The world is in trouble

Chapter 241 This is driving someone to their death! Stepping into the abyss!
Every app launched by Facebook is undoubtedly a masterpiece.

Qianqian Music Player, Kuaibo, and now YY Voice.

Almost the instant it appeared, someone discovered it and downloaded it immediately.

Renren.com, in particular, not only started downloading the content, but also began a comprehensive analysis.

Wu Lingxi keeps a close eye on Facebook's every move.

After testing for several hours, Wu Lingxi listened to everyone's report.

"Mr. Wu, this software is very good, extremely mature, and it's not even a BETA version. So it's obvious that it has been in development for a long time, but it's only being released now."

"But... I don't understand why Facebook launched this at this time."

"The celebrity strategy was proposed by Lin Xiao, but we were the ones who ultimately implemented it. We hijacked his strategy, so Facebook is now in dire need of traffic."

"And this thing doesn't bring traffic to Facebook; in fact, it relies on Facebook's traffic."

"It increases Facebook's value and strengthens its competitive advantage."

Wu Lingxi also uses YY Voice and made almost the same judgment as the engineer.

But Facebook is already very valuable, and its moat is deep and wide enough. Why would it add more moats at this point?

Wu Lingxi: "According to your concept, what are its application scenarios?"

The engineer thought for a moment: "Hold a meeting, an online meeting."

"Our entire group of dozens of people just used it to hold an online meeting; it's incredibly useful."

"But I really can't see what impact it will have on Renren.com."

...............................

Most Facebook users also discovered this problem after downloading the app.

I don't think I really need YY Voice.

This isn't like Qianqian Music Player or Kuaibo, which are absolute necessities.

However, a group of people downloaded it and were overjoyed!
Those are people who play games.

Especially for those who play Legend of Mir, it's incredibly useful for commanding during siege battles.

Of course, this group is still a minority at present.

Because online games have only recently emerged in the last two years.

Subsequently, with the rise of online games, this application experienced rapid growth, even posing a significant threat to QQ at one point, and boasting a massive user base.

Historically, YY Voice had hundreds of thousands of online users within a few months of its launch, and the number of online users exceeded two million the following year.

In just two years, the app had over 1 million downloads and soon went public on Nasdaq, with a market capitalization of around $6 million on its first day.

However, it also faces a major problem: difficulty in monetization.

With many games now featuring sophisticated voice systems, its necessity has gradually decreased.

Moreover, it faces significant pressure to generate profits, which forces it to do many short-sighted things, such as damaging the user experience.

However, under the Lightning Group, it can thrive and will not need to have any money-making tasks for a long time.

First, it served a large gaming population and online meetings.

When the PC game live streaming boom arrives, it can transform itself into the largest game live streaming platform, or even a full-category PC live streaming platform.

………………

Meanwhile, YouTube, Facebook's online video website, has launched a new service that allows users to upload and share their own videos.

Currently, this remains the privilege of a select few.

Because current camera phones are far from mature, video recording capabilities are practically nonexistent. If you want to shoot video, you'll have to buy a camcorder or one of the few digital cameras with video recording capabilities.

but……

Those savvy young women on Facebook, especially those with a large following, have already spotted this trend.

They already owned relatively expensive digital cameras and regularly took beautiful photos to share.

Now that this feature is available, they can directly shoot videos and upload them to YouTube.

Furthermore, Facebook has this feature: after uploading the video to YouTube, it can also be simultaneously updated on the user's personal page.

First, it can attract your Facebook followers to watch.

Secondly, she can also attract fans on video websites and get them to follow her Facebook account.

Within just two days of its launch, the number of videos on Facebook's video site doubled.

However, most of the videos are very basic.

It's when someone stands or sits there and greets others.

The smarter young lady, dressed in sexy clothes, filmed a sexy and alluring dance.

Then, the click-through rate skyrocketed.

It wasn't until the fifth day!

A magical video appeared.

A guy with an abstract-looking face bought an electric mosquito swatter, used it to shock his younger brother, and then let out a scream.

Depend on……

This is a typical example of a funny or entertaining video.

As a result, the video's views skyrocketed, exceeding several million.

This guy gained 100,000 followers on Facebook overnight.

Everyone around was stunned. "Wow, you can do that?"
then……

Another guy in Europe came up with a brilliant idea: he took a DV camera to Amsterdam's red-light district.

I didn't go inside; I just walked around outside.

But these days, where have most netizens ever seen this?

The video quickly surpassed the one of the younger brother who used an electric mosquito swatter, and the brother's Facebook followers surged once again.

He was overjoyed and immediately pressed on, continuing to film similar videos.

Explore all kinds of red-light districts.

They even went so far as to chat and communicate with women in special professions abroad.

Moreover, they even made them perform.

Then, he became incredibly famous.

It can only be said that the creativity of the people is truly boundless.

Of course, the YouTube review team is also incredibly busy.

Because after seeing the traffic, this group of people increasingly veered towards sensationalism and borderline content.

Facebook will be relatively more lenient, but anything that crosses the line will still not be allowed to pass the review.

at the same time!

Facebook in East Asia also updated its YouTube system simultaneously, and the video content there is more lenient.

and so……

This immediately triggered a small surge in traffic.

Of course, the quality of videos initially generated entirely by users was relatively low.

In order to launch this new system, Lightning Group had already trained and signed hundreds of video content creators.

These people are divided into many tracks.

Car reviews, food tracks, rural tracks, novelty tracks, stunt tracks, overseas adventure travel tracks, and so on...

Moreover, in the preceding months, they had been asked to produce dozens of relatively professional videos, and after the video website system was updated, they regularly uploaded videos.

Their income comes from two parts: a fixed salary from Lightning Group and a share of the video traffic.

………………

While the exact traffic figures for Facebook are unknown, the significant enrichment of YouTube's video platform is evident after the system upgrade.

More and more videos are being added every day.

Moreover, the number of videos with over a million views is also increasing.

Renren.com immediately sensed a huge crisis.

Liao Feng spent an unknown amount of money on Renren Video, purchasing a large number of TV series and movie copyrights.

Therefore, Renren.com had been boasting that the number of videos on Renren was four or five times that of Facebook and YouTube.

As a result, in just a few days, the number of videos on YouTube surpassed that of Renren Video.

Moreover, it is growing exponentially every day.

Immediately, Renren.com held another emergency meeting.

Should we follow?
"Following directly is no problem, of course. Just upgrade the video website system to allow users to upload their own videos."

"However, recruiting a professional review team requires at least a team of dozens of people."

"Secondly, and most importantly, it's about burning money!"

"Because Facebook directly shares the revenue with users' videos."

"Moreover, these videos haven't been advertised yet, which means there's no revenue; it's just pure money burning."

"This means that the more successful this video website is, the greater the losses it will incur."

The entire senior management of Renren Group faced a difficult decision.

In the past, they would have undoubtedly chosen to follow suit without hesitation, completely copying Facebook's model, launching their own social networking system, and sharing traffic with users' videos.

but now……

Renren.com's cash flow is already in dire straits.

The company has already spent 1.3 million to acquire the rights to the game "Perfect World".

Inviting a large number of celebrities to join requires a huge amount of money.

They're fighting for the exclusive distribution rights to World of Warcraft, and they'll need to prepare tens of millions of dollars.

“I think…” Chen Zhouyi said, “Our Renren.com is already far ahead in terms of traffic and users, and Facebook will not be able to catch up in a few months.”

"Our most pressing task is to demonstrate our profitability."

"Our cash flow is already very tight, so we need to use the money wisely, focusing on distributing World of Warcraft and launching Perfect World."

"We can't afford to split up anymore."

This is not only Chen Yizhou's opinion, but also the opinion of most shareholders.

Everyone is now eyeing that target: Yahoo and SoftBank's $3 million, or even $5 million.

With this investment, they plan to list on Nasdaq by the end of next year, with their market value soaring to $20 billion.

Then everyone's previous investment can be multiplied many times, or even ten times.

Miyazaki: "I think our energy is limited. At least for now, we should focus on two games."

"Let's not create any more trouble!"

Then, everyone's eyes fell on Liao Feng's face.

Liao Feng is currently in his happiest moment, advancing triumphantly from victory to victory.

And it seems that final victory is getting closer and closer.

Therefore, his whole spirit was in a state of excitement, and he had a feeling as if he were divinely inspired.

The closer it gets to this point, the more he pursues leadership qualities.

After a long silence, he slowly raised his head.

"I think……"

He paused briefly, allowing everyone to listen attentively.

"Never underestimate Facebook."

“A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step.”

"Although we have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, we must not let our guard down, especially at this time."

"Although Facebook still has a significant lead in traffic, the number of new videos and the daily traffic on YouTube, Facebook's video website, are astonishing."

"Of course, most of this traffic is now internal Facebook traffic."

"However, once the content accumulates to a certain extent, quantitative change will lead to qualitative change, and it will break out of its niche."

"At that time, a lot of external traffic will flow into Facebook."

"Therefore, we must not only win the battle for profitability, but we also cannot afford to be careless in the battle for traffic."

"Absolutely, absolutely we cannot be complacent, we cannot let Facebook catch up, we must leave them far behind."

"Therefore, we'll follow the video website's SNS system!"

"We'll train dedicated video creators!"

"We'll share the revenue from user video traffic!"

Renren's top management and shareholders were immediately terrified.

How much will this cost?

So, everyone's eyes turned to Wu Lingxi.

At this point, the shareholders actually hoped that Wu Lingxi would step forward and stop Liao Feng's actions.

In response, Wu Lingxi calmly replied, "I agree!"

Immediately, the shareholders let out a sigh of despair.

Once Liao Feng and Wu Lingxi are aligned, they will be very difficult to resist.

Therefore, Renren.com passed this resolution.

It also launched Renren Video's SNS sharing system.

Furthermore, an announcement was made on the Renren.com homepage.

This comes just one week after YouTube's upgrade.

Of course, it will take time for Renren Video to cultivate dedicated video creators and even upgrade its system.

However, the next day...

A huge announcement appeared on the Facebook homepage and the YouTube homepage.

A 200 million RMB support plan!
Over the next year, Lightning Group will use 200 million yuan in cash to support video creators.

In addition to the existing revenue sharing, we will provide an additional 200 million RMB in support.

Furthermore, the announcement clearly stated that there would be no advertisements on YouTube videos in 2005. Also, the video website would not have any paid plans, not even a VIP membership system.

This announcement was made.

The executives at Renren.com started cursing loudly.

I'll fuck your mother...

Lin Xiao, are you crazy?
This video website already has high costs to begin with, and you're going to spend another 200 million to support it?
Are we just going to keep burning money like this?

The key point is that we just announced that we will follow the SNS sharing system.

We at Renren Video are determined not to fall behind others; if YouTube has it, we want it here too.

Now that you've launched a 2 million support plan, should we still follow suit?
and?
Our cash flow is about to explode.

Don’t follow?

We claim to be the world's number one social networking site and number one video website.

It wouldn't make sense not to follow.

…………

Renren.com had to convene another board meeting.

To follow or not to follow?
If we follow suit, where will the money come from?

The key question is, is it worth burning through 200 million on such a video website?
are you crazy?
"with!"

Liao Feng stated firmly, "Our support plan is not just a nominal 200 million RMB, but 300 million RMB!"

"However, I'm not prepared to spend that much money."

"A maximum of 1 million!"

"Anyway, we are prepared to completely crush Facebook within a few months."

"Users won't know how much money we actually invested." Many shareholders gritted their teeth, thinking that even 100 million was a lot.

People are really unwilling to invest any more money.

We can choose not to oppose you.

But you can't force us to pay.

You'll have to figure out the money yourself.

………………

Mr. Zhu from Jiucheng came to visit Lin Xiao.

The game "Miracle" has declined this year, and The9's revenue has dropped significantly, so Mr. Zhu is determined to acquire "World of Warcraft".

But now that Renren Group is so wealthy and powerful, he really can't keep up.

Most importantly, The9 was also at the most critical stage of its IPO at that time.

Many people in China are not optimistic about World of Warcraft, but the US capital market is very optimistic. Successfully acquiring the rights to World of Warcraft would have a huge, even decisive, boosting, chances of The9's NASDAQ listing.

However, The9 really couldn't come up with that money.

Because of the competition between Renren Group and Tencent, Blizzard's appetite has grown, and their offer is now much higher than before.

"President Lin, we are all companies from Shanghai, and I'm here to formally ask for your help." President Zhu kept bowing and said, "As long as you help me secure the distribution rights for World of Warcraft, I will definitely give you a very huge reward."

In Zhu's view, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Lightning Group and Renren Group are irreconcilable enemies, so Lightning Group should support my The9.

However, Mr. Zhu was not very willing for Lightning Group to invest in Nine City, because the other party obviously had a big appetite and would directly ask for several tens of percent of the shares.

So, he wanted to borrow money.

Lin Xiao stared at the other party for a long time, then smiled and said, "President Zhu, go ahead and make your offer, go ahead and compete. I will fully support you."

Mr. Zhu was overjoyed and asked incredulously, "Really?"

Lin Xiao: "Really!"

Lin Xiao of the Lightning Group has a reputation that remains impeccable to this day.

However, Lin Xiao's plan was to have The9 and Renren Group drive up the price wildly, making Blizzard so arrogant that it forgot itself.

If this fierce competition continues, the release of World of Warcraft in China will be delayed further and further, ideally by a year.

In that case, the market for "Zhu Xian" would be completely stable, and they could make a fortune.

In fact, he didn't care at all who ended up with World of Warcraft.

Mr. Zhu: "Then I'm relieved."

.....................

Next, Mr. Zhu from Nine City announced to the outside world that he had reached a strategic cooperation with Lightning Group.

Then, in a flash, he offered Blizzard Entertainment an even higher price, 25% higher than Renren Group's offer.

Blizzard Entertainment was ecstatic.

When they came to promote World of Warcraft in the first half of this year, they were met with a cold reception; at least Shanda didn't really pay them much attention.

Unexpectedly, in the second half of the year, there was a fierce competition, and the price kept rising.

As a result, they were no longer in a hurry.

Meanwhile, Renren Group launched another tirade of profanities.

You bastard, Lin Xiao!

They're deliberately making things difficult for us.

What do we do now?
Should we continue?
We had to convene another emergency meeting.

"Should we go with them this time?" Liao Feng asked.

The shareholders present fell silent.

This time is different; in the video website wars, they are not very willing to follow suit and burn money.

However, they were determined to secure the distribution rights for World of Warcraft. This was because they wanted to demonstrate their capabilities to Yahoo! and SoftBank, and World of Warcraft was incredibly popular in the US online gaming market, and even globally.

But if we keep going like this, where will the money-burning ever end?
“We’re not actually afraid of The9, its financial resources are limited. What we’re worried about is Lin Xiao.” Chen Zhouyi: “What if Lin Xiao uses a feint, and he’s not actually supporting The9, but wants to seize the distribution rights for World of Warcraft himself? Then we’ll be in a very passive position.”

Another shareholder asked, "Approximately how much money does Lightning Group have left?"

Miyazaki: "I don't know. Their income comes almost entirely from Lightning Entertainment. They earn a lot, but... they spend even more."

"I feel that their funding chain has also come to an end."

"They're probably just bluffing; they probably don't have any money left."

"You know, they launched several large projects simultaneously!"

........................

Lightning Group's cash flow is indeed running low.

Because they're burning through too much money.

YouTube videos, Facebook, and projects like "Squid Game," "Bright Sword," "Chinese Paladin," "Fallout 3," "Jade Dynasty," and "Dungeon Fighter Online" were all being promoted almost simultaneously.

They burn through massive amounts of money every day, and not long ago, they invested five million dollars in CDPR.

Not only that, but they also need to prepare tens of millions of dollars to acquire the struggling Android company.

but……

It was at this time.

Shuanglin Productions and Jiangnan TV announced that they will be holding an advertising tender for the two quarters of "If You Are the One" next year.

It was almost entirely ad hoc, announced only three days in advance, and only the brands and advertisers were notified.

result……

On the day of the advertising bidding conference, the venue was still packed with people.

Not only did all the advertisers and brands we had worked with before come back, but many new brands also came trying to take advantage of the opportunity.

The bidding meeting was once again chaired by Deputy Director Zhang Yan.

"Next, we will begin the bidding for the naming rights of 'If You Are the One' in the first and second quarters of next year, with a total sponsorship fee of 1 million yuan for the two quarters!"

The naming rights for the last season were 3900 million, but now they've risen to 5000 million per season.

This price increase is quite significant.

However, compared to its historical peak, it's still a drop in the bucket. At its peak, "If You Are the One" earned around 1.3 million yuan in sponsorship fees for a single quarter.

Moreover, the viewership ratings for "If You Are the One" have recently risen again, reaching 4.3%.

This is nothing compared to the six percent of the finals of "Super Girl" and "The Voice of China".

But that was the finals.

"If You Are the One" airs twice a week, and almost every episode has such amazing ratings.

So even with a sky-high price of 1 million for two seasons, people immediately raised their hands.

"Congratulations to Bird Mobile for securing the title sponsorship of two seasons of 'If You Are the One'."

They've finally changed sponsors. They'd been using Panda Mobile for over a year, and they figured the advertising had reached saturation.

In fact, everyone already knew about the price of 100 million privately, and three companies had engaged in fierce competition and public relations battles.

Bird mobile phones, Gionee mobile phones, Sony Ericsson.

Gionee mobile phones made a comeback in 2004, with estimated total sales of over 170 million units, so they were willing to take a big gamble and were determined to win the naming rights.

However, its sales volume pales in comparison to that of Bird mobile phones, which sold over ten million units this year.

Therefore, Shuanglin Productions ultimately decided to give the naming rights to Bird.

"The next bid is for the sponsorship fee of 'If You Are the One' for the first and second quarters of next year, which is 56 million!"

The price has also increased significantly.

Almost as soon as they opened their mouths, someone raised a sign below: Semir Apparel.

Yageer Group finally felt that the publicity had reached saturation and stopped competing for the sponsorship rights.

Then, in less than an hour...

All the advertisements have been auctioned off.

The total advertising expenditure for the two quarters reached an astonishing 3.8 million!
Of these, 60% went into the waist pouches made by Shuanglin.

..............................

The media quickly gave this extensive coverage.

The advertising revenue for "If You Are the One" has once again broken a new record.

Advertising expenses in a single quarter exceeded 1.9 million yuan. Lightning Group earned nearly 2.3 million yuan!
However, the news hadn't even had time to warm up.

Almost the next day, Shanghai TV held an advertising tender for the second season of "China's Got Talent" for next year.

Finally... the total advertising budget was released.

2.1 billion!
This number once again sent shivers down the spines of the entire industry.

The record for advertising revenue for a single quarter of "If You Are the One" was broken in just one day.

It's just crazy.

Although I knew that advertising fees on Shanghai TV were expensive, this was just too expensive.

Even so, they were still snapped up.

Because the first season of "China's Got Talent" was so successful, the finale achieved a viewership rating of 6.3%.

That's not all. The key is that the success of "Britain's Got Talent" greatly increased the value of this IP, causing advertising fees to skyrocket.

The advertising fees on "If You Are the One" are at least gradually increasing.

"China's Got Talent" doubled that.

Lightning Group has once again earned approximately 1.2 million.

however……

It's still not over!

Shuanglin Productions and Zhejiang TV held a joint press conference, announcing their decision to launch a brand new variety show, "The Voice of China," next year.

Similarly, advertising bidding for the program will be held a week later.

In fact, the bidding amounts for both advertisements have already been released: 1.8 million!
Everyone was in an uproar once again.

This is a bit too much, isn't it?

Your program doesn't even have a trace of its original form; it's just a PowerPoint presentation, isn't it?
Or is it just a newly created folder?
You put it up for bidding, and for 1.8 million?
....................................

This is the benefit of having powerful allies.

That's right, this is a crucial decisive battle, and our Lightning Group is about to run out of money.

However, our allies were willing to cooperate with us immediately and deposit the money that should have been paid next year into our accounts several months in advance.

In just a few days, the three major allies were enough to bring in around 400 to 500 million RMB for the Lightning Group.

but……

This is still not over.

Flash Entertainment quickly released an announcement.

ITV in the UK has renewed its rights to Britain's Got Talent for next year, and 16 countries, including the US, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Mexico, and Turkey, have purchased the rights to the show!

While it can't compare to the forty or fifty countries in history, it's still quite remarkable.

After revenue sharing, Lightning Entertainment earned $6000 million!
Suddenly...

The entire media has become completely numb.

Lightning Group wants to tell the entire industry.

Isn't it just a money-burning war?

We have money, we can fight you to the bitter end!
........................

"Are you trying to drive someone to their death?" Liao Feng roared suddenly!
The current situation is that Lightning Group has a cash cow, and Lightning Entertainment can generate huge profits continuously.

Renren.com, like Facebook, is simply burning through cash.

Since we're going to have a decisive battle, let's go all the way.

They've completely entered a money-burning competition.

Let's see who can't hold on any longer and collapses with a crash.

Liao Feng looked at Wu Lingxi.

His family is wealthy, but... they actually manage public funds.

There are specific methods and procedures involved in getting public funds into private companies.

It's unlikely that so many will enter the market in the short term.

Wu Lingxi's family is also wealthy.

However, Wu Lingxi's share has already been fully utilized.

Moreover, both sides are wary of each other and do not allow the other to hold too many more shares than themselves.

So the problem now is that Renren Group's cash flow is in jeopardy.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao continued to escalate the money-burning war.

It's a fight to the death!
"I'll go find the money!" Liao Feng said slowly.

"He who travels a hundred li is only halfway there at ninety!"

"Now is the most crucial moment. We are so close to victory. Any cost is worth it."

..........................................

Then, Liao Feng once again found an acquaintance.

Wang Fengyou of Ant Power Group.

It's not because he's the richest, but because his money is the easiest to obtain.

Of course, Wang Fengyou knew his own limitations best.

Following Mr. Zhao's advertisement, Ant Power God became a household name this year, claiming daily sales exceeding ten million. However, the actual total sales were far lower than advertised, and Mr. Wang was not as wealthy as people imagined.

Moreover, his money did not come from the sales revenue of Ant Power, but from the deposits paid by farmers for raising ants.

That is, a Ponzi scheme.

Liao Feng: "Have you heard that Yahoo! Group and SoftBank Group are going to invest $5 million in us? Our Renren Group's market value may exceed $15 billion, or even $20 billion."

Wang Fengyou: "Of course I've heard about it. It's all over the place."

Liao Feng: "We are engaged in a decisive battle with the Lightning Group and desperately need money. The outcome will be decided soon. As long as the Perfect World game is successful and we secure the World of Warcraft distribution rights, we will achieve a great victory."

"At that time, everyone's investment will increase fivefold, or even tenfold!"

"Give me three hundred million!"

"We'll give you shares based on a valuation of one billion US dollars."

"You should know how profitable and worthwhile this investment is."

Wang Fengyou's heart was pounding, because 300 million yuan was a lot for him, even though he spent more than 100 million yuan on advertising.

However, he really needs someone to guide him in playing high-level games.

And this is the biggest high-level game right in front of us.

Moreover, he also hoped to bring in a powerful and influential partner to carry out his scheme to swindle money.

The Mr. Liao in front of us not only controls two giant internet companies, but is also a very powerful second-generation heir.

Bring him into the game.

This will make your fraudulent scheme more secure and safer.

So Wang Fengyou casually remarked, "3 million, not much!"

"But I have a condition."

"How about we cross-invest in each other? I'll invest in your Renren Group, and you'll set up a company to invest in my group."

If Lin Xiao were there, he could almost see Liao Feng walking step by step toward the terrifying abyss.

Moreover, he personally forced the other party step by step into the abyss.

.....................

Note: I'm setting a limit for myself; I must update before 6:30 tomorrow! My benefactor, could you please continue to give me your monthly votes? Please, please!
(End of this chapter)