Reborn in 08, a heretical cultivator starting a business

Chapter 198 Wang Junshan's counterattack against Tencent, Renren.com's suicidal assist!
Weibo started development in November, and it's been more than two months now.

Wang Junshan was curious about the progress.

"Boss, the Weibo web version is almost finished. It can be accessed through third-party browsers, or directly through the embedded browser in WeChat version 3.0."

"The biggest update in WeChat version 3.0 is the launch of embedded browser. Subsequent new interfaces in WeChat can be accessed directly through the embedded browser without having to redirect to a third-party browser, and the UI design style is the same as the WeChat client."

"This will make users feel that everything is done within the WeChat client, without the jarring feeling of being redirected to a third-party browser. Login, payment and other interactions are also fully integrated, making it a smoother experience."

"Weibo is the first application to achieve direct access via an embedded browser. Clicking the Weibo icon in the lower left corner of WeChat will automatically launch the embedded browser, take you to the Weibo webpage, and log you in. More other applications can be added in the future."

"Currently, the Weibo web version and the WeChat 3.0 PC client are both in testing and will be launched next month."

"The Nokia mobile version of Weibo is a separate app, which is still under development and will be launched in March."

"Okay." Wang Junshan was quite satisfied with this solution.

Considering the current hardware performance and the isolation between familiar and open social networks, Wang Junshan decided to separate Weibo and WeChat, creating separate Weibo web pages and mobile apps.

On PC, it's only available as a web browser, accessible via third-party browsers.

Alternatively, you can click the icon within WeChat to access the embedded browser.

The advantage of doing this is that it ensures the independence of social networking among acquaintances and open social networking, while maximizing the use of WeChat's 100 million monthly active users to drive traffic to Weibo!
It is extremely difficult to build a new software from scratch and achieve hundreds of millions of monthly active users.

Even WeChat relied on the user growth of "WeChat Farm".

Reaching hundreds of millions of monthly active users on Weibo is an extremely difficult task.

But if we leave an interface in WeChat so that users can access Weibo through the embedded browser, that would be easy.

This is the best way to drive traffic to Weibo!

If you like using Weibo, click the icon to access it directly through the built-in browser.

If you don't like something, you can just ignore it.

As for why we don't develop a separate PC microblogging client?
The reason is simple: everyone uses the web version, and hardly anyone downloads the PC client!
In its previous life, Sina developed a PC client, but with too few users, it stopped updating after a few years and switched entirely to the web version.

To put it bluntly, users browse Weibo for fun.

Just bookmark the official Weibo website in your browser; there's no need to download a PC client and put it on your desktop to take up space.

Especially after the mobile internet boom, fewer people use the PC web version of Weibo; everyone uses their mobile phones to browse Weibo, so even fewer people download the PC Weibo client.

Therefore, Wang Junshan ultimately decided to abandon the PC client for Weibo and focus solely on the web version.

The WeChat PC client includes a quick access point with an embedded browser that directly links to the Weibo webpage.

The Weibo mobile app is widely used, so integrating it into WeChat is impractical.

Or develop a separate Weibo app, independent of WeChat.

Wang Junshan nodded: "When Weibo launches next month, we will have our own platform for public opinion."

"However, how to promote and operate Weibo is still a big problem. You should come up with several plans. In particular, try to get celebrities, scholars, and media to join."

"it is good."

"Let's think again, where else will Tencent target us? How will they launch a devastating attack?" Wang Junshan asked again.

"Tencent will also use its ecosystem to suppress WeChat in all aspects."

Jiang Fan said, "WeChat's ecosystem is a closed loop consisting of WeChat chat, YouTuan.com shopping, the WeChat Farm game, WeChat Pay, and Moments."

"Tencent's ecosystem consists of QQ chat, Paipai.com shopping, QQ Games Hall, QQ Pay, QQ Zone, QQ Mail, and QQ Music."

"Although WeChat Farm is very popular right now and we seem to have the upper hand, it's just one game. QQ Games Hall, on the other hand, has more than 500 games."

"Currently, the monthly active users of QQ Games Hall far exceed those of WeChat Farm."

"Going forward, Tencent is likely to heavily promote QQ Games Hall. In addition to QQ Farm, they will also support more hit games and try to attract users from WeChat Farm in all aspects."

"There are also QQ Mail and QQ Music, which are also Tencent's ecosystem advantages. At the very least, you can log in to QQ Music directly with QQ. But it's difficult with WeChat. This makes QQ indispensable, while the future of WeChat is uncertain."

"Nothing lasts forever, especially in two or three years. If WeChat Farm loses its popularity and the number of users decreases, WeChat will not have new advantages to retain users and will be abandoned by some users."

Wang Junshan nodded: "President Jiang is right. User stickiness and ecosystem resilience are very important."

"Don't be fooled by the abundance of social media platforms available today: QQ, WeChat, Tieba, Xiaonei, Kaixin, 51.com, HaiNei, Tongxue.com, Sohu BaiShehui, Mayi.com... In just two or three years, most of these platforms will die out, leaving only a handful."

"And e-commerce platforms, don't be fooled by how many there are, more than half of them will die out in two or three years."

"The key lies in user stickiness and ecosystem resilience. And that comes down to a competition of ecosystems."

"Just as Mr. Jiang said, QQ has social networking, games, music, payment, email, and e-commerce. Even if Paipai.com dies out in two years, QQ won't die out. QQ still has social networking, games, payment, music, and email!"

"These will all be the support for QQ."

"If you want to kill QQ, you have to kill all of these, but that's impossible."

"To put it bluntly, QQ's ecosystem has now reached an extremely terrifying level."

"Neither future technology nor Baidu and Alibaba can completely defeat QQ; that's unrealistic."

"In comparison, our WeChat ecosystem is much more fragile."

"Compared to QQ, e-commerce is our advantage, but we are still seriously lacking in other aspects."

"Next, we must strengthen our advantages while addressing our weaknesses."

"Now that Tencent has launched a full-scale attack, completely blocking WeChat and FarmVille, we must take the initiative!"

"A direct attack on Tencent's pillar industry - gaming!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

Some couldn't help but exclaim, "Chairman, doing this is tantamount to a fight to the death with Tencent!"

Wang Junshan laughed: "Do you think Tencent will let us off the hook if we don't do this? Do you think the two sides can live in peace?"

"This..." Everyone fell silent.

Tang Jinghe sighed: "Two tigers cannot share one mountain. When WeChat's monthly active users exceeded 100 million, it became Tencent's number one enemy."

Tang Zhi also chimed in, "Fortunately, the battles between BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are all chaotic."

"It's always been Baidu fighting Alibaba and Tencent, Alibaba fighting Baidu and Tencent, and Tencent fighting Baidu and Alibaba, but now there's another one: Future Technology."

"This kind of chaotic fighting is actually an opportunity for us."

Wang Junshan nodded:

"That's right, the first to die is the weakest."

"Hit with one punch, and avoid a hundred punches."

"Future technology has the weakest foundation. If we don't take the initiative, we can only be passively beaten."

“Not only will Tencent attack us relentlessly, but Baidu and Alibaba will also launch a full-scale attack, so we can only keep getting beaten up.” “On the contrary, only by taking the initiative and making a strong move can we make all parties wary.”

"Only then can BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) weigh the consequences and costs before making a move, and determine whether they can afford them."

"To establish authority, you have to find the strongest one."

Jiang Fan wholeheartedly agreed: "Tencent is the strongest among the BAT companies!"

"As long as we go head-to-head with Tencent and fight back and forth, we'll win. Baidu and Alibaba will have to think twice before making a move!"

Wang Junshan nodded: "That's right, let's do it!"

"Immediately establish a WeChat game platform, invite third-party games to connect to the WeChat game platform, use WeChat for promotion, login, and settlement via WeChat Pay!"

"Mini-games can be run directly in the built-in browser on PC. This way, even if more games are integrated, it won't put too much strain on WeChat."

"At runtime, only the games that the user is running are loaded, and this burden does not put pressure on PC performance."

"For larger games, WeChat login and WeChat promotion are available, but users need to download a separate client."

Wang Junshan had thought it through clearly.

In the gaming industry, how can you make money as much as by building a platform?
The game development environment in 2009 was completely different from that in 2019.

Game licenses are not needed, since payment licenses haven't been issued yet, and game licenses aren't strictly required.

Mobile games also need to connect with carrier channels for distribution, and game developers can get a 50% share of the revenue!

However, PC-based web-based mini-games do not require publishers at all; they can be directly uploaded to QQ Games Hall, Baidu Mini Games, 4399, 7k7k, 2144, and other Flash game portals.

However, the revenue sharing ratio is very low. The platform takes 70% to 90% of the revenue directly, leaving developers with only 10% to 30%.

That's why game developers don't make money, but these platforms are making a killing.

Unfortunately, developers of web-based mini-games have no channels for promotion themselves and can only rely on various platforms, which then exploit them.

Now that we're in full-scale war with Tencent, we should take the initiative.

Gaming platforms are a great direction!

王君山继续道：“其他平台和开发者分成是9:1或7:3，开发者只能拿1-3成的分成！”

"If WeChat's gaming platform is to be more ethical, it will offer two models: a light partnership with a 5/5 revenue split, and a heavy partnership with a 6/4 revenue split."

"A 'light partnership' means that we only provide basic traffic promotion and platform technical service support, and the revenue is split 50/50 between the two parties."

"We prioritize cooperation. The WeChat Games platform will handle all aspects of operation and promotion, and we will receive an extra 1% in operation and promotion fees, which will only apply to outstanding games!"

Everyone spoke up:
"This is a great idea. Such a generous revenue sharing is practically a game-changer. The WeChat game platform is bound to be very popular with developers."

“That’s right. Developers have been suffering from the various platforms for a long time, only getting a 10% or 20% cut, which is not enough to cover their expenses. We’re giving 40% or 50%, which is a breath of fresh air.”

Wang Junshan laughed: "We should offer concessions when necessary. How can we crush our competitors if we don't?"

"Of course, the review process must be done well to prevent problematic games from going online."

"Yes."

"Develop the WeChat Games platform as soon as possible!"

Wang Junshan laughed and said, "Since Tencent is going to make QQ Farm and steal our users, then we'll make WeChat Games and take their game commissions! That's called reciprocity!"

"Haha, then Tencent will suffer a significant loss this time. Our commission rate is so generous, it's practically table-flipping. Isn't it a bit too low?"

"That's right, Chairman. Other platforms take 90% or 70%, while we only take 50%, and those in charge of operations only get 60%. That's far too low. We'll be targeted by other platforms."

Wang Junshan waved his hand: "Let them target us if they want. We're just being a little more conscientious, that's all."

In fact, years later, the platform's commission rates were also quite high.

In most cases, the platform takes 50%, the publisher takes 30%, and the developer is left with only 20%.

Wang Junshan's commission structure is very fair, both now and in the future.

"Alright, that's all for now at Tencent. All departments, give it your all. Meeting adjourned!"

"Yes!" Everyone left to go about their respective duties.

Wang Junshan, however, left Jiang Fan behind:
"How's things going with YouTuan Technology lately?"

"Chairman, the overall revenue of YouTuan.com has been doing alright recently."

"However, U-Tuan International's revenue has declined slightly."

"Oh? Sales of imported baby products have decreased?" Wang Junshan was somewhat surprised.

Before this, the sales of imported maternal and infant products were a pillar industry of the entire Future Technology sector, a money-printing machine.

The development of future technology almost entirely relies on imported maternal and infant products.

The daily transaction volume exceeded 30 million, and the daily profit was over 10 million.

Jiang Fan nodded: "Consumers have been hoarding excessively in the past few months, stockpiling enough for the next year or even two years. This has led to a slight weakening of consumption at present, with an overall decline of 5%."

"It will continue to decline. I predict that the first quarter will see a decline of about 10% compared to the fourth quarter of last year, and the decline will continue in the second quarter."

"In addition, JD.com and Taobao Mall have started selling imported maternal and infant products, which has also taken away some users. There's also Renren.com, a small platform, but with super low prices and good sales."

"The combined pressure from both internal and external factors has led to a decline in our revenue from the maternal and infant category at U-Group International."

"The transaction volume of maternal and infant products in December was 35 million yuan, and it is estimated to be only 32 million yuan in January."

"Nothing lasts forever, and it's already pretty good that the maternal and infant product category is maintaining its current revenue."

Wang Junshan was not surprised.

The fourth quarter of last year was too crazy, but it will gradually cool down this year.

Nothing can be done.

"As for the incredibly low price of Renren.com... even lower than ours?"

"Yes, Renren.com is a smaller company, and their normal procurement costs are much higher than ours. I calculated that if we sell at their prices, we won't make any money at all."

Wang Junshan laughed: "Then there's only one possibility: they're selling a mix of real and fake."

"Looks like it. Should we set them off?" Jiang Fan said with ill intent. "I've been unhappy with Qianxiang Interactive for a long time!"

Wang Junshan laughed: "We don't need to do this. After the New Year, we'll have two testing agencies going online. We'll give some users some free trial vouchers for testing maternal and infant products, just as a promotion."

"Using someone else to do the dirty work, that's a great idea, hahaha."

Jiang Fan was laughing happily, but Wang Junshan couldn't help but think about it a little more!
I was worried that when I launched Weibo, there was a lack of topics and buzz.

Unexpectedly, Renren.com delivered it!
If we don't make good use of this, we'll be letting down the suicidal boost that Renren.com provided!

(End of this chapter)