Debuted right after graduating from high school

Fan Wumian's meeting with Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Microblog, made him realize that business competition might soon intensify.

Although he did not agree to the other party's proposal to offer $1 million for in-depth cooperation with Google, Fan Wumian was also aware that falling behind in the early stages of development could have very serious consequences, and now was the best time to compete with Facebook for market share.

Among similar websites on the internet, the "Matthew effect" is fully demonstrated: an established community is always more likely to attract new users than a newly established one.

The current situation is that Facebook has already captured most of the international market. Users range from young children to the elderly in their seventies and eighties, all using Facebook for social networking. Since Microblog cannot be scaled up, it can only focus on specialization and capture the market of young people aged 12 to 30.

The "watch law" tells Fan Wumian that when he owns two watches, he can no longer determine the exact time. Instead of constantly paying attention to how his competitors are doing, he should focus on the needs of Microblog's specific user group, which will make it easier to grow bigger and stronger in the future.

It's not that I think advertising is useless, but I think that driving traffic through Google is not very effective, and the cost of acquiring customers is too high, costing as much as ten to twenty dollars per new user.

He hopes to inject more funds into Microblog and then adopt a model similar to Pinduoduo, using "social fission to attract new users" to attract more users to the platform, thus competing with Facebook for user groups in a different way.

Microblog's membership privileges, personalized customization options, and "M Farm" mini-game are already quite mature. Features such as "view homepage visitor history," "delete visit history," "increase chat group member limit," "accelerate level upgrades," and "expand personalized emoticons" have all attracted users to pay for subscriptions, and the membership has now exceeded 200 million.

Simply waiving their one-month membership fee or offering a discount can incentivize an active user to share Microblog's introductory link with a few friends via email, making the conversion rate of new users far higher than other advertising methods.

In addition, there are games such as Dungeon & Fighter, KartRider, and Audition Online, which were acquired by Fan Wumian and Tencent. These games also have a large user base in North America, and can also be used to promote the Microblog platform.

The advantage of marketing through search engines like Google is that it improves organic search engine rankings and attracts stable traffic. The disadvantage is that placing paid ads on this platform is very costly.

Meanwhile, "content marketing," "self-media operation," "short video marketing," and "word-of-mouth marketing" are not only cheaper but also often more effective.

Although Fan Wumian sold his YouTube shares, he is currently considering starting a second short video website and seizing the emerging new opportunity. Zhang Yiming, whom he had already brought under his wing, is currently busy developing new products that will adopt more advanced algorithms and a simpler user experience than YouTube.

Currently, users mainly use digital cameras to shoot YouTube videos, but short video platforms under development will allow users to shoot and share their everyday moments anytime, anywhere using their mobile phones.

In addition, he is also considering using "Ms. Matilda" to plan an "event marketing campaign," which involves creating a newsworthy event to attract media coverage and user attention, thereby enhancing the brand awareness of the Microblog platform.

The advertisements featuring the new spokesperson, Ms. Matilda F., have already begun airing in North America. A considerable amount of extra money has been spent on promoting her, creating a persona and set of interests such as "daughter of a fallen duke," "graduate of ETH Zurich," "enjoys playing Dungeon Fighter Online," "loves piano, violin, and yoga," and "has rescued animals for an African charity."

The more famous Matilda F becomes, the greater the sensation it will create if her virtual celebrity identity is revealed in the future. Fan Wumian is not in a hurry to announce the truth to the public.

Fan Wumian is planning to assemble a team to share Matilda F.'s daily life and other photos on the Microblog platform.

As for videos, AI technology is not yet mature enough, and once the characters move, they will look very fake.

For promotional purposes, he even wanted to hold a "Microblog Influencer Competition," collaborating with brands such as Valentino and Filco, and bringing in celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears to further boost traffic and popularity.

Creating more online celebrities would also help promote the Microblog platform and attract young people with high hormone levels who like to follow trends.
Two more days passed.

The director of "Iron Man" called Fan Wumian and said that he had asked a real estate agent and learned that there was a vacant lot of about 8 acres (about 32000 square meters) on the cliffs by the sea near Malibu Beach that was for sale.

The seller had already commissioned Japanese architect Tadao Ando to design the site, but before construction could even begin, the subprime mortgage crisis hit. The address is 27712 Pacific Coast Highway.

It was listed for sale in July of this year with an initial asking price of $22 million, but no one has taken over for several months, and the asking price has been reduced to $18.5 million.

The seller's purchase price in 2006 was approximately $1430 million, which caused a sensation in the Los Angeles real estate circle at the time. Such an expensive transaction record had never been seen near Malibu Beach before.

Affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, prices in the US luxury home market have begun to fall, but the decline is relatively limited in the short term, and sellers are still hoping to make a small profit.

If you're only considering cost-effectiveness, waiting two or three years might indeed allow you to snag a bargain.

But waiting is not only a waste of time, but it may also mean that a suitable piece of land can not be found again, especially a piece of land located on a cliff by the sea, with an environment exactly like Tony Stark's house in Iron Man.

Therefore, Fan Wumian invited Jon Favreau, the director of "Iron Man," and drove for 50 minutes to the location to conduct an on-site inspection. They found that this area was the richest of the rich areas, surrounded by large plots of land, and also had an unbeatable ocean view, far superior to the small seaside house reserved for Daddario.

Aside from being far from the city center and not being in a very lively area, there was almost nothing wrong with it. So Fan Wumian tried giving the real estate agent a quote of $1530 million, thinking of adding $100 million to the seller's asking price to give the seller some psychological comfort.

Unbeknownst to him, this piece of land, after 15 years of development in his previous life, ultimately broke the record for the highest price ever paid for a luxury home in Los Angeles, fetching a record-breaking $2 million, and was acquired by North American pop diva Beyoncé and her husband Jay-Z.

After learning that Fan Wumian was interested in buying the property, the real estate agent immediately called the seller, only to be met with a scathing rebuke, who said the price was far too low.

The two sides broke up unhappy.

After thinking it over all night, for reasons unknown, the sellers changed their minds again.

A hot, sexy Latina real estate agent came to the hotel this morning to find Fan Wumian and told him that the seller was willing to sell for $1600 million.

They were clearly discussing serious business, but the purple lace trim peeking out from the real estate agent's front, along with the black stockings and high heels she wore, seemed to be telling Fan Wumian, "As long as the deal goes through, the two of us can have a story."

This made him daydream, recalling many movies about door-to-door sales, selling cars and houses. Fortunately, this female agent in her early 30s was not his type, and he didn't lack for a little excitement in his life.

Thinking that he might end up spending even more money unnecessarily for just a few hundred thousand dollars, Fan Wumian relented and added another $20, agreeing to acquire the land in Malibu Beach for $1550 million.

In front of him, the real estate agent made another phone call. After a long conversation, the seller reluctantly agreed, but then made a new request that Fan Wumian pay the commission.

According to market regulations in the Los Angeles real estate brokerage industry, commissions are generally charged at 4% to 5% of the transaction price.

Based on 4% of the transaction price of $1550 million, this means that Fan Wumian needs to pay $62.

Seeing his hesitant expression after hearing this, the female agent took a step further. She explained that there hadn't been much trouble during the process, and since the land price was so high, she could only charge a commission of $38, bringing the total price, including the commission, to $1588 million—a very auspicious number.

With such a large order, we might not make a sale for three years, but once we do, we can live off it for three years.

To be able to become the top salesperson with the title of "Hollywood's Best Real Estate Agent," it's clear that both emotional intelligence and IQ are indispensable; it's obvious that he had researched the preferences of Chinese Americans beforehand.

This number was too much for Fan Wumian to refuse. He not only readily agreed, but also reciprocated by having the female agent named Karina help him find suitable office buildings in Hollywood and Silicon Valley, respectively, to accommodate about 100 employees.

Regardless of what decisions those Hollywood giants make, in order to seize the initiative, Fan Wumian's international video website project must be launched as soon as possible.

He just named the video website "Myth+", hoping to achieve interaction between the video website and film studios and increase each other's influence.

Hollywood moguls believe that if they don't cooperate with Fan Wumian, they may miss out on early investment opportunities in the rise of video websites.

Unable to ascertain the intentions of other companies, they inevitably felt anxious, fearing that if they stood up for themselves and chose to develop independently, their competitors would obediently cooperate and join forces with Fan Wumian to seize the untapped market.

Besides Disney, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and 21st Century Fox have also inquired about specific details of cooperation in the past two days after learning that Paramount and Time Warner had contacted him first. Unfortunately, their attitudes were somewhat ambiguous, as if they were interested but also just trying to find out information.

Upon learning that Fan Wumian was willing to personally fund a third-party agency to conduct a comprehensive valuation of the online copyrights of their film library, Universal Pictures and 21st Century Fox agreed, while Sony Pictures stated that it needed to consult with its superiors and could not provide an accurate answer at the moment.

Too lazy to pay attention to those people's petty thoughts, as long as he makes enough money, Fan Wumian can even learn from Sony Group and independently acquire several Hollywood film companies. With Marvel superhero IPs and other self-produced content, he can still develop the Myth+ video website.

The reason for bringing these Hollywood giants into the game is mainly to save trouble and silence them, thus avoiding accusations of disrupting market order.
------------

I've basically finished dealing with things in the US.

While traveling by plane from Los Angeles to Beijing, Fan Wumian received a phone call from Jessica Alba.

The girl spoke cheerfully, saying:
"We just spent two days in Santorini and are on our way to Athens. I called to let you know thank you for recommending this trip to me. I was a little seasick, but my friends and I had a great time."

Fan Wumian said with a smile:

“I really regret suggesting you go on the trip. I haven’t been able to sleep well these past few days. If you come to Hong Kong by boat, I can take you to taste authentic Chinese food there.”

Jessica Alba laughed:

"From Los Angeles to Port City? That's insane! Didn't it take you over fifty days to get to Rome? My friends and I are planning to spend two days in Athens, then go to Egypt to visit the pyramids, and then end this trip and go back to normal life. But I can visit you if I have the chance."

Fan Wumian told her:
“Sure, I’ll have a private jet pick you up and then take you back to Los Angeles.”

Jessica said in a sweet tone:

"That would be great. I'm really looking forward to meeting you, but I need to figure out a way to get my friends away."

"By the way, I just saw the news that you bought a huge plot of land in Malibu Beach? Is it convenient to live there?"

“I’m considering selling my current house. You know, it holds many painful memories for me. Since I’ve decided to start over, a change of scenery might make me feel more comfortable. It would be wonderful to have an ocean view from my bedroom every day, and I love surfing.”

After listening, Fan Wumian said to her:
"There are supermarkets and shopping malls nearby, and the community has tens of thousands of residents. It's also convenient to go to the city center. The real estate market has been sluggish recently, and some sellers have a lot of room to compromise. You can cut 10% to 20% off the asking price and then negotiate slowly. It's suitable for exchanging for a brand new, large house."

Jessica Alba replied:
"When I get back to Los Angeles, I'll go to Malibu to experience it, and I can give my parents the Beverly Hills house to live in."

We chatted briefly for a few minutes.

After hanging up the phone, Fan Wumian covered himself with a blanket and lay down to sleep. The flight attendant gently woke him up just before the plane was about to land.

Beijing in early December.

Snowflakes fluttered down, covering the ground in a blanket of white.

The biting cold air made Fan Wumian shiver. After leaving the airport, he got into a car and headed straight for the under-construction Polar Spirit Realm Penguin City project.

Several penguin-shaped residential buildings have been topped out, with only one main building at the very front remaining. Construction is about 80% complete. To meet the deadline, the interior is temporarily left untouched, while the exterior glass curtain wall has begun to be custom-made in batches.

After looking around outside, Fan Wumian didn't go in to investigate. Instead, he took a car to the new courtyard house located on the north bank of Houhai Lake.

Zhuang Muxi had received the news in advance and came by car to wait for him.

Upon meeting, the girl threw herself into his arms and said happily, "It feels like it's been so long since I've seen you."

Fan Wumian took her hand and led her towards the main building, saying:

"You told me on the phone that you lost weight from filming? Let me see, have you lost weight in any way you shouldn't?"

Zhuang Muxi, of course, knew what Fan Wumian was referring to. She pretended to be angry and said, "You're thinking about those things as soon as we meet? Can't you talk to me for a bit first?"

"No rush, we can talk about it later."

(End of this chapter)