Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 412 I'll Be the One to Begin

The premiere of "Xuan-Yuan Sword" achieved a viewership rating of over 2%, a remarkable figure that put Cai Yinong completely at ease.

Secretly calculating, I figured this drama's profits would probably be no less than those of "Scarlet Heart".

Cai Yi-nong was overjoyed, saying, "Luckily, I didn't agree to the TV station's request to produce a weekly drama!"

"Congratulations, Sister K." Hu Ge smiled with relief upon hearing the good news.

By leaving behind a blockbuster drama for Tangren Media, he can repay K-sister's kindness from back then, and can now focus on pursuing his career.

After calming down a bit, Cai Yi-nong immediately called his assistant and decisively increased the budget by 1000 million to strengthen the promotional campaign for "Xuan-Yuan Sword".

"Old Hu, I'll have to trouble you to take Jin Fu and Na Zha with you and Tang Yan to help promote 'Xuan-Yuan Sword'. As for Shi Shi, she's busy with her wedding, so I guess we can't count on her."

“No problem!” Hu Ge readily agreed. He believed in seeing things through to the end and would give Jin Fu and Na Zha a helping hand so that Tangren could continue to thrive.

While Cai Yinong and Hu Ge were working hard to promote "Xuan-Yuan Sword", Liu Shishi, after careful makeup and dressing up, specially changed into a theatrical costume at Jingyuan Garden in Beiping.

With her red hair fluttering in the wind, exuding a heroic and spirited air, and adorned with a three-petaled dark gold flower between her brows, paired with a high ponytail, she appears even more charming, lively, and radiant – this is the goddess Tuoba Yu'er's look from "Xuan-Yuan Sword".

Inside the bedroom, the light was dim and ambiguous. Song Ci looked at his wife, who was dressed like a goddess, and his eyes flashed with amazement.

Unlike Longkui's gentle forbearance and Ruoxi's calm restraint, Yu'er's character is fierce, shrewish and wild, subverting Liu Shishi's previous image.

Liu Shishi's eyes were full of affection, her breath sweet as orchids: "Husband, what are you still standing there for?"

Song Ci smiled and embraced his wife, his face full of affection. He gently inhaled the delicate fragrance emanating from her body after her bath, touched the flower ornament on her forehead, and passionately kissed her luscious red lips.

Liu Shishi, lost in passion, hugged her husband tightly: "Yiyi, let's have a child."

Song Ci hummed softly, remaining silent. Liu Shishi responded only with heavy breathing and her hands roaming freely, silently expressing her deep affection.

After its broadcast, "Xuan-Yuan Sword" gained momentum, with its ratings soaring all the way up.

Three days later, the ratings broke 3%, and in just one week, the ratings even surpassed 4%, firmly holding the title of the nation's top-rated prime-time show.

It also achieved remarkable results on the Toutiao video streaming platform, with over 5000 million online views on the first day and a cumulative total of over 3 million views within a week.

In terms of Baidu search volume, the number of searches reached 300 million after the two episodes aired, setting a new record for the highest search volume for a TV series.

On Weibo, topics related to "Xuan-Yuan Sword" have consistently dominated the top ten of the trending topics list, and the Weibo followers of the main actors, including Liu Shishi, Hu Ge, and Tang Yan, have surged by millions.

Liu Shishi, in particular, was the first to surpass 50 million fans, and her popularity was terrifying, with hundreds of thousands of comments on her Weibo every day.

Tuoba Yuer's popularity not only swept Weibo, but also demonstrated unprecedented data dominance on Baidu Tieba.

During the broadcast of "Xuan-Yuan Sword", the number of fans on the Yijie Tieba exceeded 500 million, the number of posts exceeded 1 million, and the peak number of daily check-ins reached as many as one million.

Inspired by "Yu'er", the core fans of Tieba produced high-quality derivative content:

Those who love researching the original novel of the game "Xuan-Yuan Sword" are digging deep into it to argue for the plausibility of the character Yu'er in the TV series.

A meticulously edited montage of action scenes by tech enthusiasts easily garnered over a million views on Toutiao Video.

There are also literary enthusiasts who serialize wonderful fan fiction such as "Yu'er's Rebirth: Making Up for Regrets" on Tieba.

Meanwhile, a makeup craze swept across major social media platforms such as Weibo and Tieba, with many fans vying to imitate Liu Shishi's classic look in "Xuan-Yuan Sword".

Furthermore, fans spontaneously organized an "anti-black campaign," retaliating against negative reviews of the character on Douban, Tianya Forum, and Mtime, dominating the comments section within 24 hours, earning them the nickname "the lion goes to war, leaving no grass alive."

In short, Liu Shishi and "Xuan-Yuan Sword" complemented each other, and Liu Shishi's popularity reached an unprecedented peak.

The summer heatwave, along with the immense popularity of "Xuan-Yuan Sword," swept through the summer movie season, and before we knew it, it was late July.

Inside the Tenda headquarters office, the air was cool due to the air conditioning, but it couldn't suppress the undercurrent of a revolution in internet products.

Song Ci took the proposal from the Weibo president and started flipping through it: "Weibo Super Topic?"

Across the desk, Liu Yan immediately got into the swing of things, speaking fluently: "Chairman Song, Super Topic is a vertical interest community launched by Weibo based on shared hobbies or topics, aiming to provide users with a platform for aggregation, interaction, and content creation."

"Similar to Baidu Tieba?"

Liu Yan nodded vigorously, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes. During the airing of "Xuan-Yuan Sword," the number of posts on the Boss Lady's Baidu Tieba forum exceeded 100 million.

This is an incredible amount of traffic; imagine how much advertising revenue it would generate if it were on Weibo.

In order to create similar hit dramas in the future, Weibo can leverage the huge traffic brought by celebrities, so Weibo developed the Super Topic function.

"Nice idea."

Seeing the chairman's approval, Liu Yan then gave a detailed introduction to the core structure of the Super Topic: "Users can create or join Super Topics around themes such as celebrities, movies, variety shows, and games, forming interest-based community groups."

Users can interact with other members and create a lively community atmosphere by checking in, posting, commenting, and liking.

While listening to Liu Yan's introduction, Song Ci flipped through the project proposal: "I think celebrities would really like some of the features of the Super Topic."

This ranking system, exclusive benefits, and interactive features are clearly designed for fans.

Liu Yan responded with a light laugh: "You see things very clearly. Fans gain a sense of accomplishment by contributing data in the super topic, and this 'numerical sense of accomplishment' strengthens fans' support for celebrities."

Super topics are not only a place for fans to interact, but also a stage for celebrities to showcase their personal image.

Celebrities or their studios can directly interact with fans and build closer relationships by posting, sharing fan comments, or making surprise appearances in fan chat topics.

Liu Yan spoke with great enthusiasm and passion, introducing the various functions and significance of Weibo supertopics.

Song Ci listened to the blueprint described by his subordinates, but his expression was serious.

The pen hovered over the proposal for a long time, hesitating to sign his name. He knew that once he signed this proposal, it would completely unleash the frenzy of the traffic era.

Liu Yan noticed the chairman's hesitation and cautiously asked, "Chairman Song, where do you think the Weibo super topic needs adjustment and optimization?" "There are quite a few hidden dangers, let me consider it." Song Ci sighed softly, "Some fans buy supplementary sign-in cards or hire online trolls to boost their rankings, which will definitely lead to a distortion of the super topic's activity level."

Furthermore, ranking battles on supertopics can trigger conflicts between different fan groups, and may even lead to cyberbullying.

Liu Yan quickly promised, "Don't worry about that. We will use technical means and rule design to balance community vitality and content quality."

Looking out the window at the rows of office buildings, Song Ci's expression was solemn: "Once some things are implemented, they're like wild horses that have broken free of their reins, and I have no control over them."

Liu Yan instantly understood the big boss's concerns. The chairman was not the kind of person who would do anything for profit. He had his own vision and ambition and hoped to lead the entire Internet industry to develop in a healthy and orderly manner.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Yan carefully chose his words to persuade him: "Chairman Song, you are the rule setter of the platform and the controller of capital and resources, and you have a pivotal influence on the entire Internet industry."

However, the traffic economy is an inevitable product of the commercialization of the Internet. The core logic of the company's operation is to quantify user attention through data and use it as a standard for measuring commercial value.

As the first person in China and even the world to promote big data algorithms, you should understand that the arrival of the traffic era is inevitable.

This model is constructed by multiple factors, including algorithmic recommendations, user behavior data, and capital investment, and cannot be completely dominated or reversed by a single company or individual.

These words startled Song Ci slightly, and she then shook her head self-deprecatingly: "It was I who was being pretentious."

Big data algorithm recommendation mechanisms inherently amplify traffic; even if a company intends to adjust its strategy, it needs to balance commercial interests with user experience.

Seeing that the chairman had come to his senses, Liu Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said earnestly, "Chairman Song, I know that you have the responsibility and sense of mission of a great entrepreneur."

As a technology leader, we seek a balance between commercial interests and social responsibility, but this balance often requires policy constraints and industry collaboration, rather than being undertaken unilaterally by Tenda.

"You're just good at flattering me!" Song Ci laughed, picked up her pen, and signed her name on the plan without hesitation.

"I have signed the document, but as an industry leader, Tengda should have the mindset of being a promoter of policy and industry standards."

The rules for Super Topic need further refinement, including strict control over underage tipping and blocking of false information, to reduce the space for chaotic traffic from a technical perspective.

Liu Yan happily accepted the approved document: "I will implement it as soon as I get back, strengthen content support and compliance management, and alleviate the traffic bubble."

Song Ci waved her hand, signaling Liu Yan to leave. She subconsciously opened the Baidu "Liu Shishi Bar" and, seeing the screen full of discussions about Tuoba Yu'er, murmured softly:

"Tuoba Yu'er, the last top-tier figure of the Tieba era! Shishi's red dress captured the last glory of the old era. Let me usher in a new era."

With the emergence of Weibo supertopics, the demise of Baidu Tieba is a foregone conclusion. The "hundred-million-post" campaign by their own fans is likely the last glorious moment organized by grassroots fans themselves.

After that, capital intervened in the fan economy, the culture of community self-governance collapsed, and Weibo became the only stronghold for celebrity traffic!

In late July, "Xuan-Yuan Sword" concluded its run with an explosive average viewership rating of 4.3%.

Hunan TV seized the opportunity presented by the high popularity of the drama series and quickly arranged for a second run during non-prime time slots, attempting to extend this ratings miracle.

On July 25, Liu Shishi attended the premiere of the film "Caught in the Web" at Wanda International Cinema in Beiping.

She originally didn't want to attend, but she couldn't resist Chen Hong's repeated and sincere invitations, and finally agreed to attend the movie premiere.

On stage, producer Chen Hong watched as reporters relentlessly questioned and interviewed Liu Shishi, a hint of satisfaction flashing in her eyes. It was worth the many invitations she had made.

Liu Shishi has 50 million followers on Weibo. If just one percent of her followers were willing to buy tickets to the cinema for their idol, it would contribute 30 million yuan to her husband's movie box office. This favor was definitely worth it.

"Shishi, some netizens say that Tuoba Yu'er has a strong personality, is passionate and decisive, and her image of wielding twin swords, dressed in red, and riding a spirited horse completely overturns your 'gentle and refined' persona. What do you think about this?"

"Shishi, your millions of fans strictly control online comments, not allowing a single negative comment to appear on Tieba or Weibo. Do you think that counts as cyberbullying?"

"Shishi, how's your wedding with Mr. Song going? Have you decided on the location?"

"Shishi, fans think your portrayal of Tuoba Yu'er is the most classic, even surpassing Long Kui and Ruoxi. Which character do you personally prefer?"

The media's attention was entirely focused on Liu Shishi, which made Gao Yuanyuan and Zhao Youting, the lead actors of "Caught in the Web," look slightly embarrassed.

Director Chen Kaige's expression grew increasingly somber. He hoped everyone would focus on the film rather than interviewing Liu Shishi and inquiring about a TV series and her private life.

Chen Hong keenly noticed the change in her husband's expression and gave the premiere host a wink.

The latter would answer, and he quickly turned his gaze to a reporter in the back row, who was a media outlet he had communicated with beforehand: "Please ask the female reporter on the left in the fifth row to ask her question."

Instead of interviewing the film's lead actress as originally planned, the female reporter interviewed Liu Shishi instead. Fortunately, she knew her limits and didn't ask any irrelevant questions.

"Hello Shishi, I'm a reporter from 'Film Art'. After working with director Chen Kaige, what kind of person do you think he is?"

On stage, the star wore only a simple white short-sleeved shirt paired with a plain floral skirt. Perhaps it was the radiant glow of her complexion, but reporters and audience members alike felt her ethereal气质 (qi zhi - a combination of temperament, bearing, and aura) was exceptionally pure and elegant.

"Director Chen is a highly influential director in the Chinese film industry. His works combine artistry and thought-provoking themes."

It possesses a strong philosophical and humanistic concern, which is something many commercial film directors lack.

Furthermore, Director Chen is capable of handling various film genres, and he has made breakthroughs in period dramas, art films, war films, and other types of films.

Moreover, Director Chen is very patient. When we were filming "Caught in the Web," he patiently and earnestly explained to me areas where my acting was lacking.

While listening to Liu Shishi showering him with praise, Chen Kaige remained outwardly calm, but the constant upturn of his lips revealed his delight.

She cleared her throat, interrupting the eldest sister's praise: "Shishi, you flatter me. It is the director's responsibility to discover the actors' acting skills."

The reporter followed up with a smile: "Director Chen, everyone knows that Ms. Liu Shishi is the most popular actress of the new generation in the film and television industry. She speaks highly of you. Would you be willing to continue to work with her in future projects?"

Chen Kaige nodded repeatedly: "Shishi is a very hardworking and excellent actress, and I am very willing to work with her."

With everyone praising him so highly in front of the media, he naturally had to give them face.

Beside her, Liu Shishi smiled radiantly.

Before attending the premiere, her husband joked with her, saying that Chen Kaige is actually a very pure person, and if you keep praising him, he will reciprocate. And it turned out to be true.

(End of this chapter)