Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 372 National Internet Conference

Wang Zhi said in a low voice, then opened his eyes with a firm look.

"We need to connect with some independent musicians. We must also pay attention to the potential of these niche music."

"Ze Meng has realized the changes in the music market, and we can no longer ignore it."

Yang Lei nodded and said, "I understand that the future music market will no longer be an era where traffic is king. We need to find a new direction."

The atmosphere in the conference room became solemn, and Wang Zhi and his team members fell into deep thought.

The impact brought by Zemeng Music made everyone feel unprecedented pressure.

Next, Baidu Music will face the strongest competitor in the entire industry.

In their hearts, they have realized a cruel fact: if Zemeng continues to expand resources and improve technology,
The survival space of traditional platforms such as Baidu Music will become smaller and smaller, and they may even face the fate of being completely eliminated.

At Baidu headquarters, Wang Zhi did not dare to delay for a moment and hurried to the office of CEO Li Hong.

He had just experienced the power of the Zemeng operating system music software, and the tension in his heart lingered.

Li Hong is discussing the latest market trends with the head of the search engine technology department.

Especially the problems with the browser and search engine that comes with the Zemeng operating system.

As soon as Wang Zhi entered the room, Li Hong looked up and asked, "Is there anything you want to report?"

Wang Zhi suppressed his anxiety and said quickly: "Mr. Li, I just tried Zemeng's music application, and the situation is not good."

Li Hong frowned: "Music software? What's going on? Is it that serious?"

Wang Zhi nodded and quickly explained: "Zemeng Music is more than just a simple music platform."

"They collect all kinds of user habits through the operating system."

"It's not just listening to music, but also browsing, typing and other system usage data to accurately analyze the user's personality and preferences."

"This allows them to push music very accurately, even more powerful than the data algorithms we use to listen to music."

“I was astounded by the level of precision.”

Li Hong was silent for a moment, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

The music platform market is already highly competitive, and Baidu Music has encountered a bottleneck in user activity.

Now, Zemeng uses their operating system to accurately push users' favorite music, which makes Baidu's competitiveness seem precarious.

"Are you sure?" Li Hong's voice was low and his eyes were sharp.

“Absolutely sure, I experienced it myself.”

Wang Zhi said firmly, "If their music resources were more abundant, we would probably lose a large part of our market share."

Li Hong's expression suddenly became serious.

He looked at Liu Chen, the technical director next to him, and asked, "Liu Chen, how is our search engine data recently?"

Liu Chen's face was not looking good either: "Mr. Li, the browser of Zemeng operating system uses their own search engine, called COCO Assistant, and the user feedback is very good."

"In comparison, COCO Assistant's search results are more accurate, and there are no ads like ours on the page, so the user experience is very clean."

Li Hong's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart.

Search engines are the lifeblood of Baidu, and the Zemeng operating system has even begun to venture into this field.

And it does it better than whiteness? This is undoubtedly a bombshell.

"No ads?" Li Hong repeated in a low voice, his heart sinking.

Advertising is the main source of income for whiteness.

If users switch to COCO Assistant due to poor advertising experience, Baidu's profit model will be greatly impacted.

Wang Zhi also noticed Li Hong's anxiety and quickly added: "Ze Meng is really not playing by the rules."

"Their music and search are all focused on user experience, without considering short-term benefits at all."

"They intend to completely subvert our traditional platforms by establishing an ecological chain."

Li Hong's eyes turned cold instantly.

He stood up, walked to the window, and took a deep breath.

"The ecosystem of the Zemeng operating system is not just for music software or search engines, but may subvert the entire existing software market in the future."

Li Hong whispered, "They are eroding our core business step by step, from music to search, and then to other applications, until they have formed a complete ecological chain."

“How can we, the standalone software companies, survive?”

Liu Chen and Wang Zhi both nodded and agreed with it.

“We can’t wait for them to cannibalize us.”

Li Hong's voice suddenly became firm, and he turned around abruptly and looked at the two of them.

"The National Internet Conference will be held soon. I am the rotating chairman of this conference. This time we will change the topic to focus on the Internet ecosystem and bring in all the important software companies."

"We have to unite and not let Ze Meng dominate alone."

"National Internet Conference?" Wang Zhi was a little surprised.

Li Hong nodded: "Yes, I will personally contact the CEOs of Internet giants such as Penguin and Shengda. We must sit together to discuss how Zemeng's full ecological chain layout will affect the industry."

“We can’t do this alone anymore.

In Yanjing, the autumn morning light shines on the magnificent lobby of the International Hotel, exuding a sense of solemnity.

A highly anticipated "Internet and Software Industry Summit Exchange Conference" is about to kick off.

The conference was hosted by the Xiaguo Computer Industry Association, and the association's president, Li Hong, who is also the CEO of Baidu, personally served as the initiator and host of the conference.

As one of the Internet giants in Xia Country, Baidu's statement attracted the attention of the entire industry.

There are many heavyweight companies on the list of participants.

Internet companies such as Penguin, Shengda, Baidu, and Lianxiang were all present.

We even invited well-known domestic and foreign hardware manufacturers such as Dell, Sony, and Acer.

Everyone understands today's meeting.

Although it is called "industry exchange", it is actually to discuss how to deal with the newly emerging "Zemeng operating system".

Li Hong walked up to the podium, looked around the audience, and cleared his throat.

“Dear colleagues and friends, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to gather here.”

His voice was deep and powerful, with a sense of authority that could not be ignored.

"Today, our Internet industry is at a new crossroads."

He paused and glanced around the audience.

"The digital age has brought unprecedented opportunities, but also new challenges." "As a member of the industry, we all have the responsibility to build an Internet ecosystem that meets user needs, meets industry needs, and is conducive to social development."

The CEOs in the audience had different expressions. Many of them just nodded slightly, but their eyes were very calm.

Li Hong continued: "In this process, we must ensure the safety and healthy development of the entire industry and safeguard the interests of all participants."

"A healthy Internet ecosystem should not be monopolized or controlled by a single company."

Having said this, he deliberately emphasized the word "monopoly".

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience fell silent and the atmosphere became somewhat solemn.

The vice president of Penguin, who was sitting in the front row, whispered to his colleague next to him, "Who is he referring to? There's no need to say more, right? Ze Meng's rise has given Li Hong a sense of crisis."

"That's right." Shengda's founder shook his head slightly and lowered his voice, "Zemeng's ecological chain layout is not only to grab users, but also to grab the right to speak in our entire market."

At this Internet summit exchange meeting hosted by Baidu, the atmosphere gradually heated up with Li Hong's opening speech.

But everyone knows: the real issue today is how to deal with the rise of Zemeng operating system.

How to maintain your position in this battle for the Internet ecosystem.

After Li Hong finished speaking, the microphone was passed among the company leaders in turn.

The first person to speak was the vice president of Penguin. He cleared his throat and said solemnly: "Ladies and gentlemen, our company is here."

"Almost every one of them has devoted more than ten or even twenty years of hard work to Xiaguo's Internet ecosystem."

"Today's Internet landscape is hard-won and is the result of the efforts of generations of people."

“Today, some companies are trying to bypass our existing platforms and rules by building independent ecosystems, which is a huge threat to the balance of the entire industry.”

Several company leaders in the audience nodded one after another, their expressions looking particularly solemn.

The words of the Penguin vice president were directed at Ze Meng and resonated with everyone.

Immediately afterwards, the founder of Shengda also stood up and spoke.

He was over fifty years old and had a solemn look on his face.

His eyes were still sharp: "Shengda has been working in the content field for many years and knows the difficulty of building a content ecosystem."

"We have always adhered to the concept of openness and sharing, so that more users can enjoy a diversified content experience."

“But if a company builds a closed system, users can only survive in their ecosystem.”

"This not only makes it impossible for content companies like us to survive, but also undermines market fairness."

He paused and looked around the room: "We have the responsibility and obligation to protect Xiaguo's existing Internet ecosystem and ensure that every company has the opportunity to survive and develop."

The atmosphere in the conference room became increasingly solemn.

Everyone was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

At this time, Li Hong's gaze turned to Yang Qing, the head of Lianxiang Group, who was sitting in the corner.

Although this hardware tycoon is not a leader in Internet companies, he is one of the pillars of the domestic computer industry.

Li Hong smiled slightly and nodded to Yang Qing, "Mr. Yang, your experience in the hardware field and your views on the entire ecosystem should also be of concern to everyone."

Yang Qing stood up. Although his expression was calm, there was a hint of determination in his eyes.

He slowly glanced at his colleagues in the audience.

He said, "Everyone, although Lianxiang is not an Internet company, we have been deeply involved in the hardware field for many years and have always maintained a good cooperative relationship with you."

"The rise of Zemeng not only affects our software ecosystem, but also our hardware market - their operating system is independent."

“It bypasses the customization requirements of hardware companies like us and directly packages it into its own equipment.”

He paused, then continued, "We have been committed to improving Xiaguo's position in the global computer hardware field, and have invested a lot of manpower and material resources to this end."

"Lianxiang is willing to work with everyone to jointly maintain Xiaguo's computer and Internet ecology."

“We don’t want to see any company disrupt the balance of the market by pursuing monopoly.”

"As a hardware manufacturer, we have the responsibility and obligation to provide everyone with an open and compatible technology environment."

After the meeting, the hotel's luxurious lobby gradually became noisy.

Executives from various companies began to talk in low voices, and the atmosphere was filled with tension and anxiety.

Li Hong stood aside, frowning slightly, knowing clearly that today's meeting was just superficial and the real battle had just begun.

"Mr. Li, what do you think of Ze Meng's new system?" The vice president of Penguin Company walked up to Li Hong with a serious expression.

"I think they are just using the word 'ecology' to hype things up."

Li Hong answered calmly with a firm look in his eyes, "The market foundation we have established cannot be easily shaken by them."

The vice president of Penguin nodded: "That's right. We are an old company that has invested more than ten years of hard work. How can we let a new company steal our achievements?"

"Our user habits and ecosystem are the result of generations of hard work."

The founder of Shengda also joined their discussion: "Although Zemeng's operating system seems advanced, it lacks rich content and user base."

"Without content support, their ecosystem is nothing but a castle in the air."

Li Hong smiled and said confidently: "Yes, the trust and habits of users are what we have accumulated over the years."

"Their rise is nothing more than a flash in the pan. We just need to do our own thing and continue to increase user stickiness."

"But we can't take it lightly." The vice president of Penguin looked a little serious, "Zemeng does have advantages in technology, especially in user experience."

"Their COCO assistant has received very good feedback, and many young users are attracted to it."

“Young users?” Shengda’s founder chuckled. “The key is whether they can continue to stay.”

"Companies like us have a more complete ecosystem and user services, and we can't let them easily break the balance."

"You must never cooperate with Ze Meng," Li Hong nodded heavily, his eyes revealing unquestionable firmness.

"Any contact with Zemeng will have an irreversible impact on our industry ecology."

At this time, Yang Qing, who was sitting next to him, also joined the discussion: "I support Mr. Li's point of view. We also feel threatened in the hardware field."

"They package their own operating system directly into the device, completely ignoring the existence of us hardware manufacturers."

The vice president of Penguin looked at Yang Qing and nodded in agreement: "That's right. Zemeng is not only trying to steal our users, but also our market voice."

"We must unite. We built the domestic Internet ecosystem. We can't let a young man reap all the spoils!"

Li Hong looked at the crowd and said in a sonorous and powerful voice: "We need a joint statement to let the market see where the so-called Internet ecological chain is!"

"This matter is very important and we cannot delay it." The founder of Shengda strongly agreed.

"As an established company, we must not only protect our own market, but also the future of the entire Xiaguo Internet."

(End of this chapter)