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Chapter 226 0223 [Freelancer]

The level of online freedom of speech in 2006 was simply frightening.

In this environment, if the editor-in-chief still considers the words too sensitive, then it's no longer just a simple complaint.

ByteDance's editorial and technical departments have begun working together to create a "gray list" system. Accounts that repeatedly trigger sensitive words over multiple days are automatically added to the "gray list" and then transferred to manual review.

Meanwhile, editors conduct daily random reviews of popular articles. Those comments that are too outrageous are manually added to a "grey list."

The "grey list" refers to sensitive accounts, which the website will not interfere with excessively to protect users' freedom of speech as much as possible. However, editors will pay close attention to these accounts, and will issue warnings if their statements clearly cross the line.

If repeated warnings are ignored, then add them to the "blacklist".

Users on the "blacklist" are frequent recipients of the "post deletion + ban" package; the ultimate punishment for crossing the line of free speech is account suspension!
This process is very laborious to implement, but such a rule is necessary.

Fanfou, China's first commercial microblogging product, was shut down because it contained a large amount of illegal information.

Wouldn't it be easier to just ban or shut down the account if something goes wrong?

But doing so would lack a unified standard.

Ultimately, it either becomes a situation where the moderators act arbitrarily, or it becomes a situation where online trolls (or fans) report someone and then ban them.

Even if Chen Guiliang dislikes someone, he won't arbitrarily ban or suspend their account. As long as it doesn't cross legal or moral boundaries, he respects the other person's freedom of speech.

Public opinion is a double-edged sword; it can't be all black or all white.

When everyone agrees and public opinion becomes unified, it's actually very terrifying and extremely dangerous. You have no idea whether the other side is human or demonic. It's like the demon Mara saying to the Buddha, "I will send my descendants to infiltrate your Sangha, wear your robes, and corrupt your Dharma!"

Moreover, public intellectuals were also very useful in China during this period. They were an important force for public opinion oversight.

Moreover, some are genuine "public intellectuals" who truly hope China can become a better place. Occasionally, their opinions might be a little extreme; even Chen Guiliang often feels like cursing after reading the news.

"You can't make this!" Guo Feng walked into Chen Guiliang's office.

Chen Guiliang asked, "What is it?"

“The trending topics are divided into two lists,” Guo Feng said. “The popular interview lists and popular reading lists can be divided into two lists based on whether the users are real-name verified or not. But how are the trending topics divided?”

After thinking carefully for a while, Chen Guiliang said, "Then we won't separate the trending topics list."

Xie Yang also walked in: "I don't think calling it an anonymous list is appropriate. It should be changed to a 'grassroots list,' corresponding to the 'celebrity list' that has been verified with real names."

"Won't the grassroots list be mistaken for being discriminatory?" Chen Guiliang asked.

Xie Yang said, "No. Grassroots culture is on the rise now, and netizens really like to refer to themselves as grassroots. If someone feels good about themselves and doesn't like the term 'grassroots,' then they can choose to get real-name authentication."

Chen Guiliang thought carefully and said, "The opposition between the celebrity list and the grassroots list is too strong. Let's change it to the big V list and the public list."

"That works too." Xie Yang thought it was a good idea.

Chen Guiliang said, "Then let's give it a try. You will be responsible for the specific execution and operation. Nothing is set in stone, and what I say is not always correct. We will make adjustments based on the specific operational situation."

This means that the trending topics list, regardless of whether you're a big influencer or an ordinary user, will likely receive the most attention. And the price for buying a spot on the trending topics list will also be the highest!
All other lists grouped together the influential figures in one list and ordinary users in another.

Rankings on the influencer leaderboard can be bought, because even if ByteDance doesn't sell, some people can hire online trolls or mobilize their fans to manipulate the rankings.

The grassroots rankings are completely authentic; ordinary users can appear on the list without spending money. As long as their blog content is engaging, even grassroots users can appear on the trending reads list. As long as they can attract more attention, grassroots users can also appear on the popular interviews list and the fan list.

Xie Yang continued, "One of my employees has mentioned crowdsourcing several times. I've studied the crowdsourcing model in detail and think it's a great development project. Our current products are still too limited, while it's easy to make money through crowdsourcing if done well."

Freelancers, what a distant concept.

Chen Guiliang had almost forgotten about this thing.

Simply put, employers post bounty tasks, freelancers participate in the bidding, and the website takes a commission during the transaction. This ranges from designing a logo to undertaking outsourcing projects worth hundreds of thousands of yuan.

The only website that truly made crowdsourcing a large-scale platform is ZBJ.com.

This website may not have been well-known, but more than a decade later, its market value has grown to over 10 billion yuan.

Chen Guiliang asked, "Are you planning to do it yourself?"

Xie Yang said, "Of course we'll do it ourselves. The concept of crowdsourcing was proposed last year. Existing crowdsourcing websites are still in their early stages. Investing in those websites is not as good as building it ourselves."

Chen Guiliang asked, "How do you ensure that employers who post bounty tasks won't be scammed? What if an employer cancels their payment after a freelancer completes the task? With many freelancers bidding, only one will get paid, and the others are just wasting their time. How do you maintain the freelancers' enthusiasm?"

“Uh…” Xie Yang didn’t know how to answer.

Chen Guiliang said, "To establish an effective intermediary guarantee and evaluation system, a huge amount of human and material resources must be invested. The person in charge of this project also needs to have a rich and powerful network of contacts."

Xie Yang said, "Let me think about it some more."

After Xie Yang left, Chen Guiliang searched for ZBJ.com on Baidu.

This website has actually been created!

However, the webpage is very basic, suggesting it's still a personal website in its early stages.

The website provides four contact methods for business cooperation: mobile phone, QQ, MSN, and email.

Chen Guiliang logged into QQ and added the other person as a friend.

The little boy under the streetlight: "Hello."

Pigsy: "Hello. Do you want to post a bounty?"

The little boy under the streetlight: "Excuse me, what do you do? I'm afraid I'll be scammed if I post a reward." Pigsy: "My job is the chief reporter for the *Shancheng Evening News*. If you have any doubts, you can come to the *Shancheng Evening News* to confirm in person."

Chen Guiliang suddenly realized why this person had been able to build such a large crowdsourcing website. Moreover, the way to break the deadlock was to get CCTV's "News Broadcast" to report on it, which directly established his industry position and made clients no longer suspect that he was a scammer.

If it were anyone else, where would they find such means and connections?

Following the CCTV Evening News report, hundreds of crowdsourcing websites emerged in a short period. Apart from this person's ZBJ.com, none of them managed to become truly large!
The little boy under the streetlight: "Do you need money?"

Pigsy: "???"

The little boy under the streetlight said, "What you have now is a non-commercial personal website, so you can only take small jobs. I can invest in you to actually start a company and create a legitimate commercial website."

Pigsy: "Are you a venture capital manager?"

The little boy under the streetlight: "Pretty much, anyway, I have money in my hands and nowhere to spend it."

Pigsy: "I need to talk to you in person."

The little boy under the streetlight: "Sure. When are you free?"

Pigsy: "Anytime. When you get to the mountain city, call the business contact number on the website. That's my mobile number."

End QQ chat.

Chen Guiliang called Bian Guanyue again: "When are you going to participate in the Super Girl competition?"

Bian Guanyue said, "I got a direct pass and went straight into the top 100 in the Chengdu division. I'll go back to Chengdu this weekend to participate in the top 100 to top 50 qualifying round."

"Amazing!" Chen Guiliang exclaimed.

Bian Guanyue laughed and said, "It's alright, we've only made it into the top 100 of the regional competition."

Chen Guiliang asked, "How far can the competition go without a contract? Have you inquired about that?"

“I’ve inquired,” Bian Guanyue said. “This weekend’s match should be my last. Everyone who makes it into the top 50 of the division must sign a contract.”

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Hunan TV and Tianyu are too cautious. They actually signed all the top 50 teams from all the competition regions."

Bian Guanyue said, "They're afraid that another Zhang Liangying will refuse to sign a contract this year."

“I’ll go with you this weekend,” Chen Guiliang said.

"Really?" Bian Guanyue was quite delighted.

Chen Guiliang said, "I'll also take a trip to the mountain city; I need to discuss a business deal."

Bian Guanyue said, "Okay. I've always wanted to go to Shancheng, but I haven't had the chance yet."

Chen Guiliang thought of his classmate Guan Zhiqiang.

Guan Zhiqiang is also in the mountain city.

Hohohohohohoho!

That mesmerizing laughter is something I really miss.

My roommate Li Yulin and his girlfriend Wang Yu are also studying in the mountain city.

Chen Guiliang called Xu Haibo again: "Bobo, I'm going to Chengdu this weekend, let's go out for a meal together."

“Sure, you set the time, and I’ll choose the location,” Xu Haibo said happily.

Chen Guiliang said, "I called you a day in advance."

Friday afternoon.

Chen Guiliang took Yang Shuo as his bodyguard and had another driver drive to pick up Bian Guanyue and take them to the airport.

It was quite late when we arrived in Chengdu, so we went straight to the hotel without calling Xu Haibo out.

Chen Guiliang couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going home for a visit?"

Bian Guanyue said, "When I went back home for the Spring Festival, my dad and my stepmother were going through a divorce. It seems they didn't actually get divorced and are still making do. My stepmother is giving everyone the cold shoulder these days. I'm not going to go back and argue with her."

The old house belonging to Bian Guanyue's grandparents was left to her aunt. Moreover, it had been uninhabited for a long time, and now if anyone wanted to move in, they would have to clean it.

Seeing that she seemed to want to continue the conversation, Chen Guiliang asked, "Why are they still talking about divorce?"

Bian Guanyue rarely showed such gossip: "My stepmother's younger brother was fired by my dad last year. He was the general manager of the branch office, and he just fired him like that. There was another relative, whose name I don't know, who was a director and vice president that my stepmother arranged for him to be in the company, but he was also kicked out by my dad last year. Even my stepmother herself only retained her status as a director and shareholder, and resigned from all other positions. Oh, right, she also served as a consultant for the company."

"Your dad... is really awesome." Chen Guiliang exclaimed sincerely.

Bian Guanyue said, "Given my stepmother's temper, my dad must have found something to use against her. Otherwise, she would have made a scene long ago, and it wouldn't have been as simple as just talking about divorce."

Chen Guiliang didn't ask what leverage he had over her.

It's something that could probably get someone sent to jail.

Yang Shuo sat in the passenger seat of the taxi, pretending not to hear anything.

The taxi driver, on the other hand, had a detached, amused expression on his face.

(End of this chapter)