Chapter 531: Popularity Value on the Site

Upon hearing this, Song Ci's hand, which was about to take the scone, paused in the air.

He slowly withdrew his hand, his fingertips caressing the still-warm wall of the cup. He looked up at Gates, his tone calm, as if confirming an ordinary address:

"Little St. James Island?"

"Huh?" The calm smile on Bill Gates' face froze instantly, a hint of genuine surprise flashed across his face, and then turned into deeper curiosity and scrutiny.

"Yes." He was indeed surprised. The island was not well-known to the public, but it was well-known in a certain top circle.

He had not expected that this 26-year-old business upstart with roots in the East could have an information network that could reach this level.

This gave him a new assessment of the energy and insight hidden behind Song Ci.

Song Ci did not avoid Bill Gates's scrutiny, choosing words carefully to make the point without being too blunt:

"From what I understand, it seems to be providing services to certain powerful and wealthy people in the West, and... it's a very 'special' service."

He deliberately added a subtle tone to the word "special".

Bill Gates slowly shook his head, as if correcting a common misunderstanding.

He picked up the coffee and took a sip, his posture still relaxed:

"We can release our emotions and desires in the secluded corners of any world-class city. Why should people like us travel long distances and across oceans?"

He put down the cup, his gaze becoming somewhat distant, and his voice lowered. "The real core of that island is a 'Life Science Research Institute' that is not open to the public."

After a brief pause, he observed Song Ci's reaction and continued in a tone of sharing a secret:

“It brings together some extremely talented scientists who are not fully recognized by the mainstream academic community.

The directions of their research are very attractive, such as telomere extension and cell reprogramming, which aim to fight aging and even explore some extremely radical cancer treatment paths. "

He just touched on the subject without going into the technical details, then sighed softly, his words carrying a hint of the complex emotions of a senior looking at a junior.

"Song, I can sense that you have a deep love for your country and your ideals to change the world. This is great, as you are still so young and full of passion.

But after a few decades, when we stand at another stage of life, witness the departure of more relatives and friends, and feel the decline of our own energy, we will gradually become indifferent to many things.

When you reach that point, you will understand that when wealth is so abundant that we cannot spend it all in ten lifetimes, health and longevity are the only and ultimate pursuits.

Song Ci listened quietly. These words were like the sound of a distant bell, knocking on the wall of his heart at the age of 26, which was the golden age of his life, but they had not yet caused any real resonance.

His body was full of energy and his mind was as sharp as lightning. Disease and aging were just concepts in medical books to him, not personal fears.

He nodded, indicating that he understood the other person's point of view, but his attitude was clear: "Thank you for sharing, Mr. Gates. However, I won't go to that island in person."

After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject, revealing a purely commercial investment mindset: "If that research institute is truly conducting valuable cutting-edge exploration and needs research funding, I can personally invest some money."

Bill Gates was not surprised by Song Ci's rejection, but expressed appreciation for his initiative to invest.

"It's a very pragmatic choice." He smiled. "You don't need to invest too much in the early stages, 30 million US dollars is enough, which will give you priority experience.

When the research achieves certain milestones, you will be eligible to be the first to benefit.”

At this moment, there was a sound of soft footsteps outside the study door, followed by Melinda Gates' gentle and pleasant voice:

"Darling, dinner is ready. You and Mr. Song have been talking for so long, why don't you have dinner first?"

Her appearance perfectly dispelled the subtle atmosphere in the room brought about by the secret topics about life and desire.

Bill Gates immediately laughed, and the atmosphere instantly returned to the relaxed prelude to a family dinner.

Standing up, he made a “please” gesture to Song Ci: “Song, Melinda heard that you were coming, and specially asked the chef to prepare a sumptuous dinner, including the roasted venison that she is proud of.

Now, let's put business and immortality behind us for a minute and enjoy some authentic Pacific Northwest cuisine."

Song Ci also stood up, a sincere smile on his face, and nodded slightly towards the door: "Mrs. Melinda is so polite.

If there's an opportunity, please invite Mr. and Mrs. Gates to visit China so I can play the role of host and invite you to try Chinese cuisine and experience the Eastern culinary philosophy."

Upon hearing this, Bill Gates smiled heartily and patted Song Ci on the shoulder: "Haha, it's a deal! I've longed for the mysterious oriental cuisine for a long time. Song, please!"

The two smiled at each other, as if the previous conversation about the secret island and the ultimate pursuit was just an insignificant episode.

In the early morning, the sun shines brightly on the glass curtain wall of the Science and Technology Building, making the headquarters of this newly listed Fortune 500 company appear even more vibrant.

On the seventh floor of the building, the Toutiao Video office area is filled with a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

The joy of the company becoming a global giant has not yet faded and has become the best topic of conversation among colleagues.

"I heard from the finance department that the group's revenue from January to May this year broke records again. I guess they'll be paying out half-year bonuses next month!"

"Ah! That's great! The boss is so generous, it makes me excited to work at Tengda!"

"Of course! But right now, we have to work harder on our platform's KPIs. 'Day and Night' is coming out next month, and it's the platform's first original drama, so it's very important. I hope the click-through rate goes through the roof, so we can have an easier time by the end of the year."

At this time, Chu Jingzhao came to his workstation and politely greeted his colleagues: "Good morning, Teacher Wu! Good morning, Sister Li! Good morning, Brother Yu!"

"Xiao Chu is here." "Good morning, Xiao Chu."

Several old employees gave him warm smiles.

Everyone has a good impression of the new management trainee in the operations department.

The young man graduated from a prestigious university and has solid abilities. What is most commendable is that he is low-key and humble, without any arrogance that comes from a prestigious university.

Chu Jingzhao had just sat down at his workstation and had not had time to turn on his computer when he saw his immediate superior, Director Li, walking towards him in a hurry.

"Xiao Chu, Mr. Yang wants to see you. Go to his office immediately."

"Okay, Mr. Li, I'll go right away." Chu Jingzhao's heart trembled and he quickly agreed.

The Mr. Yang mentioned by Director Li is Yang Kaihua, the general manager of Toutiao Video Operations Department. He is his boss's boss and the senior executive who truly controls the direction of the department.

Not daring to delay, he straightened his collar and walked quickly towards the general manager's office at the end of the office area.

The office door was ajar, and Chu Jingzhao knocked gently.

"Come in."

"Mr. Yang, are you looking for me?"

Yang Kaihua raised his head, showed a kind smile, and pointed to the chair in front of the table: "Xiao Chu is here, sit down."

Chu Jingyi sat upright, pretending to listen carefully to the instructions.

Yang Kaihua's eyes showed admiration: "Xiao Chu, I have read the proposal on advertising optimization that you submitted to the Ministry of Commerce a few days ago.

Based on the plot placement, the idea of ​​systematically optimizing the operation of title patches and creative mid-inserts is very constructive."

He paused, and then praised more: "Mr. Zhang from the Commercial Department just called me and expressed his approval of the proposal you put forward.

We've already decided to do a trial run on the "Day and Night Chase" project. "You've really made a name for yourself this time, boy."

Upon hearing that his suggestion was not only adopted but also affirmed by the head of the Ministry of Commerce, Chu Jingzhao felt excited and his face flushed.

But I tried to remain calm and responded humbly, "Thank you, Mr. Yang, for your recognition! I'm just standing on the shoulders of my predecessors and making a small contribution. It's my honor to contribute to the company's development."

"Young people, humility is a virtue, but when it's time to demonstrate your abilities, you must also have the courage to do what no one else can do."

Yang Kaihua chuckled, then his expression became serious, the subject suddenly changed, and his tone became serious.

"The main reason I called you here today is to discuss another proposal you submitted, a proposal to reform the existing click-through rate evaluation system. Several CEOs took it very seriously after reading it."

Chu Jingzhao's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

Yang Kaihua's eyes were sharp. "The company has decided to hold a special meeting, and you will be the one to make the report. Half an hour later, in Conference Room 1."

Xiao Chu, this is an opportunity, but also a test. Prepare well, bring out the level and knowledge of the operations department, and don't bring shame to our department."

The sudden heavy responsibility made Chu Jingzhao stunned for a moment, and then he felt a huge pressure, but also a surge of blood in his heart.

He nodded heavily, his eyes becoming firm: "Don't worry, Mr. Yang, I will do my best and will not let you down!"

"Okay, go ahead. Prepare well." Yang Kaihua waved his hand.

…

Half an hour later, in Conference Room No. 1, the oval conference table was filled with the core management of Toutiao Video.

Yang Kaihua, general manager of the operations department, Jiang Shi, general manager of the technology department, and several directors under their respective command were prominently listed.

What made Chu Jingzhao feel even more pressured was that the person sitting in the main seat was Zhou Juan, the president of Toutiao Video, and next to him were vice presidents Ye Yuan, Chen Mingyu, and Zhao Jingsheng.

All members of the platform’s highest decision-making level were present.

Chu Jingzhao stood next to the electronic screen in the front of the conference room, holding a laser pointer in his hand, feeling a little nervous.

Vice President Chen Mingyu glanced at Zhou Juan and saw her nod slightly, so he presided over the meeting and said, "Boss Zhou, time's up. Shall we begin now?"

"Let's start." Zhou Juan's voice was calm, but it carried a sense of majesty.

Chen Mingyu turned his gaze to Chu Jingzhao and encouraged him, "Xiao Chu, relax. Explain your ideas about click-through rate reform in detail to the leaders."

"Okay, Mr. Chen." Chu Jingzhao took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, pressed the laser pointer, and the report title "Proposal on Establishing a Popularity Evaluation System on Toutiao Video Site" appeared on the screen.

"Good morning, leaders." His voice trembled slightly at first, but soon stabilized. "Today I will be giving a special report on the reform of the existing content evaluation system."

"For a long time, whether it's Toutiao Video or within the industry, the core indicator for measuring the quality of a TV series has almost always been the number of clicks.

But in actual work, I found that the simple click data is seriously inaccurate and unscientific.

It cannot reflect the depth of users’ viewing experience and their enthusiasm for participation, nor can it measure the long-term value that a piece of content brings to the platform.”

The opening remarks directly pointed out the shortcomings of the existing system, causing the executives present to ponder.

"In order to more scientifically evaluate the value of content, I tried to reform the existing click-through rate system and designed a new evaluation system, the on-site popularity value system."

"Popularity on the site?!" CEO Zhou Juan repeated the word softly, her eyes revealing a strong interest and curiosity. "Interesting, continue."

After a smooth opening speech, Chu Jingzhao's original nervousness was gradually replaced by concentration. He became more calm and talked freely:

"What is site popularity? Leaders can understand it as a comprehensive, dynamically changing value.

It aims to reflect the real popularity and user activity of a series on the platform in real time and in multiple dimensions."

"It's a very good idea, and the entry point is very precise." Chen Mingyu expressed his agreement, staring at Chu Jingzhao, feeling a little emotional.

He had some impression of this young man. When he was recruited as a management trainee, his interview performance was not outstanding, and it was a bit of luck that he got the offer.

I didn't expect that after joining the company, he showed such solid foundation and depth of thinking. It seems that he is the kind of practical talent who is not good at speaking but has strong practical ability and logical thinking.

Encouraged, Chu Jingzhao gained more confidence. He flipped through the PPT and presented the core structure: "I believe that the popularity value of the site should be collected from four dimensions.

Different weights are assigned to each dimension, and ultimately, through the algorithm model, a dynamically changing comprehensive popularity value between 0 and 10,000 is synthesized.”

A clear architectural diagram appeared on the screen.

"First, there is the playback data dimension, which has a weight of 40% and mainly measures the content's appeal and ability to be completed.

The breakdown is: effective playback times, total playback time, and average playback time per person.”

The PPT shows in detail his specific definition, data capture method and calculation logic for each indicator, which is quite thoughtful.

"The second dimension is interaction data, with a recommended weight of 30%. This dimension is used to measure the depth of user participation and community activity."

Chu Jingzhao continued to elaborate, "Including but not limited to: the number of barrages and comments, and the number of user favorites.

"The third dimension is user growth, with a weight of 20%. This dimension measures the content's ability to attract and retain new users."

Chen Mingyu interrupted and questioned: "Xiao Chu, isn't this weight a little too low?

Attracting new users, especially new paying user registrations, is one of the group’s important KPIs for evaluating the platform.”

Chu Jingzhao explained calmly, "Mr. Chen, the weights marked on the PPT are just my personal opinions based on the preliminary model calculations, and there are definitely imperfections.

The specific distribution of weights can be dynamically adjusted according to the company's strategic orientation.

My core idea is to introduce this dimensional indicator, and the specific proportion can be optimized later."

Zhou Juan chuckled when she heard this. "Mr. Chen, don't be impatient. Let Xiao Chu finish explaining the complete framework. Ideas are more important than specific numbers."

Chu Jingzhao continued his report: "The last dimension is sharing data, which is used to measure the social diffusion ability and spillover value of content.

It mainly includes two items: on-site sharing rate.

And more importantly, after sharing on social platforms such as WeChat and Weibo, the number of visitors click on the return link to enter the platform.

This can most directly reflect the ability of a piece of content to attract traffic to the platform."

After explaining the four major dimensions of heat value in one breath, Chu Jingzhao did not stop and gave further examples to illustrate how this system will empower the business.

"Leaders, the value of this system is that it can help us identify stocks with real potential."

He said confidently, "For example, some dramas may not have many hits in the early stages, but their interaction rates and average viewing time per person are extremely high, which means they have excellent reputation and stickiness.

The popularity system can promptly mine it from the vast amount of content, allowing operations to immediately allocate recommendation resources and achieve a counterattack for the 'dark horse'."

“In addition, multi-dimensional indicators have dramatically increased the cost of inflating traffic, as it requires simulating multiple behaviors such as playback, interaction, and user growth simultaneously, which can more effectively squeeze out water from the data.

At the same time, Toutiao Video can prove that the series has a continuously active and high-quality user base willing to participate in sharing, and its advertising value must exceed that of a short-lived series with inflated click-through rates.

"Great! What an amazing design!" As soon as Chu Jingzhao finished speaking, Zhou Juan was the first to applaud, with admiration on her face.

“This is not just an assessment tool, it’s a strategic driver!

A scientific measurement standard guides the production and discovery of high-quality content, attracts and retains high-value users, and obtains recognition and premium from brand advertisers.

Ultimately, it will drive the entire platform ecosystem towards a positive cycle! Very good! Chu Jingzhao, your proposal is worth a thousand gold!"

The president made the final decision and gave it a very high evaluation. Others were reluctant to raise any objections and began to express their approval and appreciation for this system.

Zhou Juan turned her gaze towards the technical leaders across from her: "Mr. Ye, Mr. Jiang, are there any technical difficulties with this heat value system?"

Jiang Shi, the general manager of the technical department, pushed his glasses up his nose, thought for a moment, and answered cautiously:

"Mr. Zhou, from a technical perspective, the core lies in the capture, cleaning and storage of multi-dimensional, real-time data, as well as the establishment of algorithmic models.

The foundations for these elements are already in place on the platform, and there are no insurmountable difficulties in the algorithms.”

Zhou Juan acted decisively: "I need a clear timeline. I want to use 'Day and Night' as a pilot project for this new system."

Ye Yuan, the vice president of technology, also put pressure on his subordinates: "Lao Jiang, please express your stance in front of all the leaders."

Jiang Shi smiled bitterly, turned his head and exchanged glances with his data platform director and algorithm director for a moment.

A flash of determination flashed across his face. He gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Boss Zhou, Boss Ye! Please give the technical department ten days! Within ten days, I promise to produce a 1.0 version that can be tested!"

"Good! This is the efficiency and responsibility we want!" Zhou Juan nodded with satisfaction, and her gaze finally fell on Chu Jingzhao who was still standing next to the screen.

"Chu Jingzhao, I remember that the planning team under the content operation center has a vacant position as team leader, and they haven't found a suitable candidate yet."

She paused slightly, looked around the room, and announced clearly: "From now on, you are the leader of the planning task force.

I hope you can better implement your ideas in this position and bring more new developments to Toutiao Video!"

When Chu Jingzhao heard this, he was stunned at first, and then he was overjoyed!

Suppressing his excitement, he bowed, his voice filled with excitement: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for your trust! I will definitely live up to your trust and do my best to do a good job!"

(End of this chapter)