America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 323 Event Begins

In the early morning at San Francisco Harbor, the sea breeze, carrying a salty and damp scent, lazily swept over the mountains of cargo containers.

These travelers, who had just crossed the ocean, hadn't even had a chance to experience the hustle and bustle of the port before being crammed into a freight truck bearing the orange and blue logo by a group of workers in FedEx uniforms.

The wheels rolled, kicking up dust, heading straight for FedEx's dedicated warehouse.

Two weeks ago, Craig Trading Company had already reached an agreement with FedEx, and every detail, from transportation timeliness to cargo safety, from warehouse management to emergency plans, was clearly implemented. They were just waiting for the goods to arrive.

Once customs clearance is complete, FedEx, like Santa Claus in the delivery world, begins precisely delivering goods to each Google Connect customer in its trucks.

These messages reached Hamilton's ears immediately.

He was so eager for this shipment that the phrase "looking forward to it until his eyes were dry" couldn't be more apt.

Now that the goods have arrived, we can finally launch the Google Messenger Christmas campaign.

This is the code name given to this plan by Google Connect after countless discussions. The goal is for Google Connect to give all its members a surprise gift, just like Santa Claus.

That morning, Hamilton convened an emergency meeting, and everyone in the meeting room had an expression of anticipation on their faces.

He sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, and asked in a deep voice, "Has the notification message been prepared?"

The head of the technical department immediately stood up and confidently replied, "The technical department has completed all the preparations. As long as you give the order, we can push the relevant event content to users at any time."

Hamilton nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the marketing department. "Marketing department? How's the preparation going?"

The head of marketing was equally confident, a smile playing on his lips. "All plans are ready. From social media promotion to media invitations, everything is meticulously arranged. Once the plan is launched, I guarantee that media outlets across the United States will be among the first to receive our message. At that time, the Google Play campaign will be everywhere."

Google doesn't usually spend money on Google, but not spending money on Google doesn't mean it won't use the media to create hype.

This Christmas campaign was novel and full of surprises, so how could the media miss such a big story? Google certainly wouldn't miss this free publicity opportunity to boost its brand awareness.

Hamilton then turned his attention back to the technology department, asking again, "Technology department, are there any issues with operational support?"

The head of the technical department spoke again, "I have canceled all vacations for the foreseeable future, and everyone is on standby. We will be available 24/7."

A 24/7 monitoring system ensures that Google Connect will operate technically as smoothly as possible. Even if a problem does occur, it will be resolved immediately, ensuring a seamless user experience.

Everyone knows that once this Christmas campaign is launched, Google Messenger's value-added services and usage frequency will definitely see a surge, just like summer temperatures, rising rapidly.

Technology is the core bottom line of all this. If technical failures cause operational disruptions, resulting in lag, crashes, or even login failures, the original promotion will turn into a massive吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to complain or criticize) session, and may even escalate into a scandal. All previous efforts will be in vain, which is not what they want to see.

"Make sure the coordination with Craig Trading Company is done well," Hamilton added.

"We've been following up closely, and FedEx will complete the sorting for each region today. Some areas will have their shipments dispatched today, reaching certain cities. If all goes well, customers in many places will receive their packages tomorrow."

Seeing that all departments were ready and there were no mistakes, Hamilton took a deep breath and announced in a powerful voice, "The Christmas plan will officially start at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. I want all Americans to know that Google has prepared this special gift for everyone."

In his Stanford University dorm room, Regham had just finished his morning class and rushed back to his room like a gust of wind.

He was panting as he quickly turned on his computer, his eyes glued to the screen, looking as anxious as if the computer held some earth-shattering secret.

Actually, Regham was in a hurry to turn on his computer so he could log into the Google Messenger chat software. Recently, he had met a girl from UC Berkeley on Google Messenger, and the two had been chatting enthusiastically, their relationship quickly blossoming.

Regham was planning to take this opportunity to further their relationship and try to ask her out during the holidays. If things could develop further and they could hit a home run, that would be even better.

He skillfully typed on the keyboard, his fingers flying across the keys, and quickly entered his Google Pass password, successfully logging in.

Just as he was about to click on the girl's avatar, ready to start a sweet chat, a window popped up in the lower right corner of his computer, interrupting his actions.

"A member reward event?" Regham frowned and muttered to himself.

He thought it was just another new Google Connect package, like the old trick of getting a discount of tens of dollars by buying an annual membership. Many internet companies use this kind of thing, and he'd seen it all before, so he wasn't planning to pay any attention to it.

But when his eyes swept over the word "free" on the window, even though he came from a well-off family and wasn't that sensitive to money, he couldn't help but be tempted.

After all, who doesn't like free things?

Curious, he clicked the link, which redirected him directly to the event's homepage on Google Chrome. After carefully reading through the event details, Regham couldn't help but whistle and excitedly shout, "Cool!"

Actually, he didn't care much about the free gifts and giveaways, but this event made him feel valued and as if he had received a special kindness, which warmed his heart.

This is the first time an internet company has given away free gifts to its users, and the gifts they've given are actually physical items worth real money.

In particular, the cartoon characters on the T-shirts given away during the event are all classic emoji avatars that have recently become very popular on the internet. These styles cannot be bought outside, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they are large-scale limited editions.

Regham liked it more and more. "If I could get a polo shirt with a Bill Gates bowing apologetic emoji on it, that would be perfect."

The Google-customized clothing comes in two styles: crew neck T-shirts and polo shirts. Each style features five of Google's most popular emoji designs.

Google didn't know exactly what styles users would like, so they simply made a few of each style. If a user didn't like the style they received, they could exchange it with someone else privately, which also provided an opportunity for interaction.

In addition to the variety of styles, Google has also put a lot of thought into the sizing, making the clothes run large so that everyone can wear them.

In addition to these default one-size-fits-all clothing items, Google Connect also thoughtfully offers a notes feature.

Users can select their exact size, but this note is not for exchanging goods. Instead, it means that when the user re-activates the value-added service, the next shipment will be made according to the size noted in the note.

This move is both thoughtful and ingenious, and it also encourages users to activate value-added services, making it a win-win situation.

"I wonder when I'll receive the clothes. I'm really looking forward to it," Regham muttered to himself as he refreshed the page, hoping to see more information about the event.

As they were talking, a familiar beeping sound suddenly came from Google Messages. It was the sound of a new message coming in. Regham knew this sound all too well; it was the same sound every time his girlfriend sent him a message.

He was overjoyed, thinking it was a message from a girl, and quickly went to check it.

But when he saw the source of the message, he was somewhat disappointed; it turned out to be an email notification.

He opened his email notification, and what he saw instantly widened his eyes, his face filled with surprise. "No way? It arrived so quickly?"

The notification was actually a FedEx delivery alert, informing him that a package was stored in the campus warehouse and that he should pick it up as soon as possible.

Regham thought about it carefully. He hadn't shopped online recently, nor had he asked his family to send anything, so this package could only be a gift from Google's Christmas campaign.

He originally thought it would take at least three to five days, but he didn't expect it to arrive so quickly.

Now Regham couldn't care less about chatting with the girl. He quickly got up, grabbed his coat, and ran downstairs to the campus's storage area.

In the United States, courier services don't care about the quality of your goods. After the courier delivers the goods to your location, they just dump them at your doorstep without a second thought, or pile them up in storage areas or building reception areas like schools. Whether the goods get lost or not is not their concern.

Therefore, package theft is common in the United States, and it's incredibly frustrating.

Things have gotten a bit better in the last two years. At least they've kept up with the times; users can link their email addresses and receive email notifications. At least they won't be at home playing on their computers while a package sits at their door for a whole day and night without them noticing.

Although the security on campus is better than outside, and package theft is rare, what if it happens?

But when Regham ran breathlessly to the inventory area, the sight before him made him feel as if the sky had fallen.

Piles of packages were stacked there like small mountains, numbering at least several thousand. The storage room couldn't hold them all, and many packages were piled up on the open ground outside.

Looking at all these packages, Regham instantly wore a look of utter despair. He couldn't help but lament inwardly, "My God, so many packages! When will I ever find mine?"

What frustrated him even more was that the scene was packed with people, a huge crowd of students, who almost blocked the way to the storage area.

It turns out that everyone received a delivery notification and wanted to pick up their gifts as soon as possible, which resulted in such a huge crowd.

Fortunately, the school quickly sent people to assist, sorting the packages according to building numbers while shouting out the recipients' information.

Standing by the roadside, watching the students who had already received their packages eagerly unpacking them and putting on their new clothes with happy smiles on their faces.

Some students, because they didn't like the styles they received, immediately started exchanging with others, chatting and laughing, making the scene as lively as a barter market.

Regham was extremely envious, wishing he could be the next one to have his name called.

Time ticked by, and Regham had been standing there for over half an hour. Just as he was about to lose his patience, he suddenly heard a staff member shout out a familiar number—his driver's license number.

Regham instantly perked up, waving his arms excitedly and shouting, "Here! I'm here!"

He squeezed through the crowd, ran quickly to the staff, gave them his information, and successfully received his package.

The moment he received the package, he couldn't wait to open it, but after opening several packages, none of them had the pattern he wanted.

When he unpacked the last piece of clothing and saw the style inside, he couldn't help but shout "Yes!"

Regham jumped up excitedly. It was the P0 he had been longing for, the one with the Bill Gates bowing apologetic emoji.

Lolita shirt.

He carefully took out the clothes, examined them closely, and liked them more and more as he looked at them, his mouth almost stretching to his ears in a grin.

"Hey bro, wanna trade? I can put up another five dollars."

Almost at the same moment Regham took out the clothes, a boy in a tracksuit came over, staring intently at the polo shirt in his hand, and said in an urgent tone.

Regham paused for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected the Bill Gates bowing apology meme to be so popular, even leading to a premium exchange. No wonder it's America's most popular meme.

However, Regham wasn't short of five dollars, and this was his favorite style of clothing. He shook his head almost without thinking and refused, saying, "Sorry, I like this one too."

"What is this?" Because I have activated all the Google Message services, according to the event rules, in addition to the clothes, I will also receive a car accessory.

But when he took out the ornament, he was stunned. It was a simple cartoon figure of Bill Gates, made of silicone. It was neither a pendant nor a decoration. He couldn't figure out what it was for.

The boy who had tried to swap clothes with him earlier had also been watching his package closely. Seeing the strange accessory, he was also puzzled and couldn't help but lean closer to take a look, asking疑惑地问道, "What on earth is this? Did Google send us something useless?"

Regham was also puzzled. He picked up the cartoon figure and looked at it over and over, trying to find some clues.

Just then, he noticed a small card that he had accidentally dropped on the ground when he opened the package.

The boy, quick-witted and agile, picked it up for him and pointed to the card, asking, "Is that the instruction manual?"

Regham quickly took the card and examined it carefully.

It turns out that this Bill Gates cartoon figure is a cleaning tool used to pick up dust from the crevices inside a car.

However, he soon discovered something strange: the card even had a gesture tutorial printed on it, and it clearly stated that he should squeeze the cartoon figure up and down.

Regham frowned, thinking to himself, "Why do I have to squeeze it up and down with a cleaning tool? Can't I just use it directly?"

He didn't think much of it, figuring it might be a special design requirement, so he habitually imitated the action on the card and gently pressed the cartoon figure with his hand.

What happened next stunned Regham and the boy next to him. They looked at each other and then suddenly burst into thunderous laughter, laughing so hard that tears almost streamed down their faces.

After Regham pressed it, the little brother of the Bill Gates cartoon figure suddenly bulged out, just like Pinocchio's nose, which was both funny and hilarious.

Regham laughed as he said, "My God, Google is really something else! This isn't a cleaning tool, it's a hilarious toy!"

The students around them heard their laughter and looked over. When they saw the cartoon figure that could transform in his hand, they couldn't help but laugh too.

Many people even offered high prices to buy it, with the highest offer being forty dollars, but Regham did not agree to any of them.

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