What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 499 Like Polishing and Grinding
Carbon Silicon Data's product development approach differs from that of the two giants, relying instead on the technological capabilities it has been exploring and researching since its inception.

This capability can be used for 'the latest trending topics', as well as for 'MusVid' overseas, and now it's being used to compete head-on with rivals in the domestic market.

Of course, changes in product form also present new challenges and directions for the evolution of technical algorithms.

Originally, silicon carbon data primarily processed text information. However, since starting MUS, it has been necessary to study the fusion and processing of multimodal information such as video and audio to guide traffic to be allocated more accurately and improve the efficiency of content distribution.

Furthermore, in the past, the algorithm cycle in the 'latest trending' text and image scenarios was in the minute range. Now, facing the greatly increased interaction frequency of short video users, the algorithm's recommendation cycle must also be increased to the second range.

It's not just about users liking, saving, and commenting; it's also about providing feedback when users see specific screens like pause or rewind while watching a video, and adjusting content recommendations based on the latest behavior.

This is clearly a delicate task.

In comparison, Weishi is a massive influx of traffic, while Douyin is a tool for controlling traffic at will.

Last year, Alibaba proposed the "personalized recommendations" on Taobao, which aims to accurately match users' different needs and better allocate traffic. However, judging from the "Leyin" app launched this time, it has not made similar technological attempts in the short video market and is still simply benchmarking against Weishi.

Internally, the consensus among companies at Silicon Carbon Data is that Douyin has already developed a product strategy centered around "user-generated content" and "algorithm-driven distribution," while its competitors are not yet ready.

According to Xing Hongyu's confident statement: "If President Yu can bring Weishi to disband once, we can bring Weishi to disband a second time."

That's very encouraging.

However, considering his former position as the head of Weishi, it seems rather strange.

Xing Hongyu returned from the front lines in the United States. This trip was both to report to Lü Haiying, who was still concerned about overseas developments, and to offer his own opinions on domestic competition based on his experience.

The competition in the domestic short video market is happening faster than anyone expected, so he even sought advice from Mr. Yu on his personal matters.

Xing Hongyu is currently the product director of Silicon Carbon Group, and he is concerned about whether there will be a place for him to use his skills in China.

After listening to Xing Hongyu's tactful request, Yu Xing replied directly, "Liu Chiping was concerned about you before."

"Uh." Xing Hongyu had been quite blunt about Tencent's biased product strategy during the meeting, but he hadn't expected to hear his former boss's concern now. He felt a bit conflicted and didn't know what to say for a moment. "President Liu... is he alright?"

Yu Xing didn't mince words: "He's very nice. He even threatened me, mentioning your non-compete agreement."

Xing Hongyu's mood immediately became less complicated: "I heard that Liu Chiping is leading the team to create Weishi this time, and he even made a pledge. President Yu, I really miss him. Can you bring his talent to Lingang?"

Yu Xing was taken aback, then laughed and said, "How could that be? Chi Ping is the president of Tencent. Even if Weishi fails this time, he won't have to leave Tencent."

Xing Hongyu said quietly, "I never thought I would switch from Tencent's Weishi to Lingang's car business."

He was a consultant sent by a car company to help internet companies develop overseas products.

Yu Xing laughed and didn't discuss the topic further. At least during the non-compete period, it was inconvenient for them to work in the domestic market. Moreover, with their experience in the US market, Mus was bound to expand into the European market in the foreseeable future, and Xing Hongyu was one of the most suitable candidates.

He talked with Xing Hongyu about the more specific situation abroad, and also about his more detailed judgment of Tencent. He felt that this former Tencent executive's pessimistic attitude towards Weishi was more firm than he had imagined.

"The product format is the same, but they are actually two different things." Xing Hongyu did not shy away from the fact that "I am very familiar with the internal processes of Tencent. The problems of big company disease are already quite obvious. Tencent's approach to making Weishi this year is the same as that of last year. It is almost the same as the approach of using QQ traffic to make products five years ago, except that the traffic sources are more diverse."

Yu Xing pondered for a moment: "That's understandable. The success of Weibo and its own traffic advantage seem to be replicable and synergistic."

Xing Hongyu then spoke frankly: "Miaopai goes without saying; it's completely inseparable from Weibo. Alibaba's recent launch of Leyin, using the 'other's methods' to compete with Tencent, is also relying on the same old approach from two years ago—the laziest way to develop a product. But now they've chosen the wrong target, especially in the domestic market..."

He shook his head slightly: "In my opinion, the products launched by Alibaba, Tencent, and Weibo are not even as good as those from Kuaishou."

Kuaishou has neither been incubated by a giant nor has abundant carbon and silicon resources, so it is currently one of the less well-known players in the short video market.

Yu Xing was surprised that Xing Hongyu would mention Kuaishou, and couldn't help but smile: "Mr. Xing, there's no need to rush back to China. The potential of the overseas market and Lingang's determination are greater than you imagine."

Hearing the promise of "you should strive to do your best," Xing Hongyu cooperated with an excited expression. Compared to overseas, he would rather personally crush Weishi once again, but given the current situation, he could only follow his boss's plan.

With Alibaba and Tencent vying for dominance, and Silicon Carbon fully committed to driving traffic to its products, this market situation has led many venture capitalists to re-examine the concept of "short videos."

In this situation, Kuaishou became an unexpected beneficiary.

Nowadays, the concept of short videos is almost entirely dominated by well-known domestic companies and giants. Moreover, unlike a few years ago when the mobile internet was just developing, competition has become more concentrated, and venture capitalists will face great pressure when investing in grassroots or startup projects.

However, Alibaba and Tencent do not seek external funding, Weibo controls Miaopai, and Silicon Carbon has selective partnerships. For funds looking to enter new concepts, Kuaishou, which has already made some progress, has become another option.

Kuaishou's development is relatively stable, and unlike Carbon Silicon, it doesn't make exorbitant demands. The future of the short video market may not be limited to just one or two players. In addition, its strategy of differentiating itself by targeting the lower-tier market has made related financing negotiations very smooth.

Lingang is maintaining more enthusiastic communication with investors, and Kuaishou has completed a new round of financing of US$1.2 million.

It's worth mentioning that Red Falcon Capital, which had previously invested, chose to follow up with a $2000 million investment.

Thus, several companies in the short video market have benefited.

Tencent is launching another short video platform, Weishi, with segmented content and impressive data.

Ali Music Follows, simple and direct, a very good start.

With silicon carbide strongly promoting Douyin (TikTok), and multiple parties working together, its future prospects are exceptionally bright.

Weibo, this Weibo...

Yao Yanbin, the vice president in charge of Miaopai, sees Tencent's official hype for Weishi on one hand, Alibaba's strategy of using the same tactics on the other, Lingang's success in both domestic and international markets, and Kuaishou's lucrative financing, but his own data has shown a decline.

Yao Yanbin hesitated.

Miaopai is the most "Weibo-like" platform and has been developing since last year. However, it has limited resources in terms of celebrities and fans. After the peak of the "Ice Bucket Challenge", it is now showing signs of fatigue.

Most importantly, Miaopai is not controlled by Weibo, but rather through strategic cooperation and capital binding. Originally, it maintained absolute influence as Weibo's only short video publishing tool, but now, with the "short video" concept gaining favor among investors, subtle changes are emerging.

Yao Yanbin was troubled by this; he either had to spend a lot of money to completely control Miaopai, or he had to launch a more independent software.

If it is the latter, after a year of development and experimentation, he believes that it should never be integrated into Weibo again, but should be developed like Weishi and Douyin.

Or rather, it should be like TikTok. Yao Yanbin kept trying out competing products, and after careful consideration, he approached President Wang Gaofei and described his thoughts.

Weibo just went public on Nasdaq in the US this year and has relatively ample funds.

Wang Gaofei listened attentively to the report, and after asking a few more questions, he asked in confusion, "Are you saying that Weishi and Leyin's product development strategy is learning from Weibo, and that they want to create a short video version of Weibo? If that's the case, and since they're learning from us, why should we learn from silicon carbon? Isn't that abandoning our own advantages?"

“Mr. Wang, I’m not saying we should completely abandon Weibo’s traffic and resources. It’s a matter of priorities,” Yao Yanbin explained earnestly. “From text to video, the content format has changed, and other things have to change as well. Short videos need more content creators. Judging from our current development, the result of Weibo’s traffic being directed to Miaopai is a high degree of homogenization.”

With limited resources of celebrities and fans, the flow of traffic is being channeled from top to bottom, and the limits of development are already becoming apparent.

Wang Gaofei asked, "Then why aren't Alibaba and Tencent worried about this issue?"

Yao Yanbin said helplessly, "That's because they haven't developed to that stage yet. When they do, they'll encounter problems too."

He has been in charge of this business since last year, and his understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of his company's model is unique in the market, which is why he has made such a forward-looking judgment.

Wang Gaofei frowned and remained silent.

This sounds more like a denial of Weibo's successful model, and the short video market is only just beginning to show signs of accelerated development.

He ultimately rejected Yao Yanbin's proposal, believing that it would be better to observe market changes further before making a decision.

There's no need to be in such a hurry for others to learn from me and for me to learn from them.

Yao Yanbin was quite disappointed with the result.

He had a premonition that the rapid development of mobile internet would cost Weibo this decision.

……

September passed by in the blink of an eye.

Silicon Carbon Group has finalized the locations of its first batch of 10 retail centers in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. These centers are all located in core business districts like Shanghai Century Plaza, and will attract potential customers with high foot traffic and brand exposure.

The mission of the retail center is to provide static experiences of the actual vehicles, product explanations, and test drive services. It does not bear sales KPIs and focuses solely on discovering and solving user needs.

In terms of overall regional management, the Silicon Carbon Group plans to set up a two-tier management system from headquarters to cities. The Lingang team will be responsible for resource allocation and standard setting, while the city teams will focus on implementation and user services. If the expansion is rapid in the future, the management system will be changed to a three-tier management system from headquarters to provinces and then to cities.

The direct-sales model, flat organizational structure, and online and offline promotion were the results of discussions between Yu Xing and the industry elites who had recently joined the company. He generally respected everyone's ideas, but he also made some rather direct rejections.

With the short video concept gaining popularity, Silicon Carbon Group was also considering how to utilize this emerging tool. Naturally, the idea came to the boss, hoping to bind and develop his personal brand.

This was not the first time Yu Xing had heard a similar suggestion.

He had heard similar ideas when he was working as a public information provider, but he rejected them at the time because he believed that personal branding could easily backfire. Now, the situation hasn't changed, and he still uses the same reason.

Yu Xing believes that letting the products speak for themselves is enough.

During the National Day holiday in October, the company was closed, and Yu Xing went on a business trip. This time, he took Lü Haiying and others to Shenzhen to attend this year's Internet Symposium.

There are many events in the internet industry, and it's easy to bump into each other. With the short video concept being so popular, the organizers really wanted Yu Xing, the head of Lingang Carbon Silicon, to talk about it. However, Yu Xing gave the opportunity to take the stage to Lü Haiying, and his reason was quite simple.

The short video products are mainly made by Silicon Carbon Data, but his focus is not on that.

However, although Yu Xing did not take the stage, the atmosphere of the meeting was very tense, which kept him from getting bored in the audience.

With Alibaba riding high on its IPO, Ma Chuan was naturally eager to offer his opinions. However, Tencent, as the host company, was once again being targeted by Tencent's tactics, inevitably resorting to barbs. Xue Zhiyuan, Liu Chiping's deputy in charge of Weishi, was particularly sharp in his remarks.

Xue Zhiyuan was already holding back his anger because of the dissolution of Weishi. This time, the clash with Alibaba's Leyin made him even more indignant. As they talked, he brought up other areas of competition between the two companies as examples.

"In terms of market performance, we are pleased to see that Wechat's daily active users have solidified its advantage over WeChat. Compared to Alibaba's product development, Tencent has an advantage in this regard."

Xue Zhiyuan spoke so bluntly that he suddenly noticed Yu Xing watching the commotion from below the stage, and immediately brought him up again: "Mr. Yu of Silicon Carbon has a deep understanding of mobile products. He was the one who created WeChat. But it's easy to foresee that Tencent would take the lead in this area. So, his move to sell WeChat is indeed commendable."

Yu Xing didn't expect to be caught up in this, but he wasn't too surprised. Instead, he chuckled.

He gestured to the person next to him to hand him the microphone, then looked at Vice President Xue, who seemed eager to have a chat with him, and asked with feigned surprise, "President Xue, has WeChat really taken the lead over WeChat?"

Xue Zhiyuan said proudly, "That's for sure."

Yu Xing did not question it, but only smiled and congratulated you: "In that case, I must congratulate you. After three years of competition, Tencent has finally taken the lead in the field of instant messaging, which is indeed something to be proud of."

Xue Zhiyuan was taken aback. Um... well, Tencent has accepted the status quo, and the mindset of being the instant messaging overlord of the past is indeed gone, but it sounds like...

Laughter erupted from the audience.

Yu Xing raised his hand and pointed at people: "We're not talking about Wechat or WeChat today, Jack Ma from Alibaba is here..."

Ma Chuan wouldn't get angry with Tencent's executives, but he smiled when he heard Yu Xing's greeting.

Yu Xing continued, "There's also Weibo here..."

Wang Gaofei from Weibo nodded in greeting.

Yu Xing added: "There's also Su Hua, the CEO of Kuaishou."

Su Hua from Kuaishou pursed his lips, feeling a little pressured, but then smiled.

Yu Xing then pointed to Lü Haiying next to him: "Of course, there's also Douyin (TikTok)."

He concluded with a smile, "Welcome Penguins into the next three years of competition."

Yu Xing finished his interaction and applauded to welcome the competition, which was followed by applause from the audience, who had already witnessed the fierce battle between these companies.

(End of this chapter)