Rebirth 10: I'm a Promoter at Tencent

At 8:30 a.m., Lin Shen led his three-person core team into the temporary conference room on the sixteenth floor of the Tencent Building.

Li Wei and three other HRBPs were already waiting there. When Lin Shen came in, the other three looked at him with obvious curiosity, but it only lasted for a moment.

On the long conference table, four stacks of resumes were neatly arranged, each with a category label next to it: performance optimization, network transmission, multi-device compatibility, and data security.

"Good morning, everyone." Lin Shen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the thick stack of documents on the table. "Thank you all for working through the night last night."

Li Wei stood up. Although she looked tired, her professionalism made her appear capable. "Lin Shen, this is the preliminary list of 87 people selected from various business groups in the company, as requested in your email last night. Please take a look..."

Lin Shen took the file and quickly browsed through the densely packed records of questions.

To be honest, he was very satisfied.

Most of the questions that follow are very specific.

Cheng Xiangdong leaned over to take a look, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes, because this was different from the resume he had submitted to Tencent. His professional insight immediately made him realize its value, and he couldn't help but say, "People who can calm down and solve these 'dirty jobs' often have a deeper understanding of the system."

"I agree." Lin Shen put down the file and looked at the four HRBPs. "Today, we're going to select the 20 people most suitable for WeChat's 'next phase' from these 87 people. I need people who can delve deep into their respective fields, not just superficially."

He pondered for a moment, then wrote down today's selection criteria on the blank sheet of paper beside him:

Problem-solving depth > Knowledge breadth

Practical experience > Project titles

Passion for technology > Career planning

Teamwork traces > Individual heroic deeds

Then he handed it to Cheng Xiangdong, Li Yue, and Lu Chuan, saying, "These are today's selection criteria. The four of us will split into two groups. Yue and I will focus on 'product thinking' and 'user experience sensitivity'; Xiangdong, you take Lu Chuan and focus on 'technical solidity' and 'coding habits.' If you're unsure about any files, hand them over to me immediately."

Ms. Li Wei, could you please coordinate with the HRBPs to arrange interviews based on our real-time feedback? The first round of technical interviews must be completed today, and if possible, the transfer notice should be issued tomorrow.

"87 people interviewed in one day?" an HRBP couldn't help but ask to confirm.

"We didn't interview all 87 people," Lin Shen explained. "We first spent an hour quickly reviewing all the files and narrowed it down to about 40 people for priority interviews. Each interview was limited to 15 minutes, with 10 minutes for in-depth technical analysis and 5 minutes for team fit assessment."

He paused, then looked at his team: "I know this is crazy, but WeChat 1.2 only has a seven-day development cycle. We need to get the new team in place within three days, and then officially enter combat mode. Time is the resource we lack most right now."

Li Wei and the three HRBPs exchanged glances, their eyes filled with disbelief.

The meaning in his eyes was self-evident: the project leader of such an important project in the company actually wanted to expand the team in one day. Was it confidence or irresponsibility?

By 10 a.m., most of the initial screenings had been completed. Lin Shen and Cheng Xiangdong took on the role of interviewers, Li Yue began to confirm the new office location, and Lu Chuan continued to be responsible for screening the files. If there were fewer than 10 candidates for the initial interview, he would immediately communicate with Lin Shen to add people who had not been screened into the initial interview.

At 4 p.m., Lin Shen, Cheng Xiangdong, and Lu Chuan confirmed the number of people.

"How is it?" Lin Shen asked.

"As of now, the technical team has selected 14 people with solid technical skills," Cheng Xiangdong said in a hoarse voice. "Six of them can immediately get started with the core modules, while the other eight will need about a week to get used to each other."

"Alright, Xiangdong, go and replace Li Yue. We'll select seven more people this afternoon."

At 8 p.m., Lin Shen had eight files spread out in front of him and was discussing in a low voice with Li Yue: "These three have a natural obsession with 'minimum permissions.' Looking at their past code review records, they always question interfaces that make excessive requests for user data."

"But this Chen Fang," Li Yue pointed to another document, "she designed a 'gradual disclosure of privacy preferences' scheme in the Tencent Weibo project. Although it was not adopted at the time, the idea was very advanced: instead of asking users to agree to all the terms at once, she asked for permissions gradually according to the usage scenario."

"Add her to the list." Lin Shen circled a circle in the upper right corner of the file. "We need tech people with this kind of product-oriented thinking."

"By the way, what do you think of that Zhao Yiming?" Lin Shen suddenly asked Li Yue. He really wanted this person.

This person is a mid-level engineer in the computing group at Tencent Research Institute, where he is involved in the institute's research on "decentralized data storage".

"To be honest, it was very ahead of its time," Li Yue said.

Because this person's direction is not mainstream, when all the data is concentrated on the servers of a few large companies, privacy and security become a false proposition.

"But it is very suitable to take the lead in developing a privacy encryption module. If WeChat can achieve the layered encryption he mentioned, then WeChat will truly become the 'most privacy-respecting communication tool,' which will give us a prestigious reputation."

Lu Chuan finally compiled all the names together and finalized the list to 22 people.

"One more than originally planned," Lu Chuan said.

"President Ma approved a staff of 30. We currently have 9 people, plus these 22..." Lin Shen quickly calculated, "31 people, one over the limit. Sister Wei?"

"Yes, your total salary and compensation do not exceed the range we have set," Li Wei quickly confirmed.

"How long will it take to complete the reassignment process for these 22 people at the earliest?"

Li Wei and her HR team discussed the matter. They hadn't been idle all day either. While Lin Shen finalized the personnel, they were handling the follow-up. After a short while, they gave Lin Shen a specific timeframe. Li Wei said, "Special circumstances require special handling. 15 people can report directly to the new office location tomorrow morning. Their original projects are either completed or have sufficient backups. The other 7 people need three to five days for handover. At the latest, everyone should be in place by next Monday."

"Thank you!" The HR staff had just relaxed for a moment when Lin Shen's words disturbed their peace of mind again. "Now I have one last thing to do."

Lin Shen didn't care what they thought and said to Lu Chuan, who was still busy, "Lu Chuan, wait a moment, this is related to you." He pulled out a few pages from the folder in his hand. "This is your mentor evaluation material. I started preparing it a week ago. It contains all your work records, code contributions, project coordination cases, and my evaluation and recommendation as your mentor since you joined Light."

Lu Chuan took the folder blankly and opened the first page.

What comes into view is a handwritten comment from Lin Shen:

"Lu Chuan's learning ability, problem-solving awareness, and teamwork spirit demonstrated over the past month and a half far exceed the level of a typical intern. He made substantial contributions to key tasks such as testing and optimizing the 'emotion compression' algorithm and sorting out user feedback for version 1.1. More importantly, he understands and agrees with WeChat's product philosophy of 'innovation with restraint and connection with protection,' and we recommend that he be promoted to a full-time position ahead of schedule and included in WeChat's core team for further development."

The signature and date at the bottom were Lin Shen's, three days ago.

"Brother Shen, what's wrong with you..." Lu Chuan's throat tightened.

"Your internship ends in a week," Lin Shen said, looking at him. "But the battle for WeChat 1.2 starts tomorrow. I need you as a full member to coordinate those 22 new colleagues, design testing plans, and keep an eye on the competitors. Being an intern will bring you unnecessary concerns and make it difficult for new colleagues to quickly build trust."

He turned to Li Wei: "Sister Wei, Lu Chuan's application for permanent employment should be processed through the 'key talent green channel.' The position is 'Project Coordinator and User Growth Specialist.' Could we set the job level at the highest level for campus recruits, with a 20% salary increase? I will take full responsibility for all the procedures. I want to see the approval by tomorrow morning."

Li Wei looked at Lin Shen, then at Lu Chuan, who was holding a folder and whose eyes were slightly red, and nodded: "The materials are complete, the procedures are compliant, and the authority is in place. I will submit it tonight and grant special approval. It will be completed before 10 o'clock tomorrow."

"Let's go see our new home..."

-----------------

On the 12th floor of Building B in Kexing Science Park, Lu Chuan was the first to rush out when the elevator doors opened. He felt like he had inexhaustible energy.

"Brother Shen... this... this is half a floor?"

Before you lies an open space of nearly a thousand square meters, with basic renovations just completed. The walls are a clean light gray, and the floor is dark composite flooring. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Shenzhen Bay skyline gradually lights up in the twilight.

The space was initially divided into several areas: a core development area, a product design area, a testing area, a meeting room, and a small rest area.

Cheng Xiangdong came forward and introduced the office area: "Boss, this is the new office area that the administration has coordinated for us. We have moved everything from the 'garage' here. This building is newly built, and the whole floor is too big. We need it urgently, so we've coordinated half a floor for us to use first. The other half will be planned later."

"That's enough. Now, gather everyone together for a short meeting. Oh, and I have some good news: Lu Chuan has been promoted to a permanent position."

"Not bad, little fatty!" Cheng Xiangdong put his elbow around Lu Chuan's neck, and the two looked more like teacher and friend.

Lin Shen gathered everyone together for a short meeting on WeChat 1.2.

"When WeChat 1.2 was launched, it was heavily promoted by Tencent through pop-up ads." He casually dropped this bombshell, "Now, what we need to think about is how to maintain the product's appeal in an environment of extreme privacy."

While everyone was still thinking about Tencent's fully-promoted nuclear bomb, Lin Shen's slideshow had already been switched on.

"So how do you ensure the product's appeal?"

"Or rather, what's the most important thing for social features to become 'hot'?"

Lu Chuan blurted out, "Fun! Convenient!"

Cheng Xiangdong rationally stated: "Solve the actual pain points."

Li Yue added, "It needs to be shareable, something users are willing to share."

"That's all true." Lin Shen nodded. "But what if we want to create features that are both 'popular' and 'reassuring' to users? What if we want to prove that privacy protection and user experience can complement each other?"

He switched the slides, and three large characters appeared on the wall:

shake

"Has anyone heard of QQ's new feature, 'People Nearby'?"

"I heard it's still under development, but I've heard the idea before: using geolocation for rapid matching," Cheng Xiangdong said.

"Yes, this feature is actually very practical. Users will be curious about who their unfamiliar friends are around them." Lin Shen began to explain, "So from now on, our goal is not only to have MiTalk, but also to have QQ. Going back to this feature, its essence is 'location exposure + quick matching,' and what we need to do is to 'protect location + secure connection' on this premise."

"First layer: Location ambiguity"

"When a user shakes their phone, we only obtain the approximate area code of the base station's triangulation, such as 'South Science Park,' with an accuracy controlled within a 500-meter radius. This code cannot be used to deduce the specific location, but it can determine whether two people are within the 'meeting range.' The server only stores the code, which is automatically cleared after 24 hours."

"Second layer: Double anonymity matching"

"After a successful match, both parties' interfaces will only display a system-generated virtual avatar and a neutral greeting, such as 'A friend who is also working overtime.' The chat window will only open if both parties click 'Start Chat' simultaneously. If either party remains inactive for 15 seconds, the match will automatically expire, and neither party will be aware that the other ever existed."

"Third layer: Gradual trust building"

"Once the conversation starts, there is a 15-minute time limit for communication. During this period, either party can take the initiative to 'share my nickname' or 'share my profile picture,' but the geographical location is always protected. If the two parties do not add each other as friends after 15 minutes, the conversation history will be automatically deleted and will not be retained on the server."

"Fourth Layer: Circuit Breaker and Whistleblowing"

"Clicking 'Report Inappropriate Content' at any point during the conversation will immediately terminate the conversation, and both parties will automatically block each other. We have established an early warning system based on keywords and behaviors, but the core principle is: if the user feels uncomfortable, that is the standard for triggering the circuit breaker."

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

Li Yue spoke first: "This design completely hands over 'control' to the user. But the matching success rate might be very low, if both parties are waiting for the other to click 'start conversation' first..."

"This is exactly the psychological screening we need," Lin Shen said. "WeChat doesn't need all users; we need users who are willing to be patient for a sense of security. A low matching rate may actually become a positive word-of-mouth effect—'The people I met through WeChat's Shake feature are all very sensible.'"

Cheng Xiangdong considered the technical implementation: "The location fuzzing algorithm needs to be precise, and there is also a 15-second double confirmation real-time synchronization - even a slight network delay may lead to misjudgment, which puts a lot of pressure on the server."

"So we need specialists." Lin Shen pulled up two files. "Liu Rui is working on the initial version of 'People Nearby' on mobile QQ, but due to overly radical privacy issues, he was required to write three internal reflection reports. Li Yue is keeping a close eye on him, but also making good use of him. Zhou Qian is a location differential privacy algorithm expert at the research institute. These two must be in place by tomorrow."