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Chapter 341, Chapter 0338: [What is Journalism?]

Chen Guiliang is just here to create hype on the show.

Whether it's saying "use it freely" of the HarmonyOS system or making a bet with Ms. Rong, it all boils down to attracting attention.

Stop nitpicking about open-source licenses. If you were recording a TV show, would you explain those things to the audience?

Do you even know what journalism is? The more outrageous your explanation, the better!
If HarmonyOS cannot be integrated with the global supply chain, forget about adhering to open-source licenses. Even if you pay others to give it away, their competitors won't use your lousy system.

Even when there's no way out, Chen Guiliang will voluntarily give up and wholeheartedly join the Android camp without any psychological burden. Or perhaps one day he'll threaten the American market and be forced to leave Android and pick up his self-developed system again.

His thinking was very clear: it would be best to build the system ecosystem himself, but if that wasn't possible, he would decisively give up. Survival came first, then development; only by developing and growing stronger could he have true autonomy.

Rong Xiuli, the founder of Tianyu Mobile, was also there to record a program and boast.

However, she was too serious and conservative in her speech, unlike Chen Guiliang who talked a lot of nonsense, so she was suppressed by Chen Guiliang throughout the whole process.

Chen Guiliang replied, "There is no single most correct decision, only the decision that best suits the current market. You need to understand your core user base and then try your best to satisfy it. In particular, you must treat users as people, not as fools or money bags. The same applies to switching to the mobile phone industry. I'm not afraid of failure; I'll just do my best."

"I will create groups for HarmonyOS phones on Renren and Haiwainet, as well as related forums. Everyone can come and give feedback and express their needs for smartphones. We will conduct research and development based on the suggestions from netizens."

"Through everyone's continuous suggestions, we've watched HarmonyOS phone come to life from scratch. This will be a phone that embodies everyone's creativity and hard work, unlike any other smartphone currently on the market."

"In my vision, future mobile phones will be able to control everything. Watch videos on your phone, shop on your phone, order takeout on your phone, play games on your phone, control all the appliances in your home on your phone... This is the goal that HarmonyOS mobile phones are pursuing, and I believe that we can achieve it within ten years."

Professor Ji laughed and said, "This idea sounds like science fiction, but I think it might actually be possible. Our companies often lack a bit of science fiction imagination. In fact, we can imagine boldly and develop carefully, and that's how we can create innovative products."

Another audience member said, "I'm a third-year university student. I want to ask Ms. Rong, what gives you the confidence to compete with Apple? Steve Jobs was the pioneer of smartphones; he was a god in this field. Apple phones, like World of Warcraft, have reached the pinnacle in their respective fields, and no one can surpass them!"

Chen Guiliang laughed upon hearing this; this guy must be a first-generation Apple fan.

Love deeply.

Rong Xiuli replied, "Mr. Jobs is indeed admirable, but as a Chinese entrepreneur, we cannot give up just because our competitors are too strong. My Tianyu mobile phone and I will take one step at a time to develop our products and markets, and slowly catch up with Apple. Just like in recent years, we started as a knock-off brand and gradually built a branded domestic brand, with sales already surpassing Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and Motorola. I believe that one day, Tianyu smartphones will be able to compete with Apple in China!"

Chen Guiliang thought to himself: Sister, don't be so conservative with your words. When you come on a show, you should go all out and talk a lot.

The host, Hu Yihu, said, "Mr. Chen has been smiling the whole time. Is there something you want to say?"

Chen Guiliang picked up the microphone: "May I ask what this student's major is?"

The student said, "Chinese Language and Literature."

Chen Guiliang asked, "Do you know what 'essentialism' is?"

The student looked blank: "I'm not entirely sure."

Chen Guiliang said, "Simply put, the essence of things is eternal and unchanging, and the essence determines the way things exist. But sometimes, people often fall into the cognitive trap of essentialism. Especially those in positions of power or large companies, who believe that their success model is an eternal and unchanging essence, rather than an accidental product of a historical stage."

"Does this have anything to do with what we're discussing?" the student asked.

Chen Guiliang said, "This kind of misconception will become more entrenched with continuous success, forming habitual thinking and path dependence. It will lead to inertia of 'we've always done it this way,' and gradually lose the ability to innovate. This may also be the case with Apple phones and World of Warcraft, as you mentioned!"

The student countered, "Why are you so sure they will lose their innovativeness?"

Chen Guiliang said, “I said possible, not certain. The more successful and larger the company, the greater the possibility. The essentialist cognitive fallacy is both a process and a result, and it is also accompanied by the alienation of power. Innovation is something that people do, but people are alienated in the process of labor. When R&D is alienated into mechanical execution by KPIs, processes, and reporting chains, and employees are alienated into labor tools, innovation ceases to exist.”

“When large companies fall into this state, opportunities arise for small companies. Nokia is currently trapped in a serious essentialist cognitive error, and it’s only a matter of time before its position in the mobile phone industry is replaced by Apple. And we Chinese companies also have the opportunity to catch up with, or even surpass, Apple.”

The student understood and sneered, "Aren't there any companies that have always been strong? There are plenty of such companies overseas!"

Chen Guiliang said, "Give me an example."

The student thought for a moment and said, "I know you'd disagree with me if I said Microsoft, thinking it's been around for too short a time. General Motors in the US is almost a hundred years old. They've been innovating all along and have always been incredibly powerful."

Chen Guiliang asked Professor Lang, "What percentage of GM's total profits do financial gains account for now?"

Professor Lang said, "About 60%."

Chen Guiliang smiled and asked the student, "Excuse me, is the General Motors you're talking about a financial company?"

Professor Lang said, "General Motors may have a tough year ahead. Its financial business accounts for too high a proportion of its total revenue, and it is involved in a large number of mortgage loans. Those subprime bonds are going to be a real problem for GM."

The student was still not satisfied: "Ford!"

Chen Guiliang asked Professor Lang, "What's the situation with Ford?"

Professor Lang said, "Ford's financial business accounts for a smaller proportion. But its automotive business is not doing well either. In 2006 alone, it closed 14 factories and laid off more than 3 people. Ford and GM's main competitors are Japanese car companies, and they simply can't compete with them."

Chen Guiliang asked, "Why can't we compete with Japanese car companies?"

Professor Lang said, "Bloated, conservative, short-sighted, and domineering—a whole host of big company ailments."

Chen Guiliang gave a thumbs up: "Professor Lang is indeed very knowledgeable and well-informed."

Professor Lang smiled, feeling quite pleased.

Chen Guiliang said to the student, "The strong are the ones who die, the weak are the ones who live. Thus, a strong army will be destroyed, and a strong tree will be broken. The powerful should be in a lower position, and the weak should be in a higher position. Here, 'strong' means stubbornness and arrogance. Small companies can always grow as long as they are good at adapting to the environment and seizing opportunities."

He used to talk big, now he's setting himself up.

It's all about attracting attention.

Regardless of whether the audience understands or not, as long as it makes them feel sophisticated and high-class, that's enough. "Clap clap clap clap!"

The whole room erupted in applause, and the student slunk down.

Seeing that Chen Guiliang had stolen the limelight, Rong Xiuli quickly picked up the microphone to add, "Our Tianyu mobile phones have always been wary of the problems that plague large corporations, and we always maintain the vitality of each department and team. That's why we can continuously launch blockbuster phones based on user needs, and now we've become the number one domestic mobile phone brand!"

However, she was getting old and held a high position, so she had the burden of maintaining the image of a superior.

He doesn't speak as sassily as Chen Guiliang, nor does he have Chen Guiliang's ability to show off.

Even when it comes to talking nonsense, she can't outdo Chen Guiliang.

During the rest of the recording, Chen Guiliang dominated the conversation, and I could only squeeze in some time to promote Tianyu mobile phones.

At this time, "One on One" was at its peak in terms of viewership.

They even created a special forum section called "One Tiger, One Seat" on Tianya, and also have a dedicated group with the same name on HaiNei.com. The program is hotly discussed by users of Tianya and HaiNei.com on the day it airs.

This episode immediately sparked heated discussions upon its release.

"What does it mean that HarmonyOS is open? Is it like Symbian?"

"It's different. Symbian is a semi-open system, controlled by the Symbian Phone Alliance. It's only partially open for third-party application development."

"A mobile phone company that can open up its own operating system? Chen Guiliang is talking nonsense."

"It's a bit far-fetched, but he might actually do it."

"..."

In fact, after Nokia acquired Symbian, it immediately opened up the Symbian system. However, it was a bit too late; the Android alliance had already been formed, and both Nokia and Symbian missed their best opportunity.

Mobile phone companies can also open up their mobile phone operating systems!

"Chen Shiyi is really good with words; Rong Xiuli was completely led by him."

"There's nothing I can do; I'm getting old, and my mind isn't as sharp anymore."

“Rong Xiuli is old, but the audience here, well? The audience is about the same age as Chen Guiliang. Even those teachers and civil servants look very young. But they can’t out-argue Chen Shiyi.”

"Haha, that student was stunned by what Chen Guiliang said, and when he sat back down, his expression was like he was sleepwalking."

"I heard Chen Guiliang chose philosophy at Peking University. Now I'm sure he wasn't just wasting his time in the philosophy department. Damn, he can rattle off a bunch of philosophical terms right off the bat. And it's not just empty talk; he can connect theory with practice."

"That rhetorical question cracked me up: 'Dude, are you talking about a financial company, General Motors?'"

"Doesn't anyone think the name HarmonyOS is cool? Damn, I often read prehistoric novels, and seeing HarmonyOS is really exciting. If they made it into a phone, I would definitely buy it."

"I'm not going to be a guinea pig; I only trust Apple for now."

"Let's see how it goes. If it works well, I'll buy it."

"..."

The head of Tencent's smartphone project is Liu Chengmin, who previously headed Tencent's SP (Service Provider) business. He brought in 8 million yuan in revenue for Tencent last year!

Tencent's QPhone system development team mainly comes from the Mobile QQ department...

Pony Ma stared at the video and asked, "The HarmonyOS mobile operating system is going to be completely open. Do you believe it?"

Liu Chengmin said, "He's just bragging."

Pony Ma asked, "Has our QPhone system development plan been completed?"

Liu Chengmin said, "The R&D plan has been initially finalized, but should we recruit some more R&D team members? After all, they have only worked on mobile QQ before."

Pony Ma said, "You can pull some more people from the mobile payment team. There's no need to recruit too many externally; just one or two key talents will suffice. We don't need to make a big fuss about R&D; we can quietly develop the phone."

Liu Chengmin said dejectedly, "Hardware engineers always need to be recruited externally, right?"

Pony Ma said, "You can poach some people from ZTE and Coolpad."

Liu Chengmin said, "Chen Guiliang is poaching people from Motorola. I heard that Motorola's Beijing Research Institute has been split up, so we can take this opportunity to poach a few. Especially those who are being transferred to Tianjin, they will definitely not be well received."

“Then go dig,” said Brother Ma.

Tencent's smartphone project dragged on for three or four years, and due to too many messes, Liu Chengmin resigned in anger.

Moreover, in the year before his official departure, Liu Chengmin was already in a state of slacking off. He was photographed having fun at a winery one moment, and participating in tea tasting parties the next, and he didn't go to work at Tencent for several months.

The internal strife within the department was so severe that it completely drained my energy and spirit.

Just this past Spring Festival, at the China Mobile internal annual meeting, Liu Chengmin's SP department performed a skit. The plot was roughly that "Mobile QQ" was portrayed as Xi'er, who was forced to marry "Mobile Fetion," the foolish son of a landlord. However, Xi'er's wealthy family refused the marriage.

The camera pans to Liu Chengmin, who is laughing heartily—this is the most glorious moment of his life.

Then I got stuck in the mobile phone project pit and couldn't get out.

(End of this chapter)