingly valued. If Tencent misses this opportunity to expand, what will happen to it?

Liu Chiping returned home in silence.

He didn't lie down in bed until the early hours of the morning, his mind constantly racing with thoughts of strategy and the market.

When he decided to go to sleep, Liu Chiping casually opened Douyin (TikTok), then suddenly frowned and thought, "Fine, I'll just scroll through it for ten minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, just as he was about to close Douyin, a video from "Silicon Carbon Group" appeared on his screen with the title: "Immersive Experience of Long-Distance Tram Travel."

Liu Chiping's gaze was immediately drawn to Yu Xing on the screen. He then overheard Yu Xing's casual conversation during the long road trip, which included content about penguins.

The passenger in the passenger seat casually asked, "Mr. Yu, what are your thoughts on the competition between Douyin and Weishi?"

While driving, Yu Xing replied, "I'm quite confident. Weishi's problems aren't complicated. It's hampered by internal constraints and poor content. It always follows others and has to consider internal resources. If we could disregard Weichat, Weishi would definitely not be where it is now, but often we can't. That's normal in big companies. Different ideas, who's right and who's wrong, need to be verified by facts. Sometimes, what seems like a small mistake at first turns out to be a long-term correct one. What do we do then?"

"Hey, adding Tencent means we've got half a ticket to the mobile internet, and there's a big difference between half a ticket and a full ticket."

"If Weishi ends up being a complete mess, I won't be surprised at all, but it can't be blamed on Weishi or the people in charge of it. Well, right now it's Chiping in charge of it."

"This is not a fault of the military."

Liu Chiping kept watching the video from "Silicon Carbon Group," his feelings complicated, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

Just as I was finally putting down my phone, my sleepiness was suddenly shattered by a thought.

Wait, isn't TikTok content supposed to be 15 seconds long?

Why does Silicon Carbon Group have at least a one-minute video?

Liu Chiping sat up abruptly, reaffirming his thoughts. His mood was even more complex in the quiet of the night. While he was still struggling with a situation unrelated to combat, the enemy was already exploring more possibilities…

(End of this chapter)