Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Zhao Guoqiang walked heavily through the corridor on the top floor of the mobile headquarters building, followed by Chen Yuanshan. They had just finished a morning meeting in a confidential conference room. The meeting focused on coordinating resources and execution pace for Qingniao's pilot program in the two provinces, and assessing the movements and countermeasures of competitors such as Tencent. Fang Jing also casually mentioned that Han Fei was currently involved in a lawsuit regarding offline channels.

"I still can't figure it out," Zhao Guoqiang said, pointing his nose at the ceiling above the corridor.

"You mean the Bluebird thing?" Chen Yuanshan asked. "What's bothering you?"

"I just don't understand why we're putting all our eggs in one basket with a small publishing house. Look at all the support we've given them—a fast track, an official number pool, and even a commission rate reduced to 12%. Now, to help them stall Tencent, we're making ourselves hesitant and timid, even having to go through such a huge detour to open a provincial pilot program. Tell me, which SP company has ever received this level of support?"

"so what?"

"So I was thinking, if this model is really that promising, why not just cooperate with a company like Tencent? They have QQ, tens of millions of users, and their distribution channels are a hundred times stronger than Qingniao's. If we gave Tencent that same level of support, wouldn't we earn far more than Qingniao?"

The two waited for the elevator in silence, but Chen Yuanshan noticed beads of sweat on Zhao Guoqiang's brow. He knew Zhao Guoqiang disliked elevators; medically, this was called claustrophobia.

As the elevator doors opened, Chen Yuanshan smiled and said, "Guoqiang, you're only looking at the immediate benefits. I've heard this logic for thirty years. From the post office to mobile communications, from telegrams to SMS, every time someone suggests 'give resources to big companies to make more money,' we're the ones who end up losing out." He pressed the fourth-floor button. "I ask you," he continued, "if Tencent enters this market, will it still be ours three months from now?"

The elevator swayed and began to descend. Zhao Guoqiang rubbed his thighs with both palms.

"Guoqiang, you work in marketing, so you might not be very familiar with content. It's normal to have this kind of thinking. But let me tell you, content isn't something you can create by throwing money at it, hiring a lot of people, or driving traffic. What decent stuff has Tencent's own SP business ever produced? Their QQ membership system relies on payment through a third party, not the content itself."

"Qingniao certainly has its unique strengths," Zhao Guoqiang said. "I don't deny that. But are we thinking too simplistically? It's as if choosing Qingniao means we can't touch Tencent, and supporting this small company means closing our doors to giants. Tencent holds traffic, and Qingniao holds quality content. So why should we force them to fight tooth and nail in the market? Why can't we, China Mobile, step in and create a platform for the two to integrate their resources? We can cooperate with both Qingniao and Tencent, using Tencent's traffic to promote Qingniao's content. Wouldn't that be better?"

"Guoqiang, things haven't turned out the way you expected..."

Chen Yuanshan suddenly stopped speaking, realizing he had raised his voice. His voice echoed upwards in the elevator. The elevator stopped and the doors opened.

"Tell me first," Chen Yuanshan said, "what do you think are the advantages of doing this?"

Zhao Guoqiang strode out of the elevator: "First, the risk is diversified. If Qingniao's content falters one day, or its team is poached, we still have Tencent as a backup. Second, efficiency is maximized. Tencent's QQ pop-ups and system messages—whatever they push, it's still pushing our officially certified high-quality content. This adds value to their business, and for us, it's a real boost to user base and SP revenue. Third, this is a form of checks and balances. If Tencent gets a taste of success, they won't be in a rush to build their own platform or poach Qingniao's talent. At the same time, it shows Qingniao that they are not our only option, so their attitude towards cooperation will be more positive. Qingniao is responsible for the driving force, Tencent is responsible for the execution, and China Mobile is in control. All three parties get what they need, and no one will easily overturn the table. This situation is much more stable and magnanimous than our current situation of cautiously trying to deceive everyone and fearing Tencent's entry."

Chen Yuanshan sighed: "Guoqiang, do you think Tencent will be content to be just a distribution channel?"

Zhao Guoqiang remained silent.

"You gave them a green channel," Chen Yuanshan said, "and gave them a low revenue share. They used your channel to get content payment working, and then what? They turned around and did it all themselves, keeping users in their own system. Then they got to decide the revenue share and API permissions. We at China Mobile became nothing more than a pipeline, working for Tencent. Guoqiang, think about Mobile QQ. In 2000, we partnered with Tencent to help them send and receive QQ messages on mobile phones. At that time, Tencent didn't even have its own SMS channel; it was our interface that allowed them to earn their first pot of gold. And what happened? Users only remember QQ, not China Mobile. Now Tencent is already burning bridges, developing mobile clients. A large number of users are bypassing China Mobile's SMS and chatting directly with the client. In a few years, when mobile clients are widespread, what will be left for us?"

Chen Yuanshan strode forward, Zhao Guoqiang jogging to keep up. The two walked down the corridor. At the end of the corridor, Chen Yuanshan's office door was open. Chen Yuanshan suddenly stopped, and Zhao Guoqiang almost bumped into him.

"But Qingniao is different." Chen Yuanshan turned his head. "Qingniao doesn't have a traffic base or its own user pool. It has to rely on our number pool, our channels, and our revenue sharing policy to survive. The more successful it is, the more it can't do without us. That's what we want: to cultivate our own people and firmly anchor the content-based SP track in our mobile territory, instead of making a quick buck."

Zhao Guoqiang let out a heavy sigh: "But what if Qingniao fails? What if they go astray one day and start crossing the line?"

Chen Yuanshan frowned: "Guoqiang, you've been watching Qingniao for so long, do you think Han Fei is that kind of person?"

Zhao Guoqiang did not answer, but just looked at Chen Yuanshan.

"You heard what Mr. Fang just said about Han Fei's handling of 'People's Stories'," Chen Yuanshan said. "He followed the proper procedures and held a media briefing, which shows that he has a clear understanding of the boundaries, abides by the rules, and knows what he can and cannot do. For us, this is more important than anything else."

Zhao Guoqiang sighed: "I'm just afraid... what if..."

"Guoqiang, I know you're doing this for the company's good. But some things can't be judged by short-term gains. President Liu is well aware of Qingniao's scheme. Trust me this once."

"Yuanshan, it's not that I don't believe in you, I just... I'm not used to this style of play."

"Then you'll have to get used to it gradually."