Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 606 Our motto: Childish, immature, and non-mainstream!
When Waters learned of this in his office, he did not become hysterical.

He didn't expect that the other party would retaliate in such a low-class yet extremely effective way, directly destroying their spokesperson in the public opinion arena.

"Momo Group couldn't stand the loneliness so quickly, huh?" Waters lit a cigar, a calm expression in his eyes.

Being able to hack into Gao Songbai and his team's computers is not something an ordinary hacker could do.

Because the computers used by Gao Songbai and his team have extremely high levels of confidentiality and security.

As long as they don't actively click on trojans or similar malware, it's very difficult to hack into their computers.

From this, Waters deduced that it must have been Momo Group that made the move.

However, Momo Group's move further convinced him of QQ's importance to the company, proving that his direction was correct.

"It seems we can increase our investment." Waters sat on the sofa, his mind racing with the next steps.

Meanwhile, in the conference room at the Penguin headquarters in the deep summer, Ma Huateng looked at Xu Jin and Gao Bo's disheveled appearance on the screen and the shift in public opinion online, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

He knew that the most dangerous wave of this propaganda war had been temporarily halted.

At this point, the technicians turned on the projector and projected recent data onto the screen.

The two curves on the screen immediately created a jarring contrast.

One is MSN's massive increase in registered users thanks to its financial power, and the other is QQ's active user curve, which, despite its large size, is showing signs of sluggish growth.

The scandals involving Xu Jin and Gao Bo brought temporary satisfaction, but did not truly turn the tide of the battle.

MSN's professional, elite, and secure rhetoric, coupled with promotional assistance from mainstream companies, continues to attract urban white-collar workers and intellectuals who crave recognition.

It can be said that in this field, QQ is almost powerless to fight back.

MSN has been designated as an interview chat tool by many large companies, and the first thing college students do after graduation is download the MSN mobile app.

It can be said that MSN's move cut off QQ's upward path. 22 to 25 years old became the age dividing line for QQ users. The biggest fear for chat tools is getting used to them. Many office workers are not yet used to using MSN, but gradually, as MSN subtly enters their lives, QQ will be gradually abandoned.

This was also the conclusion Cheng Yi reached after talking with him all night.

Cheng Yi had told him that there was an internet company in Hungary called COPY, which also had a product similar to QQ, but it only operated in China. Later, they did not develop a mobile version and were replaced by a competitor with a product called WeChat.

Initially, WeChat was not as good as them, but as the frequency of use increased, users gradually got used to this product called WeChat, and so gradually, their users all went to WeChat.

Now, penguins are also facing this problem: their upward path has been blocked.

Their users start trying MSN when they turn 22, and then gradually abandon QQ.

He also clearly remembers Cheng Yi's advice: In the face of this situation, the only way is to adopt the tactic of "you fight your way, I fight my way".

“They’ll target their high-end market, we’ll target our broad market,” Ma Huateng suddenly said, his voice calm yet carrying a do-or-die determination.

He turned around, looked at the group of bewildered executives behind him, and said, "Microsoft wants to define what the right way to socialize is? Then let's just not have this 'right' at all."

The meeting room fell silent, and all eyes were on Ma Huateng.

"Don't they pride themselves on being elites? Don't they think we're too young, immature, and unconventional?" Ma Huateng's lips curled into a self-deprecating smile as he said, "Fine! Then let's take being young to the extreme, immature to the core, and unconventional to the extreme!"

"They're vying for the world of those over 22, so we'll hold fast to the world of those under 22!"

He walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, and wrote down a few words heavily: Young! Individualistic! Free! Fun!
"From now on, we will completely abandon the illusion of catering to the so-called high-end population. All updates will revolve around young people. We will update whatever young people like!"

Many senior executives were deeply surprised by Ma Huateng's order.

Abandoning the market of users aged 22 and above? Isn't that tantamount to giving up the fight?

With World of Warcraft so popular right now, the popularity of Primordial Era Chronicles remains undiminished.

Nearly 70% of these two gaming groups are over 22 years old.

Moreover, this group has extremely strong spending power; the spending power of one group over 22 years old can surpass that of five or even ten groups under 22 years old.

Is it really possible to just abandon something like that?

Their new version, catering to the elite, is almost ready to be released.

Ma Huateng looked around at the group of executives whose eyes were filled with disbelief, and slowly said, "Starting today, our main update targets will be QQ Show and QQ Space. Also, let's release QQ Pet, which has finished testing."

"This..." The executives present were speechless.

Doesn't this confirm that this chair is for young and immature children?
However, since the boss had given such instructions, they had no choice but to comply.

Soon, QQ Show Mall ushered in the largest free carnival in its history.

All limited editions, celebrity-endorsed items, and cool animated QQ avatars that previously required payment are now available for free for a limited time.

At the same time, the QQ Space Decoration Mall is open for free, offering luxury themes, dynamic backgrounds, and accessories for a month of free trial.

On campus, in internet cafes, and in offices, young people's QQ groups immediately erupted in excitement.

That miser actually plucked his feathers!

This is truly a rare and unheard-of event.

This kind of instant, glamorous transformation is fatally attractive to young people.

Suddenly, countless people's QQ avatars and QQ spaces became dazzling and colorful, like a grand online masquerade ball.

At the same time, a vigorous promotional campaign targeting mobile QQ was launched.

Despite the slow speed and high cost of 2.5G GPRS, young people are still very enthusiastic about installing it.

Because Tencent launched an event: "Download QQ Mobile and get double diamonds for free."

As long as you successfully download and log in to the mobile QQ app, you will receive a free one-month QQ Zone Yellow Diamond membership and a one-month QQ Show Red Diamond membership.

what does this mean?
This means that even after the free promotion ends, your luxurious QQ Show and QQ Space decorations won't disappear immediately. Many students gritted their teeth and used their saved breakfast money to subscribe to GPRS data packages.

With just two diamonds, the number of downloads for mobile QQ skyrocketed almost vertically.

After seeing these two moves, Tencent capitalized on the buzz and unleashed its long-awaited big move: the official launch of the QQ Pet beta version.

A cute little penguin with big, blinking eyes appears in the corner of the computer screen as you log in with QQ.

It will get hungry, thirsty, dirty, and in a bad mood. It will cuddle with you. You will need to feed it, bathe it, play with it, take it to the vet, and work to earn money to support it...

It's like a tiny electronic life form, completely dependent on the user's QQ account.

"Ahhh! What is this! It's so cute!"

"My son is hungry, does anyone have some dog food to share?"

"Why is it sick? What should we do?"

QQ Pets has captured the hearts of countless users, especially female users, in just two days since its launch.

That feeling of being needed and relied upon, that sense of accomplishment of watching a little life grow under your care, is something that the aloof MSN can never provide.

Raising QQ pets has quickly become a new social activity.

Many students who couldn't play World of Warcraft and the game "Honghuang Zhanji" compared their pets' levels, their clothes' appearances, and who had completed difficult tasks.

This has even led to new forms of social interaction, such as lending pets for work or helping with childcare.

Most importantly, QQ Pets are extremely addictive. In order to prevent the pets from starving or dying of disease, users log in to QQ more frequently and for longer periods of time.

Deep Summer City, Penguin Data Monitoring Center.

As Zhang Zhidong watched the data curve on the screen begin to subtly change, a long-lost smile finally appeared on his face.

“Mr. Ma, your decision is the greatest one I’ve seen in my five years in the industry.” He pointed to a curve that was beginning to rise steadily and said, “The average online time per user has increased by 17.9% compared to the past week! Moreover, the login frequency has increased significantly.”

The other curve representing new users, while not as steep as MSN's, is solid and consistent, with the vast majority coming from campus network IPs and young user groups in second- and third-tier cities.

“MSN took away the face, but we seized the substance,” Ma Huateng said softly. “They bought the number of registrations, but we awakened usage habits and emotional dependence.”

At this time, inside Microsoft's Asian headquarters, Waters also noticed QQ's series of actions.

He frowned slightly as he looked at the report describing the craze sparked by the launch of QQ Pets.

The assistant reported, "Data shows that QQ user engagement, especially among younger users, has seen a remarkably significant increase. Many students are now discussing the new QQ Pet..."

Waters put down the report and couldn't help but laugh.

He admitted that the opponent's tactic of going all the way down was indeed somewhat unexpected.

However, is this almost childish way of confronting them? Doesn't it block their path to higher levels?
“Virtual pets…free outfits…” He said with a hint of incomprehension, “Is this their counterattack? Or their retreat?”

“I think they’re probably planning to avoid our direct confrontation,” the assistant said.

“Well, it’s ultimately just a cheap trick that can’t be taken seriously.” Waters nodded slowly and said, “It might be able to stabilize their base for the time being, but it can’t change the future trend. The future of communication tools will inevitably be towards efficiency, professionalism, and security. Users who are addicted to this kind of virtual vanity will one day realize what users really need.”

Using short-term emotional stimulation to cover up the lack of core competitiveness of a product is simply like drinking poison to quench thirst.

He will continue to use Microsoft's money and technology to steadfastly advance MSN's elitist strategy and reap the rewards from mature and discerning users.

He turned to his assistant and instructed, "Continue with the original plan and increase promotion efforts in universities and top companies. At the same time, have the R&D team accelerate the development of MSN Blog Space and MSN Voice Channel. While they're engrossed in feeding their pets, we need to build the real battlefield. Our next step is to enter the online game voice communication field!"

"Yes!" the assistant replied immediately.

The penguins' sudden turn of events has ushered in a new phase of the war.

One is upward, attempting to define the future;

One approach is downward, focusing on development at a young age.

On August 18, Wang Yan, president of Xinlang Group, walked into Cheng Yi's office with a look of travel-worn but excited expression.

"Mr. Cheng, am I disturbing you?" Wang Yan asked with a smile, holding a thick folder and a slightly bulky laptop.

"Mr. Wang is here, please have a seat." Cheng Yi stood up and gestured for him to sit on the guest sofa.

He closed his laptop, personally brewed a pot of tea for Wang Yan, poured him another cup, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work, brothers from Xinlang, during this time."

"Don't mention it, Mr. Cheng. We're all family, so let's not stand on ceremony." Wang Yan took the tea and quickly said, "It's our duty at Xinlang to fight against Microsoft. I'm here today to report to you on our work in the public opinion battle."

He opened the folder, which contained a thick stack of printed data reports and webpage screenshots.

Wang Yan respectfully handed the document to Cheng Yi and said, "In the past two weeks, our Xinlang Technology Channel, Finance Channel, and blog section have published a total of 187 articles providing positive guidance and analysis, including 45 in-depth reports, tracking Microsoft's unfair competition practices throughout the process. We have also organized 8 expert interviews and roundtable discussions, with a total of over 7500 million views and reads across the internet."

He flipped to the next few pages, which contained screenshots of various forum posts and comments: "Our online media department, in conjunction with the moderators of our various partner forums, focused on promoting our positive content while suppressing and clarifying more than 11208 rumors that were unfavorable to us. We deployed more than 200 people, working in three shifts around the clock, just to hire online trolls—no, I mean, specialists to guide public opinion."

Wang Yan's tone carried a hint of pride and a touch of weariness.

In this battle of public opinion, Xinlang, as the vanguard of Momo's media group, has indeed borne enormous pressure and invested a huge amount of resources.

"Well done." Cheng Yi looked at the report very seriously, nodded, and smiled, "If you hadn't withstood the pressure and made our voices heard immediately, the situation would have been even more passive than it is now."

Upon receiving Cheng Yi's affirmation, Wang Yan's smile widened, as if all the fatigue of the past few days had vanished.

He took the laptop from his assistant, smiled excitedly, and said, "Mr. Cheng, the program you urged us to optimize has been completed."

His computer screen displayed a software interface that was simple in design but full of technological flair.

Against a dark background, there are several clearly defined channel lists and user avatars.

The software name is in the top left corner: UTalk.

(End of this chapter)