Xiaomi Heavy Industry, its first entrepreneurial venture!

Chapter 391 Congratulations, you've grasped the concept of the information cocoon! (First update!)

When Lin Yi announced the project's goals, Zhang Yiming thought he had misheard. In front of Lin Yi, he very impolitely reached out and scratched his ear, only to find that it wasn't blocked. He then swallowed hard, much to his embarrassment.

He realized that something seemed a little off.

As the owner of a startup, he knew exactly what Lin Yi was talking about.

Control, public opinion.

These two words are just ordinary words when separated, but when put together, one more word should be added—power.

Moreover, public opinion should be replaced with another word—discourse.

The correct description of these words together should be "to have the power of discourse".

In China, to gain control of the discourse, one must first obtain the right to publish news, but this right is not easy to obtain.

The few news media outlets active online are either transformed from traditional media or affiliated with traditional media.

Even so, these news media outlets cannot achieve the so-called control of the narrative.

But now, this Mr. Lin who suddenly appeared, this Mr. Lin who had been looking for me for a long time, actually wants to control public opinion and control the discourse.

What terrified Zhang Yiming even more was that this person wanted to seize control of the world's discourse!
The international discourse power is completely different from that at home.

Foreign countries started developing earlier, and their news media have long been infiltrated by major capital groups. The news media have long been the mouthpiece of major capital groups and several major powers.

If we want to gain international discourse power, we must first eliminate these early entrants and even snatch public opinion from the hands of major powers.

This……

This isn't just overestimating oneself; it's downright daydreaming!
Countries like America have been controlling public opinion since the end of World War II. After decades of hard work, they have finally built the foundation for their current voice.

If just anyone could easily take away their voice, then all those decades of their lives would have been for nothing.
Moreover, the Western countries, led by America, cannot simply stand by and watch others take away their voice; they will definitely take action.

This Mr. Lin wants to have more say; he's probably craving some seaweed and egg drop soup.

Picking up the tea on the table, Zhang Yiming gulped it down in one go. He silently told himself that he was just here to eat, and that he shouldn't think about anything else. He would leave as soon as he finished eating.

He put down the cup and stared intently at Lin Yi, scrutinizing the young man from head to toe.

On the other hand, he was very curious to know how this young man, who looked younger than himself, would seize the right to speak from those established powers and established capitalists.

Just then, the waiter brought the food.

The medium-rare Australian steak was only about the size of a palm, with two lemon slices and a few rosemary leaves on the side, along with a glass of red wine.

The rest are all just for creating atmosphere.

"Mr. Lin, please!"

"Mr. Zhang! Please!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the two began to devour their steaks.

After finishing half a steak, Zhang Yiming picked up a glass of red wine and said, "President Lin, to be honest, I really admire people like you!"

"They have lofty ideals and are working hard to achieve them."

"Unlike me, I just want to coast along and wait to die."

“The project you just mentioned is too big. From my personal perspective, I don’t think I’m capable enough.”

"However, I still want to ask President Lin a question: what methods do you plan to use to seize the discourse power from those established capitalists and countries?"

As he spoke, Lin Yi gently moved his wine glass forward, touching it to Zhang Yiming's. He didn't say anything, but slowly pulled his glass back.

Receiving no response, Zhang Yiming gave an awkward laugh and quickly took a sip of wine to cover up his embarrassment.

He put down his wine glass and muttered to himself, "It was my rudeness, Zhang Yiming. How could I tell such a thing to an outsider?"

Lin Yi gave Zhang Yiming's performance a very fair evaluation, calling him a "drama queen."

He swirled the wine in his glass, looking through the liquid at Zhang Yiming across from him:
"it's actually really easy!"

"The way established capitalists and established countries control public opinion is by establishing various news media and creating all sorts of personas for these news media. Creating a good persona means getting these news media to do things that conform to their persona."

"They gather all sorts of news, shoot all sorts of content, and then mix and match what they want to show into that content, finally presenting it to the people they want to brainwash."

"Some of this content is true, and some is false."

"The target may be suspicious when they see the content for the first time."

"The second time you see that, the target will be less suspicious."

"The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time, and who knows how many times, the target will lower their guard and believe what they show."

"The most common point is that this country has good welfare benefits, and people from all over the world can enjoy these benefits."

"It's like an echo chamber, trapping people inside, until eventually all they can hear is one sound."

"If this were the era of traditional media, and you asked me to challenge them, I would think you were dreaming."

But we live in the internet age now!

Lin Yi used his fork to pick up a piece of steak and placed it in front of him. The medium-rare steak still had a bit of blood on it, which he didn't really like.

The main reason is the fear of parasites.

After examining it for a moment, he stuffed the steak into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he leaned forward, staring intently at Zhang Yiming.
"Sir, times have changed! The cost of media is not as high as it used to be, and the efficiency of dissemination is far greater than before!"

These words were like a wake-up call, hitting Zhang Yiming right on the head and answering his doubts in that instant.

He put down his glass in a daze, then uttered a single word:
"Information cocoon!"

After uttering that word, he stood up abruptly from his chair and began circling around the dining table. After circling twice, he suddenly turned back to Lin Yi:

“In 2001, American scholar Cass Sunstein proposed this concept in his book, The Network Republic.”

"Humans are social beings with a strong desire to share and a need for sufficient recognition."

"Based on these conditions, Cass Sunstein argues that in the internet age, because people cannot see each other, they tend to choose information sources that align with their own views, and reinforce this preference through technologies such as algorithmic recommendations, ultimately confining themselves to a homogenized information environment similar to a cocoon!"

"The website I created, in a sense, is a proactive way to use algorithms to recommend properties and push consistent listings to customers."

“If I replace the listing with other news information or content that other people want to share, I can actively create an information cocoon.”

"The people inside the information cocoon will constantly provide feedback on the information I push, excluding the information they don't want. If I adjust my strategy based on this excluded information, I can create an even more powerful and robust information cocoon."

"Ultimately, it trapped someone inside!"

“Some people will realize this after being trapped in an information cocoon, and then break free.”

"Based on this, we can also proactively push information he doesn't like to him, forcing him to watch it."

"In the end, regardless of whether the person emerges from the cocoon or not, he has received enough information."

"Once a person has received enough information, they are less likely to be fooled when they receive more!"

As Lin Yi uttered these words with a frenzied air, Zhang Yiming's eyes narrowed sharply, and he re-examined Lin Yi from head to toe: "You don't want to control the narrative at all! You just want to fill others with enough information, to teach them to think independently, right?"

After asking the question, Zhang Yiming bit his lip and sat back down in his chair with a sigh.

This is a great idea, but it's easier said than done.

To realize Lin Yi's ideas, the first question is what kind of news media should be created to effectively deliver this information to ordinary people.

This problem cannot be solved; any further discussion is just wishful thinking.

Across from him, Lin Yi had already finished his steak.

The taste is average.

It's not as good as the braised beef brisket with potatoes made by the cafeteria chef.

He wiped his mouth clean, placed his hands on the table, and calmly looked at Zhang Yiming:
"So, you've stated your thoughts yourself. Are you willing to work with me?"

"Why does it have to be me?"

"I like people who are technically skilled and also enjoy using their brains. Having such people will make my job easier. Is that reason enough?"

"If I say I don't want to go, since you've already given me your direction, I think I can take your ideas, organize them properly, and start my own business. There's absolutely no need for me to be your subordinate."

"Sure!" Lin Yi nodded calmly, his eyes clear and bright, showing no trace of anger.

Just as Zhang Yiming was about to intensify his probing, Lin Yi's gentle voice rang out:

“In my plan, you are not indispensable as the person in charge.”

"Just like I said, I want my work to be a little easier."

"You can do the work of several people, and you can make the team more coordinated when working."

“If you don’t go, I’ll just find a few less humane people, divide the work among them, let them complete it individually, and then summarize the results at the end.”

"Work can be tiring, but it can still be accomplished."

So the decision is yours!

"As for you using my plan to start a business, go ahead."

"I don't have many connections in the investment world, but I have fairly good connections in the government."

"I'll just say two sentences to you."

"And I can tell you plainly that behind this power of discourse are the personal information of countless people, which is not so easy to obtain."

"You're a smart person, you'll definitely understand what I mean."

A few simple words were enough to make Zhang Yiming, who had just been so confident of victory, slump back into his chair.

In the internet age, there are networks that specialize in selling personal information. Just the basic information of these billions of people can be exchanged for countless amounts of money.

Not to mention the more advanced information that will be collected later.

No country would allow a company to obtain this data so easily; even if there is no policy now, there will be one later.

He remembered very clearly that Fanfou, the website he used to work for, was shut down because of messing around.

Just kill him!

If Lin Yi was able to come up with this idea, then he must have already thought of a solution.

If you use his ideas to raise funds, he might even crush your own investors.

He might not care in the early stages, but then suddenly pull a fast one at a crucial moment later on.

If the other party is willing to talk about these things openly and honestly, it means they are not afraid that I will take the things away!

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Yiming stood up and bowed to Lin Yi:
“Mr. Lin, I can’t make a decision about this right now. I need to go back and think about it.”

"I will reply to your message within 24 hours at most, whether I go or not."

"goodbye!"

After bowing again, Zhang Yiming turned and left the restaurant.

Watching the person disappear, Lin Yi called over a waiter, paid the bill, and then slowly walked back to his floor.

Just as he reached the door of his room, he saw the door to the next room open, and Lei Jun poked his head out:
"Let's play mahjong!"

"Machine-selected Mahjong!"

Hearing that it was machine-selected mahjong, Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Machine-selected mahjong is more random than hand-selected mahjong, so he doesn't have to hold back when playing.

At least it can make you a little happier.

Upon entering the room, a mahjong table was placed in the center, where Lin Bin and several other people from Xiaomi were sitting.

Seeing the two enter the room, Lin Bin waved his hand repeatedly: "Hurry up!"

After sitting down at the mahjong table and throwing the dice, the mahjong game officially began.

After a couple of rounds, Lei Jun leaned over and whispered, "How did your meeting with Zhang Yiming go? Three points!"

"Not bad! He said he'll go back and think about it, and get back to me when he's ready, Yaoji!"

"Hey, Mr. Lin, what project do you have? Do you want to invest? I happen to have some spare cash on hand!"

"Peng Yiji! It's an algorithm recommendation project. If you're interested in investing, I'll discuss it with Lin'an. You don't need much initial investment; just invest a little. The focus should still be on your phones."

"Mr. Lin, this is going too far! Are you trying to play tricks on us with three 'ones'?"

"This is called maximizing profits and minimizing risks! 8!"

"8!" Lei Jun also picked up an 8 yuan note, didn't even look at it, and casually tossed it back onto the table.
"Speaking of mobile phones, the mayor of Yanjing came to our company for a visit a couple of days ago. After listening to my report, he said that if possible, he would try to provide more support to our own enterprises."

“I told him about the plan for the second set of brands you mentioned, and he told me to go ahead and do it without worry.”

"Do you think it is okay?"

"Then go ahead and do it! Mr. Lin Bin, hurry up and play your cards, you've worn that mahjong set to shreds."

"I'm afraid of firecrackers!"

"We're all acquaintances, how can we let acquaintances just let you discard the winning tile? You've lost the One of Bamboo, and two Three of Bamboo have been played. You're holding onto the Two of Bamboo and playing it without hesitation. You don't trust others, but you trust me?"

"Nijo!"

"Two of a kind, pay up!" Lin Yi pushed the mahjong tiles forward. "Count the money!"

While the others were counting mahjong tiles with unpleasant expressions, Lin Yi turned to look at Lei Jun:

"Then why are you still dragging your feet?"

(End of this chapter)