I was reborn without dreams

Chapter 118 The First Generation Internet Celebrity "Teacher Bai"

The busiest place in March is undoubtedly Beijing, as it is the site of a major conference where many key future industrial development policies are either drafted or strengthened.

For this reason, the "verbal battle" that Zhang Da'an had previously participated in has temporarily come to an end, and Jiangkou Province has honestly followed suit and focused on publicizing the important matters first.

However, Beijing TV has been making constant underhanded moves. Even though it hasn't stirred up trouble on the main channel, many talk shows don't need to rely on Beijing TV's channels; they can simply go through some strange satellite channels.

Meanwhile, in both traditional print media and new internet media, leveraging its significant advantage on portal websites, Zhang Da'an was subjected to all sorts of online attacks and criticisms.

It's certain that it won't kill you; at most, it'll just annoy you.

The previous back-and-forth battle surrounding "video games" became somewhat awkward due to Zhang Da'an's lack of response. After losing his leading role, he quickly shifted the focus to "whether antivirus software should be free" and made it the hottest topic on the internet.

Meanwhile, the lackluster performance of "Xiaobai Antivirus" in actual comparisons almost perfectly highlighted the paid antivirus software, and the carefully crafted concept of "you get what you pay for" seemed to be reinforced in the eyes of ordinary personal computer users.

However, Zhang Da'an not only did not refute it, but also asked the public relations department to further reinforce the concept of "you get what you pay for".

This is because it is a fact that since the rise of the consumer electronics industry, the requirements for hardware materials have been much higher than during the electrification development period.

Therefore, in reality, the better the materials used in electronic components, the higher the probability of stable operation; this is a positive correlation.

No ordinary small factory can produce electronic components of the same specifications that are as good as those from large factories under the same operating time. They either increase yield costs or save on development costs.

If Zhang Da'an were to have his "you get what you pay for" philosophy challenged, it would be extremely detrimental to the future product positioning of "Zhang Xiaobai Technology Co., Ltd."

The same applies to the use of electronic software. The high barrier to entry for professional software itself means a "price," because getting started requires investing time and learning costs, which can be quite expensive for highly skilled professionals.

So after the public relations department did this, even users who downloaded "Xiaobai Antivirus" felt that Zhang Da'an's subordinates were just sitting around doing nothing, and that this was pure treason.

On the official website of "Xiaobai Antivirus Software", an animated notification appeared soon, featuring a little black dog sticking out its tongue, wagging its tail, and introducing itself.

"Woof! Hello everyone~"

"My name is... Zhang Xiaobai, woof!"

In the scene, Zhang Xiaobai curls up into a ball, turning into a "black-hearted cotton ball," then slightly raises its head, turns its head, and sticks out its red tongue, revealing its original shape again.

"I am a... full-time security guard."

"Woof! My duty is... to protect everyone's computer security!"

The little black dog nimbly twirled, leaped, and occasionally performed acrobatics. Finally, it flew by draped in a red cape, transforming into a black shield. Then, it turned back into a little dog with its head held high, standing tall against the wind, like a stone lion at the gate.

"Although, I am still a puppy."

"However, I will remain at my post!"

"No task is too difficult!"

"Only smart dogs!"

"Wang!"

Below this animation is a notification to users, still in the voice of "Zhang Xiaobai".

The gist is that although "Xiaobai Antivirus" has just been launched and is indeed a free antivirus software, it will continue to invest and improve in the future, using high-quality technology and services to enhance its capabilities.

They also gave "Xiaobai Antivirus" time to update and upgrade, and released an updated version on March 12.

The image of "Zhang Xiaobai," a little black dog, has officially debuted. Its curled-up shield shape has also become one of the options for the software icon. The other icon is an abstract, handsome dog head.

This animation inexplicably became popular because Shen Tu, a silly bird, had nothing better to do than wander around the Mazhou branch school to see just how awesome his boss was, only to find a black dog standing guard at the gate.

He immediately recognized the dog and went to the guardhouse for a closer look. The walls were covered with photos of students petting the dog. After learning that the black dog was named "Zhang Xiaobai," Shen Tu took out his camera and took a picture with the dog. Then he went to the forum and bragged about it to the "tank" fans. He often hung out on the forum with students from Jiaotong University, so Shen Tu suddenly said that his company's logo was actually real...

ID "Tank Destroyer is Cool": It's not a rabbit, are you fucking scamming me? Is there really such a dog?

IS-3: Why would I lie to you? Look at the photos. This is the Mazhou campus of Xindongweigang Middle School. This is a watchdog my boss hired. Holy crap, you guys have no idea how popular it is. All the students here call it "Teacher Bai." It can wander in during class and nobody cares.

Number Three is trash: Teacher Bai? What does he teach his students?
Sherman lighter: barking like a dog.

I am pilot Beta: Rabbit, your boss is really something else, he's got such a unique personality.

When Shen Tu was in college, his nickname was "Rabbit." But as the saying goes, there are wrong names but no wrong nicknames. This guy deserves the nickname "Rabbit." He has many connections and many places to hide. Whether it's People's Park or Jiangning Road in Luzhou, he can always find a place to freeload a meal and sleep.

He has excellent survival skills and is indeed a carefree person. He didn't let his high debt cause him to become nervous.

After a barrage of boastful claims, "Zhang Xiaobai" first gained popularity on computer forums, then his existence was widely shared on various forums, followed by college students writing biographies about him...

Even on portal websites, some college students write "Lost Dog Notices" when they have nothing better to do.

Before internet entertainment content had fully blossomed, these collective amusement and mischief-making activities were essentially the early stages of internet carnivals.

This kind of viral marketing-like spread of influence is full of nonsensical humor, much like how a phrase like "What's it to me? I'm just passing by" can go viral. There are clues to it, but it doesn't make any sense.

In fact, Zhang Da'an originally intended not to argue with Beijing TV about "you get what you pay for," but he never expected that his self-introduction, presented in animation, would be interpreted by the vast majority of students as "admitting mistakes and correcting them" and "being ashamed and then striving to improve"...

In fact, Coach Zhang is giving Shen Tu 1.2 million yuan, intending to retaliate fiercely.

Now, no need for that.

The download volume of "Xiaobai Antivirus" was greatly boosted by computer novices. Some were following the trend, some wanted to compare the updated version a few days later, and some were extremely absurd. They just wanted to see "Zhang Xiaobai" and treat it as an "electronic pet".

Divine gold.

Zhang Da'an thought to himself, "You guys should go find that turkey-colored lion. What are you doing with my dog? This dog isn't for sale!"

This wave of "Zhang Xiaobai" going viral quickly led to a second wave of viral success. The top 50 students from Xindongweigang Middle School, after defeating some noobs in the Wild Army Camp, went directly to the forum to talk in detail about how smart, clever and cute their "Teacher Bai" was.

Because Xindongweigang Middle School is a beautiful, garden-style school, cameras and video cameras are readily available. Some students learned advanced photography techniques on the forum and took hundreds of high-definition, uncensored photos of "Teacher Bai" in his daily life and at work.

The second wave of viral success carried some of the characteristics of the first-generation "internet celebrities." While it may not have had the same level of online promoters as "Sister Furong," the popularity among students and the excitement of adolescence created a wave of enthusiasm that was not much different from that of professional promoters.

After all, professional promoters still have to rely on the collective wave of netizens.

Even in a place like a "pig farm," there were reposts by "Zhang Xiaobai," and naturally, there were comments, which were very rare and positive.

However, the second wave of popularity opened up a new track, namely the garden-style campus of Xindongweigang Middle School.

The Xindongweigang Mazhou branch campus is not yet fully operational, but the environment of the main campus is so beautiful that it brought tears to the eyes of contemporary college students.

The honest Shen Tu confirmed this in the places he frequented, which shocked his university classmates.

This is insane! It's just a middle school, why make it like this?

Is this a recruitment of Zhu Yingtai or Liang Shanbo?

And you know what? Because of this little incident, and the fact that the students accidentally showed the campus scenery while filming "Teacher Bai", people who hadn't seen "Dialogue of Talented People" before were shocked. As a result, a film crew in Taihu City came to the main campus of Xindongweigang Middle School to ask if they could film there.

Liang Chunbo, the "cousin" on duty that day, told them to get out of there, following the instructions of the "boss".

Everything is for the students, and everything is for the students.

Destroying 100% of students' undergraduate admission rate—that's the enemy!
There was no other way; the production team was so eager to see that tower-shaped library and reading room that they didn't give up and said they could discuss it after the middle school and college entrance exams were over.

That's when "Zhang An Media" came to handle the paid location shooting.

Charging money during the vacancy period is something I can consider.

Once you see one, you'll see another. The first film crew to come and film was shooting a period drama; but another director who was shooting a street scene was a friend of the period drama director. When he saw the sample footage of Zhuangyuan Street and Zhuangyuan Tower outside Xindongwei Port Middle School, he immediately felt that the vibe of the place was "slapped" in his face.

Especially the signboard of the "Old Northeast" restaurant—just looking at it makes you feel like the aroma of barbecue is already wafting into your nostrils, and a plate full of "spicy dried tofu" is already laid out on the folding table...

Most importantly, it can record the sounds and sounds of students leaving school.

The news that two film crews wanted to film there, along with "Zhang Xiaobai," made him famous, leading to the conclusion that "the place is blessed with good fortune."

At this point, any harsh words Zhang Da'an might utter would be less effective than a dog's.

However, it should be said that this was not his idea, but rather a suggestion from academicians from many universities in Jiangning City.

The focus will definitely still be on maintaining computer security, but the tone will be more serious.

At first, Zhang Da'an didn't understand what it meant. It wasn't until one night when he was talking to the nanny about massage techniques that he happened to see an interview being conducted on the news. The interviewee was a member of the "National Digital Library Development Strategy Group".

"...The nation, with its far-sighted vision, has proposed strengthening information technology development. We must seize the information opportunities of the new century, and we must occupy the online arena. We absolutely cannot miss this opportunity, otherwise we will fall behind..."

"...The current high-tech system and operating mechanisms must be reformed to conform to the development laws of high technology itself, meet the requirements of the times, and shorten decision-making time. Furthermore, decision-makers must fully recognize the importance of modernization and informatization. In the new century, we also need to cultivate a group of cadres who understand informatization. Only when all these requirements are met can we achieve leapfrog development in high technology..."

Seeing this, Zhang Da'an finally understood why the academicians had told him to raise the pitch.

That would indeed have required a higher tone, but Zhang Da'an was a top-scoring student in both arts and sciences who lacked manners, so he chose to start criticizing directly, disregarding any sense of etiquette.

During an interview with a major media outlet in Jiangkou Province, Zhang Da'an made outrageous and irresponsible remarks on television, completely disregarding any potential repercussions.

"...We do indeed aim to create a qualified and excellent free antivirus software because our research shows that it's unrealistic for current PC users to afford the high costs of software. Many internet users are able to access the internet mainly because of the existence of internet cafes, a new type of entertainment venue, which doesn't mean they've already purchased a PC. Therefore, it naturally implies that the large-scale purchase of antivirus software by PC users is not feasible..."

"...At the same time, we discovered that some 'computer viruses' appear and disappear suddenly, and this pattern often coincides with the emergence of certain 'dedicated removal tools.' This inevitably raises the question of whether there is some connection between these patterns..."

If I'm not going to eat this kind of food, then nobody else should either.

Zhang Da'an first denies the viability of antivirus software based on market conversion rates; secondly, he attacks and denies the ethical implications of Yin Yang Antivirus Software Company by accusing it of "nurturing bandits to enhance its own prestige" and "killing the innocent to claim credit."

I don't care about this or that, buddy, I'm going to resort to personal attacks.

These two interviews are basically equivalent to saying "Eat shit".

But if it's just this little bit, then it's not Zhang Da'an anymore.

If you're going to spray, then spray to your heart's content! A hose that acts like a child won't do; it needs to act like an adult to truly deliver a satisfying spray.

"...Some paid antivirus software companies believe that the free antivirus software model is a form of vicious competition, which shows their shallow understanding. In fact, free strategies do exist in the overseas internet economy, but revenue is shared through advertising conversion rates. Of course, I'm just giving this one example, but it's enough to refute the fallacy that free antivirus software is vicious competition."

"...At the same time, this fear of competition can only breed incompetent individuals with no competitiveness. With the gradual opening of the service trade sector after joining the World Trade Organization, such competitiveness will only lead to utter defeat when facing competitors from international multinational corporations..."

"...The biggest advantage of the free model is its ability to rapidly accumulate data. Coupled with continuously optimized protection strategies, the sheer number of individual users in the free model allows for the development of robust technical capabilities. These capabilities can then be transformed into enterprise-level paid computer security solutions for government and enterprise clients..."

"...Those antivirus software companies that have already made money from enterprise security solutions are haggling over the negligible profits from personal computer users, which only shows one thing: their technology is not unique and may not be able to provide real security for enterprise users."

"To further solidify our stance on free antivirus software for individual users, I plan to hold a computer security competition. I welcome colleagues from all over the world to join us in promoting computer security for users."

When this interview was released, Zhang Da'an had not yet returned to Shazhou. In any case, the propaganda department in Shazhou City was woken up by phone again and again and was scolded mercilessly.

However, this time, the one criticizing them wasn't from the province, but from someone with extraordinary connections who found the "Beijing Liaison Office" of Shazhou City in Beijing, and then used a landline from the "Beijing Liaison Office" to call Shazhou City.

They lack the ability to directly criticize Zhang Da'an; they also lack the courage to launch a third "verbal battle" with key media outlets in Jiangkou Province.

But when it comes to putting pressure on the propaganda department of Shazhou City, they not only have the ability and the audacity, but they also have a great deal of it!
(End of this chapter)