Rebirth 2010: I taught Mr. Lei how to make a mobile phone

Chapter 633 Baidu's surname is Li, not Ma

In 1998, Li Yanhong was already the chief engineer of Infoseek in Silicon Valley, holding the patent for "hyperlink analysis" - this technology later became one of the core algorithms of modern search engines.

At that time, he had an annual salary of $18 and was well-known in the technology circle, but his career development faced a bottleneck.

In 1999, Disney acquired Infoseek and the company's strategy shifted to entertainment content. Li Yanhong's search engine technology was no longer valued. He was once confused, but his habitual reaction was to find a new job quickly. After all, H-1B visa holders only have 60 days to remain unemployed.

Apple and Oracle are his ideal targets, but the former only wants iTunes talent and search is not a priority, while the latter only values ​​his patents but has no intention of letting him lead the technical direction and only wants to integrate his algorithms into database optimization tools.

In the end, he received two offers, one from eGroups chief architect and the other from Inktomi search algorithm director.

When Li Yanhong was hesitating, his wife Ma Dongmin started her action. She first printed out Internet reports (the rise of Sohu and Sina) and placed them on Robin's bedside as a psychological hint.

On Christmas Eve, Ma Dongmin invited Peking University alumni to a gathering at his home. As they drank, the topic turned to the golden opportunities for Internet entrepreneurship in China.

That night, Ma Dongmin launched a classic "startup mind game" against her husband - she accurately hit three pain points:

Career ceiling ("Your code at Infoseek serves hundreds of millions of users, but you don't even have the right to sign a patent"), gap in opportunities between China and the United States ("Zhang Chaoyang doesn't know search technology, but he was able to list on NASDAQ");

Wealth appreciation space ("If you stay in the United States, your highest annual salary will be about $10 after 50 years; if you return to China, according to the valuation of Huaxia.com, the valuation of a similar technology company can exceed $5 billion within 10 years.");

When she saw her husband still hesitated, she gave him a fatal blow: "If you don't go back this time, I will go back to China to start my own company - using your patented technology."

Eventually, the couple mortgaged their Silicon Valley property and raised $33 in startup capital.

In January 2000, Robin Li returned to China alone and Baidu came into being. Ma Dongmin left a family emergency reserve of US$1 and stayed abroad to build a retreat.

The timing was perfect: the Nasdaq bubble burst three months later.

If I delay returning to China for half a year, I will miss the last financing window (Baidu received the first round of financing from DFJ in September 2000)

At this point, "Dong Min persuading her husband to start a business" is listed as one of the three major butterfly effect events in China's Internet, along with "Chong Xin joining Alibaba" and "Xiao Long developing Foxmail", and is listed as a classic case of "turning point in China-US technology industry" by Stanford Business School.

Ma Dongmin's contribution to Baidu goes far beyond what the world realizes.

She is not only a promoter of entrepreneurship, but also an invisible architect. Persuading her husband to return to China to start a business was just one of her actions. She then led the naming of Baidu's early English name "Baidu".

During the Internet winter in 2001, she suggested turning to enterprise search services and provided search services to support companies such as Sina and Sohu to overcome the crisis.

The AB share structure was designed so that the husband would hold 16% of the shares but 53% of the voting rights, thus ensuring control.

Later, as the special assistant to Baidu CEO, he "revised" Li Yanhong's strategy many times.

He temporarily took over financial supervision during the CFO resignation crisis in 2008, and Li Xinzhe retired after completing his tenure.

However, Ma Dongmin's influence in Baidu has not weakened as he has hidden behind the scenes, but has increased day by day. There is even a saying on the Internet that BAT is not two Ma's and one Li, but three Ma's in the same stable.

If Li Yanhong possesses the rational restraint of a technological idealist, then Ma Dongmin is the decisiveness and strength of a realistic utilitarian.

The former has a high tolerance for failure and can accept various trial and errors, but the latter may stop immediately due to capital considerations.

When technological idealism collides violently with capitalist realism, it forms the dual personality of Baidu's decision-making system.

This dual decision-making mechanism not only created Baidu's early "ice and fire" explosive power, but also laid the groundwork for its current strategic wavering.

Looking back, when did the partner who had fought side by side with him become so unfamiliar? Her edge was no longer paving the way for Baidu, but instead became a sharp blade that stabbed him in the back in a hurry for quick success.

At this moment, Li Yanhong finally realized that before he fought back against the other side, he had to deal with his "family affairs" first!
".I understand the reason." His voice suddenly became unusually calm, "But, the decision-making power is mine. You can make suggestions, but you can't cross the line."

I don't know what was said on the other end of the phone, Li Yanhong suddenly raised his voice: "What time is it now? Profits are profits again! I think you are blinded by greed. I have advised you to have less contact with them before. Don't think I don't know what you are doing behind your back."

He slammed the table and stood up suddenly. "Why did Baidu fall behind? Because it always compromised with capital!" His words were like a knife. "If we don't take action now, the search market will be called 'the other side' in three months - what is Baidu without search? Can't you see it clearly?"

".Baidu Tieba listened to you, I let it go, and now what's going on."

Li Yanhong sneered, "Do I need to tell you how many forums I have contracted out?
There are more and more female managers, but the user experience is getting worse and worse. Tieba has such a good foundation, but users are complaining and it is impossible to suppress it. I dare not think about how it will go further."

Li Yanhong suddenly stopped talking and said like an ultimatum: "Don't interfere this time, otherwise--" He paused for half a second, "Don't blame me for not cherishing our friendship!"

The moment the phone was hung up, the anger on his face receded like the tide, leaving only the calmness of the deep sea.

"Li Yanhong, if I hadn't been there..." The sharp female voice on the hands-free phone was suddenly interrupted - Li Yanhong unplugged the landline phone line of the overseas phone.

"Women know nothing about mourning!" This curse word was particularly harsh in the silent conference room.

When the cell phone rang again, Li Yanhong suddenly swung his arm, and the cell phone turned into a black afterimage and smashed into the wall.

Xiang Hailong instinctively shrank his neck, and the fuselage brushed against his hair and hit the wall hard.

"Bang!" The phone screen was shattered, leaving no place for burial. "It was not intentional." Li Yanhong shook his hand and said lightly. As for whether it was really unintentional, only he knew.

The world is quiet!
"Now, everyone, put your cell phones on the table and mute them." Li Yanhong said, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he glanced at the executives who were silent as a cicada.
Seeing them do it, he loosened his tie as if he had taken off some kind of shackles, and felt the air was a little fresher.
"From now on, I say, you do. First make an emergency plan, and we will discuss the details slowly."

After Li Yanhong sat down, he crossed his hands on the table and suddenly smiled, but there was no warmth in his eyes.
"Don't worry, we have all night."

On April 4, the lights in the conference room on the top floor of Baidu Building were on all night.

As the rising sun poured into the conference room through the floor-to-ceiling windows, the executives, looking slightly tired, remained in a state of high tension.

Li Yanhong squinted his eyes facing the rising sun and waved the "Nirvana Plan" in his hand, which had just been printed and was still warm.
"This plan will determine Baidu's life or death. Within six months, we must curb Baidu's growth, rebuild user trust, completely restructure the business model, and regain more than 80% of the market share."

His eyes slowly swept over every face, "If there is any discount again, I will count them all, no matter if you are a founding member or a ten-year veteran, get out of here."

Looking at the few people who were hesitant to speak, Li Yanhong raised his hand and said in a low voice, which made everyone's heart tremble. "No need to express your opinion. I only look at the results. The meeting is adjourned."

After everyone left, Li Yanhong pondered for a moment, took out a spare phone from his suit pocket and dialed a number:
"Boss Ma, this time, we have to rely on our classmates to help us."

On the other end of the line, Jack Ma put down his phone and the corners of his lips rose slightly.

He waited for this call for three whole days.

Now that Robin Li has finally given in, it’s time to take action.

The current Internet world is no longer the era of everyone fighting on their own.

If Baidu falls today, it may be Alibaba's turn tomorrow. Everyone knows the principle of "the lips and the teeth fall together".

Although search is not the forte of any company, if everyone works together, it may be possible to help Baidu turn the situation around.

Two days later, a "special operations team" entered Baidu's headquarters.

This team brings together core backbones from leading companies such as Alibaba, Sohu, NetEase, and Sina, and even a few "foreign players" from traditional industries.

Technology, products, public relations, finance - every key position is filled with top-notch operators.

Within a week, the Nirvana Plan, with Baidu at its core, was quietly upgraded, and a larger strategic framework gradually emerged...

After 72 hours of sleepless work by drawing on the core search technology team, the pure version (ad-free version) of Baidu was officially launched on April 4.

On this day, countless users found a striking link below the search box - "A Letter to Users".

【Let search return to its original intention and give you the right to choose】

"Dear user:

Hello!

First of all, please allow us to sincerely say: I’m sorry.

Over the past period of time, the bidding ranking mechanism of BD search has caused you trouble - those redundant advertisements that should not have appeared, inaccurate recommendations, and even occasionally misleading information, all deviate from our original intention of "allowing people to obtain information in the most equal and convenient way."

We are well aware that trust once lost is difficult to regain, but today, we want to start again with action.

Change starts today

We have launched a new version of search, providing two modes for you to choose freely:

Pure mode: zero commercial advertising interference, priority display of authoritative sources (such as government websites, academic papers, etc.), direct presentation of intelligent answers (weather/exchange rate/calculations, etc. "instant search and get").

The choice is yours - you can switch modes at any time in settings, at no cost.

Who are we? Baidu never forgets!
Looking back at the company's history since its founding in 2000:
When international giants monopolized search, it was Baidu that used Chinese word segmentation technology to allow Chinese netizens to freely explore the world in their mother tongue for the first time;

When Google withdrew, Baidu took up the mantle again, ensuring uninterrupted information services for one billion users;

In times of crisis such as SARS and natural disasters, Baidu was the first to build life channels and connect hope with technology...

I am not saying this to make excuses or to seek credit, but to say: We may have taken some detours, but we have never forgotten why we set out.

At this moment, we know more than ever that user choice is the meaning of Baidu's existence.

In the next ten years, please join us and move forward hand in hand.

Once this letter was sent, it quickly sparked a discussion across the Internet, and many netizens who had originally boycotted Baidu began to soften their stance.
(End of this chapter)