Replay 07: Opening the Temple of Learning

Chapter 392 Stock Price Plummets
The LED screen on the headquarters building displays the latest slogan of Zemeng Ecology: "Infinite Possibilities."

At this time, the atmosphere in the conference room on the top floor of the building was heated and tense.

Lu Shan, who had just arrived at the headquarters from BanSi Company, had no time to rest and was listening to the situation reports from the heads of major subsidiaries.

As the end of the year approaches, a lot of company data has come out.

Almost all the executives were sitting around a huge round conference table, with a newly released data report on the tablet computer in front of them.

"Everyone!" Lu Shan swept his eyes over the crowd and pointed the laser pen in his hand at the data curve on the projection screen.

The voice was deep and powerful, "The user data of Zemeng Ecosystem has started to run initially."

He paused, then continued: "The daily active users of the music platform are stable at 800 million, the average daily playback volume of short videos has exceeded 3 million times, and the monthly turnover of live broadcasts has reached 1.2 million!"

There was a murmur of amazement in the conference room.

This data means that Zemeng’s entertainment ecosystem has gradually taken shape and has firmly captured the attention of users.

Lin Zhou, the operations director of the short video platform, stood up and said with some excitement: "Mr. Lu, the traffic performance of the short video platform is very good."

"The customized content recommendation algorithm we launched has been very effective. The average user stay time has reached 72 minutes, which is 30% higher than the market average."

"Short videos are a traffic portal, but we want more than just traffic."

Lu Shan interrupted him and said calmly, "Short videos must be combined with live streaming and e-commerce to make users not only willing to stay but also willing to consume."

Lin Zhou nodded: "At present, live streaming has been tested."

"The sales of a live broadcast last week exceeded 300 million, which led to the registration of a large number of new users."

"Very good." Lu Shan looked at Wang Yue, the vice president in charge of the live broadcast business, "Wang Yue, how is the progress of the education live broadcast?"

Wang Yue opened his notebook and quickly reported: "For educational live broadcast, we have signed contracts with five large educational institutions."

"By promoting course content through short videos and then directing traffic to live classrooms, the current conversion rate has reached 12%, and the average unit price of courses is more than 1200 yuan."

Lu Shan nodded with satisfaction: "Educational live broadcast is a good direction, and we should continue to increase resource investment."

“Live streaming should not only be about entertainment, but also expand into practical areas.”

At this time, Wei Xing, who is in charge of the music business, also stood up and said, "Mr. Lu, the recent data performance of the music platform is also very impressive."

"After the launch of the custom playlist feature, user activity increased by 15%, and the user retention rate remained stable at over 85%."

"Moreover, we have reached cooperation with several well-known record companies and will launch more exclusive copyright content in the future," Chen Li said confidently.

Lu Shan pondered for a moment, then said: "Music is part of the user ecosystem, but don't forget that our ultimate goal is to combine work and entertainment."

He turned his gaze to the technical director Liu Yi: "How is the progress on the office suite?"

Liu Yi stood up, connected the tablet to the projection screen, and displayed the interface of the Zemeng office suite:
"Mr. Lu, the office suite already covers the three core functions of word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations."

He quickly flipped through the presentation document on the screen: "Our biggest advantage is that we have fully opened up the cloud collaboration function."

“Multiple users can edit the same document in real time with latency under 20 milliseconds.”

"Moreover, our office suite is fully compatible with the Office file format of the WIN system, so the migration cost for users is very low."

Liu Yi paused, with a hint of pride in his tone, "Now, the number of users of Zemeng Office Suite has exceeded 20."

"More than 1 small and medium-sized enterprises use our financial modules on a daily basis."

Liu Qiang, the person in charge of finance, took over the conversation and added: "In the financial module, our account processing speed is 30% faster than traditional software."

“It also provides a one-click tax filing function, and user feedback has been very good.”

"20 users is just the beginning." Lu Shan's eyes were sharp, "What I want is ecological linkage."

“Office suites must be integrated with the entertainment ecosystem to allow users to switch seamlessly within the same system.”

"We are already doing this." Liu Yi clicked on a demonstration video: "Now, creators of short video platforms can directly generate content copywriting through the office suite;"

“Live broadcasters can also use the demonstration tools we provide to optimize their product pages.”

"Moreover, through our code conversion tool, users can already run most WIN applications directly on the Zemeng system."

Liu Yi excitedly added, "Users have reported that this feature solves almost all of their migration concerns."

Lu Shan nodded: "The code conversion tool is our trump card, but we can't stop there."

“I want the Zemeng system to give users a noticeable performance improvement, not just compatibility.”

At this time, Lin Zhou suddenly interrupted: "Mr. Lu, in fact, our users already have this feeling."

"Especially short video platforms, which run more than 15% faster on the Zemeng system than on the WIN system, and the user's freeze rate is reduced by 50%."

"Very good." Lu Shan's eyes swept over every executive, his tone calm but full of power, "Our ecological chain has taken shape."

"Music, short videos, and live broadcasts have firmly captured users' entertainment time."

“Office suites and financial modules are rapidly taking over the small and medium-sized enterprise market.”

He paused and continued, "The code conversion tool gives us greater compatibility, and the user experience on the Zemeng system will not be worse than that on the WIN system."

"But this is not enough." Lu Shan's eyes were deep, and there was a hint of unquestionable in his tone, "I want Ze Meng to be the only choice for users."

“It’s not just about replacing the WIN system, it’s about subverting it.”

"Entertainment, work, and life must all be integrated into the Zemeng ecosystem." His tone was sonorous and powerful, "This is our goal."

The atmosphere at Zemeng Technology headquarters remains tense.

In the conference room, executives were having a heated discussion around a huge electronic screen.

A string of data was listed on the screen, the most prominent of which was: "Baidu and Penguin explicitly refused to cooperate."

"These giants really don't give us any room at all."

Lin Zhou, the operations director, said with some anger, "Baidu Cloud Disk has a market share of nearly 70%, and Penguin's social products cover the entire country."

"In this case, why would users choose our products?"

Lu Shan listened calmly without showing any emotion.

He tapped the table with his fingers and said calmly but forcefully: "Since they won't cooperate, let's bypass them."

He turned to look at the investment manager Zhang Yu: "How is the progress of the online storage company we invested in?"

Zhang Yu immediately reported: "Mr. Lu, we have invested 3000 million in the Tianzhou cloud disk project you mentioned. The funds are mainly used to transform their storage architecture."

"Currently, they have completed the first phase of technical optimization, with upload and download speeds increased by 30%."

"Moreover, we have also asked the technical department to do in-depth adaptation of the Zemeng system. Tianzhou Cloud Disk can now be used as the default cloud storage for Zemeng users."

"However, the number of users is not large at present, only about 20." "20..." Lu Shan tapped the table lightly, "Don't worry, the small number of users is not a problem. The key is to make people who have used it not want to change."

He turned to look at the technical director Liu Yi: "Can we bring our algorithm advantages into play for Tianzhou Cloud Disk?"

Liu Yi nodded: "We are already working on it. We have added intelligent recommendation and deep search functions."

“For example, users can search for vaguely related files using keywords, or even use voice commands to quickly find information they have saved.”

“In addition, we have developed a cloud collaboration feature that supports multiple users to edit a document at the same time and synchronize all changes in real time.”

Lu Shan nodded with satisfaction: "Continue to optimize. I don't need to compete head-on with Baidu, but I want to make Tianzhou Cloud Disk the first choice for Zemeng users."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Zhou took over the topic: "Mr. Lu, Tianzhou Cloud Disk is just one link. The competition in social software is more intense."

"Penguin's WeChat and QQ have monopolized the market, what about the 'spontaneity' we invested in?"

When it comes to "casual", Lu Shan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He turned to the operations team: "What about the core data of Random? How is the user growth?"

Chen Ze, the operations manager in charge of the Suixing project, stood up and looked a little uneasy: "Suixing has been online for a month, and currently has less than 10 registered users."

“Although part of the algorithm has been launched, it lacks competitiveness compared with Penguin’s products.”

"Lack of competitiveness?" Lu Shan raised his eyebrows. "Suixing is not an ordinary social software. Algorithms are its biggest weapon. How can it be uncompetitive?"

Chen Ze quickly explained: "Our current matching function does allow users to find people with similar interests, but because the user base is too small, the matching effect is not ideal."

“Many users reported that they were matched with too few friends.”

"What are the specific functions of the algorithm?" Lu Shan asked.

“Current features include: random matching with friends with similar interests, in-depth recommendations based on personality tests, and intelligent screening of nearby friends.”

Chen Ze paused and added, "Another popular feature is anonymous chat, which allows you to communicate with strangers who do not reveal their identities."

"This function is good, but not unique enough." Lu Shan thought, "We need to further enhance the differentiation based on these basic functions."

He picked up a pen and wrote a few words on the whiteboard: "Deep fit recommendation."

“Being casual is not about asking users to add more friends, but about adding the most suitable friends.”

Lu Shan explained, "For example, we can analyze users' personalities through their chat tone and word usage habits, and then match them with people who have similar thinking and expression styles."

"We can even recommend suitable interest groups based on users' daily activities, such as movie discussion groups and book sharing groups."

Lin Zhou's eyes lit up: "This is indeed more attractive than those general social software!"

"In addition, Suixing can also enhance scenario-based social interaction." Lu Shan continued, "For example, when users use the Zemeng office suite, Suixing can recommend professional contacts in the same field;"

“On music platforms, users who like the same playlists can be matched.”

"Social networking + entertainment + office, casually, there is no need to compete with WeChat for the user base. As long as we provide precise social networking, users will naturally settle down."

Chen Ze nodded excitedly: "I understand, I will adjust the product direction when I return."

"Don't worry about the funding." Lu Shan added, "Spontaneity is a key node in our social ecosystem. As long as the direction is right, the investment will not be small."

The atmosphere in the conference room was ignited, and the technical team and the operation team immediately began to discuss random optimization directions.

The rise of Zemeng Technology began to shake the foundation of Xiaguo’s technology circle.

The days of giant companies such as Baidu and Penguin are no longer peaceful.

It all starts with the Nasdaq stock price.

At 10 a.m. New York time, the Nasdaq exchange floor was as busy as ever.

The red and green flickering of stocks on the screen made Baidu's investors feel uneasy.

"Baidu's stock price is down 8%!" a trader shouted.

"What's going on?" The manager next to him quickly checked the relevant news. Soon, he raised his head and said in a low voice: "It's Zemeng Technology again."

"In just three months, the number of users of the Zemeng ecosystem has exceeded 2000 million, especially the user growth rate of Tianzhou Cloud Disk is too fast."

"Tianzhou Cloud Disk has had a direct impact on Baidu Cloud Disk. In the past week, Baidu lost 12% of its corporate users."

On the other hand, Penguin's stock is not doing well either.

Although sectors such as live streaming, e-commerce, and short videos have stabilized the market, under the impact of Ze Meng's "casualness", the growth of Penguin's QQ and WeChat has almost stagnated.

Investors began to wonder: Can Penguin maintain its absolute dominance in the social field?

To make matters worse, there are reports that Zemeng's "code conversion tool" is rapidly penetrating into the enterprise market.

A large number of small and medium-sized enterprises are migrating from the WIN system to the Zemeng system, which poses a considerable threat to Penguin's office ecology.

"Zemeng is a company that is simply a wolf!" At a corporate forum in BJ, a senior executive of Penguin gritted his teeth.

However, this is not the only company feeling the pinch.

Compared with the impact on Baidu and Penguin, Lianxiang's situation is even worse.

The atmosphere inside Lianxiang Building was suffocatingly depressing.

In the conference room, the company's core executives are holding a 2012 annual report analysis meeting.

The director in charge of finance looked unhappy and spoke in a dry voice: "According to the latest statistics, Lianxiang's revenue for the whole year of 2012 was 320 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 50%."

"The net profit was only 5.6 million yuan, a drop of nearly 70% compared to last year."

On the projection screen, the latest data made everyone fall silent:
Lianxiang’s PC sales fell 2012% in 30.

The domestic market share fell below 20%, hitting a decade low.

The overseas market share has basically been eaten up by Apple, Dell and Asus.

"This is still discounted data!" an executive couldn't help but complain, "If this continues, we will be completely marginalized!"

What shocked Lianxiang even more was a research report from the marketing department.

"Shenchuan Computer's sales have exceeded ours for three consecutive months." The vice president in charge of marketing pushed his glasses.

The voice was so low that it was almost inaudible. "Especially among young user groups, the purchase rate of Shenchuan is over 50%."

"Users generally report that the Zemeng system pre-installed on Shenchuan computers runs faster and is more suitable for entertainment and office needs."

"Although our machines are not bad in terms of hardware parameters, the compatibility and lag issues of the Windows system, coupled with the high price, have completely made users lose their patience."

(End of this chapter)