What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 277 Outlook
Yu Xing, who is in Lin'an, briefly explained blockchain to Liu Jiankai, who is in Shanghai, on WeChat, and planned to discuss it in detail when they meet later.

However, three hours later, Liu Jiankai finally ended up in Lin'an, like a moth to a flame.

Yu Xing was surprised and amused when he saw the former vice president of Capital Today standing in front of him: "Boss Liu, now I believe you can quarrel with me in your dreams."

"Ahem." Liu Jiankai turned to face the West Lake in the sunset and explained his behavior, "I'm unemployed at home and have nothing to do anyway, so I just came here for a stroll."

Yu Xing didn't expect that he would be so eager and interested in blockchain technology. He couldn't help but secretly praise his keenness in his heart.

Even though he seems a bit cowardly at ordinary times, he is really capable of execution at times like this.

He thought for a moment and then talked about blockchain, which was easy for Liu Jiankai to understand. This topic came from the previous discussion with the director of Baidu about information decentralization, so naturally he made "decentralization" a key point.

In addition, Yu Xing had nothing to do while chatting in the company this year, and a relevant entry point was that the WeChat system architecture design is a combination of layering and distribution, which gave him a good understanding of the application of distributed technology.

Distributed technology is the process of distributing data or computing tasks to multiple nodes for collaborative processing. Blockchain technology is a typical application and innovative extension of distributed technology.

Based on the former, the latter uses complex encryption technology to encrypt data to ensure security and privacy, and replaces central authority with mathematical rules to implement consensus algorithms, thus completing a decentralized trust mechanism.

The more Liu Jiankai listened, the more confused he became.

Yu Xing made an analogy: "The distributed system used in the WeChat system is like a chain supermarket. Each branch sells the same things, but the headquarters still purchases and sets prices uniformly. Blockchain is like a large farmer's market. Each stall keeps its own account, but the account books are publicly hung on the wall. Everyone votes together to confirm that the transaction is valid. If you want to change it, more than half of the stall owners must agree."

Liu Jiankai pondered and said, "I roughly understand the difference, but this is not safe either. If the encryption is cracked, then everything will be ruined."

Yu Xing patiently said: "Like the Bitcoin I mentioned just now, its encryption algorithm uses a hash function, which is one-way and irreversible. No matter what you input, the output is a fixed 32 bytes. If you want to crack it, I'm afraid you'll have to use a quantum computer."

Liu Jiankai shook his head and said, "Won't this collapse when quantum computers come along?"

Yu Xing smiled and said, "Quantum computers also need to..."

He was about to talk about the prospects in this regard, but suddenly stopped talking and turned to the various thoughts in his mind.

Perhaps there is always a lot of support and work in secret. Once certain problems arise in the mind, they can easily be extended to attack and destruction. If there is no disaster, it will create disaster.

The current development of WeChat is getting closer and closer to its original design. What else can be manufactured or utilized with the development of future technology?
Yu Xing frowned, thought for a while, and murmured: "If you say so, when I have money, I will have to invest in quantum computers and pay attention to the progress in this area."

Liu Jiankai laughed: "Right, Mr. Yu, sometimes you tend to be stubborn, and sometimes you tend to be easily persuaded."

"I just want to explore different possibilities." Yu Xing shook his head. "Anyway, if you don't have anything you really want to do, you can pay more attention to this aspect. If you can do it, Liu Wanying has good connections overseas and may be able to attract funding."

Liu Jiankai hesitated and did not express his opinion. He semi-passively ended the acquisition of new knowledge and turned to ask about what he actually cared about most - the status of WeChat.

From the beginning of the month to the end of the month, it was no longer a secret that Mr. Yu was looking for ways to counter Penguin traffic, and it was said that there was considerable progress. In addition, the WeChat server went down twice this month, which also became a key point of discussion in this round of competition.

It is a confrontation between capital, traffic, and technology.

Perhaps, there is also a confrontation over innovation, but this will undoubtedly come last, because Penguin will not allow innovations that benefit users to not be popularized.

"It's not that good, but it's not that bad either." Yu Xing pondered, "Anyway, the gap in Today's Capital can be filled."

He sighed again when he said this: "However, I didn't expect Alibaba to have no idea at all. I just asked it for some traffic, but it rejected everything."

This not only makes WeChat still weaker than Penguin in terms of traffic, but is also likely to make the final design fail.

Ma Dian is not in the country and no one knows when he will come back. If the people at Alibaba remain indifferent even if the link is blocked, things will be very troublesome.

When Yu Xing thought of this, his face couldn't help but become solemn.

Liu Jiankai noticed the change in Mr. Yu and said tactfully, "Mr. Yu, I have talked with Mr. Xu many times. Sometimes I feel that you want to do most things according to your own ideas, so... many things can't go as you wish. I think you can be sharp, but not too obvious. You can be stubborn, but you can also be stubborn in a more artistic way."

Yu Xing sneered: "It's all my fault for trusting Xu Xin too much. She lied to me from the beginning."

Liu Jiankai was puzzled: "What did I lie to you about?"

Yu Xing sighed: "She told me that she can handle the pressure, but in fact, she can't at all!"

Liu Jiankai: “…”

He rubbed his temples. Although he had left Today Capital and hated many of the projects he had encountered in the past month, when he stood in front of Mr. Yu again at this moment, that familiar headache came back.

"Forget it, you're not at Capital Today anymore." Yu Xing glanced at the WeChat message from Li Shanyou, "Ganji.com is sorry for its own kind and didn't agree to cooperate with us on traffic. Mr. Liu, if you don't have anywhere to go, come to WeChat and help me with some work for a while."

Liu Jiankai finally heard the invitation he wanted to hear. Facing the West Lake and with his back to Mr. Yu, he said reservedly, "Ah? I just left Capital Today and joined WeChat not long ago. This is not good."

Yu Xing thought about it and it made sense. Besides, the future of WeChat company was indeed unclear.

He agreed: "Yeah, okay, let's see."

Liu Jiankai turned around and frowned, "Boss Yu, do you look down on me?"

Yu Xing was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Otherwise, why did you just say politely and then leave? Let's not talk about how close our friendship is. When I was at Capital Today, I was very attentive to your affairs, right?" Liu Jiankai said dissatisfiedly, "If you keep this up, I will definitely join WeChat Company!"

Yu Xing looked at Liu Jiankai in front of him suspiciously, wondering, "You didn't think about coming to WeChat when you resigned from Capital Today, did you? I haven't seen you contact me in the past ten or twenty days."

Liu Jiankai asked simply: "Just tell me, will you accept it or not?"

Yu Xing hesitated for two seconds and then said, "If you are willing to come, I am definitely welcome to come."

When Liu Jiankai heard the answer he wanted, he nodded with satisfaction. This was what he deserved for being hanged at the door of Bai Xiaosheng's office!
"But, to be honest, after Penguin started to take thorough actions, WeChat has been under greater pressure." Yu Xing handed over a cigarette, not trying to figure out Liu Jiankai's mentality, but just talking about the current situation, "Just like the companies I visited this time, everyone may be dissatisfied with Penguin, but not as many are willing to help as expected. As for the user group, Penguin also has a silent majority."

The silent majority votes with their feet.

Only when Yu Xing visits can he know the attitude behind the silence, and the competition between WeChat and Wechat is the growth of each other.

Liu Jiankai asked: "How many users does WeChat have now? Can this be estimated?"

Yu Xing was silent for a while, then shook his head and said, "It is difficult for the outside world to guess if it is not announced. According to our analysis, combined with the effect of Penguin's past omni-channel promotion, the subsequent growth after its last announcement may be around 850 million to 1100 million."

He paused for a moment and continued, "My personal guess is that there are probably around 1300 million."

Liu Jiankai couldn't help swallowing his saliva: "WeChat was released on October 10th, and it's only the first day of December. This speed..."

"WeChat reached 300 million in the first ten days, and we were ahead by 800 million at that time." Yu Xing said calmly, "Penguin's omni-channel promotion has a relative peak in the beginning and a slight decline in the end. But in the middle and late last month, Weichat's ads were already on Sohu, NetEase and other channels, which made up for it. So, in one month, we may have narrowed the gap to 400 million."

Liu Jiankai had only one feeling: "It's terrifying..."

Then, he said almost complainingly: "It's fine if Sohu and NetEase don't help, but you're helping Penguin!"

Yu Xing gave an answer: "Penguins have a lot of money."

Like Sohu, WeChat also placed advertisements there, but it was not exclusive, which led to the situation where Penguin followed suit. Moreover, Yu Xing suspected that if WeChat had not cooperated first, Penguin might have signed an exclusive cooperation agreement.

The one with a lot of money is the boss. A lot of money means the company’s revenue, the department’s performance, and the employees’ bonuses.

A company is made up of several departments. Even if other departments have objections, they will naturally try their best to promote it if it concerns their own interests.

Yu Xing was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed and said, "Look, isn't it your CEO Xu's fault? If she hadn't instigated behind the scenes, WeChat would have continued to develop in secret, and wouldn't have incurred such a thunderous counterattack from Penguin."

Liu Jiankai was speechless.

Yu Xing estimated the situation and felt that Penguin's counterattack against Xiaomi MiTalk was more ferocious than in history, and this was probably because the scale of WeChat this time could touch its vigilant nerves more.

MiTalk’s number is 20, so out of 100 penguins, only 70 need to be activated to complete the competition.

WeChat is 50, and out of 100 penguins, maybe 90 or even 99% are participating in the competition.

The more preparation you make and the greater the weight, the stronger the blow you will suffer. This is somewhat paradoxical.

Liu Jiankai still explained to his former boss: "It was not only Mr. Xu who asked WeChat to come forward after 3Q, but IDG did it too."

Yu Xing nodded in acknowledgment, and then said, "IDG and I didn't fall out."

Liu Jiankai was completely convinced.

"We'll go on a night tour of West Lake and return to Shanghai tomorrow. We can still struggle on WeChat." Yu Xing took the last puff of his cigarette and said with a smile, "Anyway, Mr. Liu is welcome to join us."

Liu Jiankai said a few polite words, but he was still worried and suddenly asked, "Mr. Yu, do you still have any information about Today Capital?"

Yu Xing hesitated for a second: "Hmm... no more."

Liu Jiankai was shocked: "No more...right?"

Yu Xing said simply: "No more."

Liu Jiankai pressed on: "Is there one? Stop it..."

Yu Xing said impatiently, "Really? But it depends on fate. Maybe we can meet again in the future. You are not in Today Capital anymore, so why do you care about this?"

The two headed for the West Lake cruise, leaving their discussion of Today’s Capital in the wind.

……

Penguin's WeChat launched a voice version, which attracted a new round of criticism.

However, business competition is always fierce.

On December 12, when Sohu CEO Zhang Chaoyang was interviewed, he was also asked by reporters about the recent hot topics in the industry and how he viewed the competition between WeChat and Weichat.

"WeChat, I met Yu Xing from WeChat last month. He is very good, really very good. But as you can see, he faced an opponent of the same level as Penguin. The result is predictable."

"In fact, I think that the launch of the voice version of WeChat by Penguin is a sign that the competition is over."

Zhang Chaoyang spoke bluntly and judged the failure of WeChat.

For a time, the judgment from the Internet veterans became the argument quoted by many media outlets, and was also spread on platforms such as Weibo and Bai Xiaosheng.

The weapons of judgment cannot replace the judgment of weapons.

Judging from the current situation, the criticism from the public cannot support WeChat in narrowing the gap.

However, just the day after Zhang Chaoyang made his judgment, WeChat once again underwent a major update, launching version 2.4.0 of "People Nearby", which increased the software's functionality and playability.

WeChat has been aimed at social networking among acquaintances since its launch, and it has quickly demonstrated the effectiveness of this positioning. With the help of 3Q public opinion, it has successfully accumulated users quickly and become the third largest instant messaging software in China.

Since then, whether it is a major update like "voice message" or small details like software optimization, they are all centered around the initial positioning to optimize the user experience.

This time, “People Nearby” is different, as it expands from acquaintances to strangers.

Penguin initially did not take the WeChat update seriously, not thinking it would pose much of a threat and simply conducting a routine research on the function. However, in just two days, both Weibo and the App Store showed noticeable and stimulating behavior.

"The discussion about WeChat on Weibo increased by 36% in two days, and the app stores of Apple and Android increased by about 50%."

“This is a very strong signal.”

“The market really recognizes WeChat’s development this time.”

As the direct person in charge, Lu Shan soon heard the team's careful analysis, and at 12 o'clock in the evening, he presented this analysis to Pony and Zhang Zhidong.

Decision making on WeChat is relatively easy nowadays.

Pony and Zhang Zhidong reviewed the conclusion of "it is recommended to follow up and update" in the document and both expressed their agreement.

"If the market response is good, then we will continue to do marketing. WeChat's function is also to help us consolidate the mobile Internet market." Zhang Zhidong flipped through the documents and said, "With WeChat and Weichat being so popular, there will be no one who can challenge us."

Pony Ma nodded slowly and asked Lu Shan: "I heard that WeChat has been trying to get more advertisements in the past month?"

Lu Shan confirmed: "Yes, from October 10th to now, WeChat has added two major channels, YY and Sogou, and has also gained stronger exposure through promotions on companies such as UC and Xunlei. According to rumors, WeChat is using advertising to exchange equity, and this cooperation may continue for some time."

He paused and continued, "It is gratifying that neither Baidu nor Alibaba have any new moves and are not interested in cooperating with WeChat. I asked Baidu and they held a meeting to discuss it. The negative answer from that discussion should not change."

Pony Ma smiled, which he rarely does recently, and nodded, "Baidu and Alibaba still know how to respect us."

This is not about respecting past friendship, but about respecting the Penguin's strength and position.

Zhang Zhidong asked at this time: "I feel that WeChat's size still has some value, but Yu Xing's personality is not easy to deal with. I heard that he was invited to the strategic seminar. In this situation, should we still let him come?"

Pony thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing more than scolding. I've been scolded a lot recently. It doesn't matter if it's one more or one less."

Penguin invited Yu Xing, which showed its determination and grace. If Yu Xing cursed in public, it would be him who lost his grace.

As for some unpleasant and sarcastic remarks, there may be more people coming here this time than him.

Zhang Zhidong thought for a moment and said with a smile, "Even if I invite him, he may not come. If he doesn't come, I will go to Shencheng when I have time to see what this person is like in real life."

Pony Ma remained noncommittal. He was not interested in Yu Xing and was only concerned about the company's strategic transformation after quickly ending the competition.

He tapped the table with his fingers and said simply, "Get your ticket to the mobile Internet as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)