Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 299 China's Murdoch, Weibo Launches Closed Beta
The next day, in the hotel bathroom

Yan Li, shirtless, grinned and looked at himself in the mirror.

Yesterday, the two soldiers fought too fiercely. When he tried to put out the fire, they were also resentful towards him, scratching and biting him, leaving many marks on his body, some of which were bloody.

"Is it really necessary? It's not the first time."

Yan Li couldn't help but complain. The two soldiers, who were already awake, were too lazy to pay attention to him. Last time it was half-hearted and consensual, but this time it was different.

Scratch him to death and it won't be enough!

Despite saying that, Li Bingbing still took out the medicine from her room and found some iodine and other things.

Actors often travel for filming, sometimes for dozens of days at a time. It's normal for them to get sick or have minor bumps and bruises while filming. Experienced actors will carry some common basic medications with them.

"Lie down."

Yan Li lay obediently in the middle, while Li Bingbing and Fan Xiaopang each applied medicine to him with cotton swabs.

While wiping away the wounds, Fan Xiaopang started shifting the blame, pushing all the serious injuries onto Li Bingbing.

The latter was not one to be trifled with either. Not only did she expose her sinister intentions, but she also started bringing up old grievances, saying how someone had helped the wicked and bullied her.

To be honest, the tension between the two sides remains as high as ever.

But after a fight and a nap, the two soldiers' thresholds had increased considerably. They were sharp-tongued, but not particularly angry.

Having figured things out yesterday, the two of them are now in a "what the heck" situation, with less resistance, so they quickly took advantage of the situation. Otherwise, who knows when they'll have another beautiful moment like this?

"I've already spoken to the crew of 'Rouge Snow,' and the crew of 'Painted Skin' has also said that everyone is taking the day off to sober up."

Yan Li isn't afraid of people making wild guesses. He drank too much yesterday and caused a scene. It's perfectly normal for him to lay low for a while to save face.

Fan Xiaopang and Li Bingbing knew he was up to no good; last night wasn't enough, and he wasn't going to let them off the hook today.

The scratching wasn't enough!

Fan Xiaopang was unhappy with this absurdity and got up to leave. Yan Li snorted a few times and said, "Go ahead, if you leave, she'll get all the benefits."

Upon hearing this, Fan Xiaopang couldn't help but pinch Yan Li several times, but his butt didn't budge.

Li Bingbing was more likely to accept it.

She treated Yan Li as a casual fling, and now that things were like this, she figured she might as well get some thrills now and then. Anyway, Fan Xiaopang wouldn't tell anyone, so her safety was guaranteed. And since the other party was Fan, she wasn't really ashamed.

More importantly, it has already happened, and more than once, so there's no point in dwelling on it; we might as well just enjoy it.

Once we're out of this door, this matter is over, and things will be as they are from now on.

Therefore, Li Bingbing was much more at ease and even opened a bottle of red wine in the suite, taking a couple of sips to clear his head.

"Older people tend to be more open-minded."

Yan Li praised him, which almost made Li Bingbing throw wine at him. "If you're so open-minded, you don't need to praise me like that."

Li Bingbing remained calm, Yan Li was pleased with the outcome, and Fan Xiaopang, feeling like he was putting on airs, gradually calmed down as well.

At this moment, although Yan Li did not stop touching them, he also chatted with the two about some serious matters.

The most important thing is Weibo!
The two pawns are his two most famous cards, so he naturally has to make good use of them. Therefore, he definitely needs to keep the two pawns on Weibo, and not only keep them, but also be active on them.

There's no need to elaborate on Fan Xiaopang, but Li Bingbing and Yan Li must explain the benefits and advantages clearly.

His relationship with Li was one of affection, gratitude, desire, and mutual benefit.

Yan Li never hides the fact that he uses Shuang Bing to seek personal gain, but he also gives Shuang Bing, especially Li Bingbing, ample benefits. This is why the Li sisters usually go out of their way to help him.

We're all adults here. No matter how charming Yan Li is, he can't just take advantage of someone else.

It might be okay once or twice, but if it goes on for too long, won't people feel disheartened?

He gave Li Bingbing plenty of benefits, cultivated a good relationship with her, and put in extra effort behind the scenes. Li Bingbing never let him down when doing things for him.

Sure enough, Li Bingbing readily agreed to cooperate with some Weibo activities and also posted on Weibo frequently.

She has always enjoyed blogging, or perhaps she intentionally cultivated this persona. On her blog, she calls herself "Boss Li" and shares various daily essays. Although she is not as imposing as Xu Cai Nu, she is down-to-earth and has a good following.

Yan Li stopped there, not asking Li Bingbing to stop updating her blog for the sake of Weibo.

They've been running the account for quite some time, so they can't just abandon it like that. However, Yan Li is confident that once Weibo gains momentum, he will naturally move to another platform.

Fan Xiaopang was curious about how many celebrities Yan Li had arranged, especially the four actresses and two soldiers.

Yan Li's Weibo account is, to some extent, the territory of his rivals. Will those people accept it?

Upon hearing this question, Yan Li's expression turned slightly strange: "Xu hasn't opened an account yet. She has a contract with Sina Blog and won't easily switch. Zhou and Zhang agreed to open an account, but whether they'll actually use it is another matter. Zhao was the most agreeable and promised to be active."

To be honest, not counting the two soldiers, Xiao Yanzi and Yan Li had the deepest conflict, after all, he had messed with Fan Xiaopang once before.

So much so that when Yan Li invited Xiao Yanzi on Weibo, he was prepared to be rejected.

Unexpectedly, this person had a broad perspective, or rather, did not dwell on old grudges, and took the initiative to reconcile with Yan Li over this matter.

After considering the information revealed by the intelligence system, Yan Li could only say that this person had begun to transcend the limitations of an artist and started to act and conduct himself from a businessman's perspective.

Besides Xiao Yanzi, her old classmate Huang Xiaoming was also very good at interpersonal relationships. As soon as the two sides made contact, he readily agreed to cooperate.

Most people with complicated relationships with Yan Li or Yi An follow a similar approach to Zhang and Zhou, giving Yan Li face by opening an account as a token gesture, leaving room for maneuver, and deciding whether to continue the relationship later.

No matter how domineering and powerful Yan Li is, he can't force people to use Weibo.

Therefore, the current situation is relatively clear: artists who are close to Yan Li will be very active on Weibo and will cooperate with a series of Weibo activities.

For those with whom the relationship is not good, some will register an account out of courtesy, while others will simply be ignored.

The majority are neutral parties; they have no connection with Yan Li, but they will register and might play out of respect for him.

Whether it can stay on Weibo in the long run depends on Weibo's capabilities.

Besides celebrities, there are also socialites, internet celebrities, and sports stars.

Especially for sports stars, the Beijing Olympics next year will definitely be a great opportunity, and they absolutely cannot waste their time on Weibo.

As long as Yan Lira has enough followers, takes the initiative, and builds a strong customer base and competitive advantage, the difficulty for other Weibo accounts will continue to increase.

Even if we still spend money to take a piece of Weibo's business, it won't damage Weibo's core structure, and it won't consume more of Weibo's funds and resources.

With his newfound insight, Yan Li is not only capable of developing Weibo well, but also well-prepared to trip up his competitors.

What's disgusting is that most people who start a business prioritize company development and try to improve their competitiveness, then deal with whatever comes their way.

Yan Li Ke, on the other hand, had already dug a pit and was waiting for his opponent to appear before he even did.

What's most disgusting is that not only can he plan ahead, but he can also use the intelligence system to find out and make adjustments.

For example, now that Weibo is about to launch and news has been leaked, he already roughly knows the reactions of Sohu, Sina, and Tencent, and can respond calmly.

So what if you're an amateur? You can't fight an opponent who's playing their cards right!

Seeing Yan Li's high spirits, Fan Xiaopang asked the question that had been on his mind.

"Is this Weibo account really that powerful?"

Upon hearing this, Li Bingbing realized that, like Fan Xiaopang, she only had a vague understanding of Weibo.

To them, this Weibo account was simply Yan Li's attempt to create a new blog to replace Sina Blog.

"Replace blogs?"

Yan Li shook his head. It's hard for people to imagine things they haven't seen before. It's not just about the two weapons; most of the people who communicate with Yan Li treat Weibo as another blog.

"A blog is just a large message board. If microblogs succeed, they will become the most popular public information platform, combining social interaction, news, and engagement..."

As Yan Li spoke, seeing the increasingly bewildered look in Shuang Bing's eyes, he simply used the most direct way to express himself.

"With Weibo success, I am China's Murdoch!"

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Old Mo's power is extraordinary. He has television stations, print media, and businesses in film, the internet, and communications. His industries have a global reach, making him a true media giant. He can even get involved in some high-level politics.

Yan Li is far from reaching Lao Mo's level yet, but if he continues to work quietly, combining all the industry chains and cultivating the cultural field, he can also become a giant.

"Merck, who is that?"

Fan Xiaopang felt the name sounded familiar, but couldn't remember who it was. Li Bingbing couldn't help but roll her eyes at her. "Can't you study more? You don't even know a British media tycoon."

She knew Murdoch and had even met his wife; their interactions went quite well.

Li Bingbing was deeply impressed by this internationally renowned socialite, so much so that when she heard the words "China's Murdoch," she couldn't help but look at Fan Xiaopang with envy.

If I were just 5 years younger, you vixen wouldn't stand a chance!
Hearing Li Bingbing say this, Fan Xiaopang also remembered. She wasn't familiar with this person, but Yan Li mentioned him, and Li Bingbing was like this, so he must be awesome.

Seeing the shocked and admiring looks in Shuangbing's eyes, Yan Li also became interested and began to describe some of his ideas about Weibo.

Everyone has a desire to show off. With two popular actresses and a great beauty in front of him, Yan Li also acted arrogantly, even exaggerating his Weibo influence.

It's not an exaggeration. In theory, Weibo could do it, but in China, you have to understand some rules, so it's naturally more conservative.

Listening to Yan Li's grand vision, both Shuang Bing's eyes lit up. Yan Li was their biggest backer, and the stronger Yan Li was, the more benefits they would receive.

Furthermore, watching Boss Yan, who was so confident and spirited, also created a somewhat ambiguous atmosphere.

Men like to help the weak to satisfy their desire for control and a sense of accomplishment, while women tend to admire the strong and crave dependence and fulfillment.

At least Fan Xiaopang particularly admires Yan Li's domineering attitude of "everything is up to me".

As Yan Li was speaking, she suddenly covered his mouth with hers. Li Bingbing, who was also quite excited, hesitated for a moment, but then, dissatisfied with Fan Xiaopang enjoying it all to himself, he also rushed over.

The cavalry company commander was mounted by his own soldiers...

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Two days later, filming for "Painted Skin" wrapped up.

Yan Li stayed in Hengdian for two days to oversee some finishing touches and also visited the sets of "Lurking" and "Legend of Chu Liuxiang 2".

The workload for a TV series is much greater than that for a movie, and there's still some time before filming wraps up.

Yan Li didn't stay long. His Weibo account was about to launch, and he had a lot of things to do in Beijing, so he rushed back to Beijing in early December.

Beijing, Yi'an Cinema

The first thing Yan Li did upon returning was to take charge of Yi'an's new operations after the company had just secured funding.

Yian raised a total of RMB 1.2 million in its second round of financing, half of which came from existing shareholders and half from new shareholders.

This was Yan Li's intention; the addition of new shareholders could balance the interests of some of the old shareholders, and most of these new shareholders brought more resources.

It's worth mentioning that a familiar name has appeared among the new shareholders – Yi'an Film & Television.

Yan Li, who had his eye on the merger of Yi An and Yi An, took this opportunity to bring Yi An in, giving her a small stake of only 0.5%, ostensibly as a film collaborator.

As mentioned before, the merger of Yi'an and Yi'an involves too many things; it's not as simple as just transferring Yan Li's shares to Yi'an.

Yan Li wanted a comprehensive merger of the two companies. Changing the share name would just mean changing the shareholders; the two companies would still be two separate companies.

Moreover, this would make Yi'an a subsidiary of Yi'an, so what would the other shareholders think?
When Yan Li started Yi An, he said he would lead everyone to start a business, take Yi An public, and exchange his shares for real money stock.

Now that Yi'an's controlling shareholder has become Yi'an, if Yi'an reaps the rewards and becomes a film and television company controlling the cinema chain, and goes public with the halo of Yi'an, then they'll be playing around with the loss-making Yi'an shares for free?
The interests involved were too great; if things weren't handled properly, it could easily escalate into internal strife. Therefore, Yan Li was extremely cautious.

Yan Li's introduction of Yi An this time was just a test. He had to get started first, secure a shareholder position, and then discuss things slowly.

One is a highly profitable asset-light business with the potential value of multiple celebrities, while the other is a loss-making business with substantial real assets worth hundreds of millions of yuan.

Putting everything else aside, just the issue of shares alone makes Yan Liguang's scalp tingle.

Yian is losing money, and Yian's shareholders are not happy about it.

He wouldn't stand for it if Yi'an suffered a loss, and neither would the stakeholders who relied on Yi'an's potential future IPO benefits.

Yan Li is now waiting for the financial crisis, which is not only an opportunity for him to consolidate control of Yi An, but also a key step in facilitating the merger of the two companies.

If this step is handled well, the probability of the two companies merging will increase significantly. If it's not handled well, then it will take a long time to come up with a plan, and it might take several years.

In the second round of financing, Yan Li invested a total of 3000 million yuan, including Yi An, resulting in a slight decrease in his shareholding.

The main reason is that Yi'an has been losing money, and the cinema industry is not very prosperous at the moment, which has limited the increase in the valuation of cinemas. The newly injected funds have diluted the original shareholders.

Yan Li's investment offset some of the losses, but it was still diluted a bit. However, the amount was limited, and he still owned more than 40% of the shares, making him the largest shareholder of Yi'an.

For Yan Li now, the diluted shares are not important; the key is to ensure that the 1.2 million yuan is used for Yi'an.

With 1.2 million yuan in cash, Yan Li plans to borrow some more from the bank to raise 2 million yuan to build 8-10 standardized cinemas.

Borrowing money from a bank to open a movie theater is a perfectly normal operation. Yi'an is considered slow; those real estate companies are already pushing the boundaries.

Yan Li plans to take a look first, and if possible, borrow as much as possible, because it will be difficult to get a loan during the financial crisis.

At the same time, this also cut off Yi'an's escape route. Without other external funds and burdened with debt, Yi'an's situation will become more difficult when the financial crisis comes, giving Yan Li more room to maneuver.

In addition to building cinemas, Yan Li also pays special attention to the fluctuations in Yi An's box office.

To his relief, compared to the previous meager situation, the box office revenue of Yi'an Cinemas has increased considerably now that many cinemas have gradually returned to normal operations.

The Lunar New Year film season is about to begin, with "Assembly" and "The Warlords" being released one after another. These two blockbusters will definitely be a major stimulus to the film market. If Yi An works hard, it might be able to break into the top ten nationwide.

After leaving Yi'an, Yan Li went to Yi'an. The Lunar New Year film season was about to begin, and Yi'an was also involved.

"Love Transfer" is a sister film to "Fate Transfer".

Originally titled "Love Transfer 2", the name was changed just before its release due to differences in plot structure.

This film, which had a successful predecessor, has a certain appeal and is also one of the few comedies in this year's Lunar New Year film season.

Yi An's strategy is simple: the audience who love blockbusters has basically been snatched up by "The Warlords" and "Assembly". There is also "Lust, Caution" ahead, which is both big and tragic. "Call for Love" will not compete with them head-on. Instead, it will target audiences who like comedy and lighthearted films.

Even if you can't get the meat, you can still enjoy gnawing on bones, since the movie budget is small.

Yan Li didn't pay much attention to "Call for Destiny," leaving it to his subordinates to handle, while personally taking charge of the distribution of "Assembly" and "The Warlords."

He wasn't being charitable or trying to make money for Huayi Brothers and China Film Group; he was simply eyeing the Lunar New Year film season.

Two blockbusters, followed by Stephen Chow's "CJ7" and Jay Chou's "Kung Fu Dunk," are all films that are likely to generate widespread discussion and attention.

It would be a waste for Weibo not to get involved in something that receives so much attention and generates so much buzz.

Yan Li personally spoke with both production teams, and Weibo will spare no effort to help them promote their work.

Of course, the production team should also cooperate more with Weibo and release some exclusive scoops so that everyone can work together for a win-win situation.

Thanks to Yan Li's hard work, Weibo officially launched its internal beta test on December 6th.

The various publicity and promotion plans that were originally formulated were immediately put into action.

Online, there are various fragmented promotional posts on platforms such as Tianya, blogs, QQ Space, and Baidu Tieba. Some websites allow direct posting and forwarding, which can be synchronized with Weibo.

Yanli-related internet platforms such as Tudou.com and Ganji.com directly placed Weibo ads.

Offline, Yi'an's ground promotion team and temporary teams, in cooperation with Weibo, went into universities and internet cafes.

At the same time, and most importantly, Yan Li secured deals with several major telecommunications companies and some service providers, using SMS binding to lower the barrier to entry, allowing users to register directly and post on Weibo simultaneously via SMS, while also improving immediacy and interactivity.

Of course, sending text messages costs money, so how can we get users more active?

Weibo's approach was very simple and direct: they poured money into subsidies.

For example, the first few text messages a user receives are free, or related Weibo text messages are offered at a low price, or even phone credit is directly topped up.

Of course, these come with conditions, especially for topping up phone credit. Getting these benefits is simple – refer others.

The more new users you recruit, the more money you'll get in phone credit, including not only phone credit, but also QQ coins, online banking, and Weibo memberships.

In addition, Weibo also offers a variety of small activities and competitions, including literature and photography events, all with small prizes to attract users and increase activity.

Some of these tricks are normal operations, some are things Yan Li learned from Weibo or Fanfou in future intelligence, and some are internet wisdom from later generations.

In short, with resources and money paving the way, Weibo had more than 3 registered users in less than 24 hours after its launch.

If Yan Li remembers correctly, it took Fanfou almost a month to achieve this.

As far as Yan Li knows, Fanfou, which launched in May of this year, currently has a total of just over 100,000 users at most. With Weibo's subsequent expansion, it could become the largest microblogging platform in a very short time…

　(3000/130000)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)