After reading it, Chris quickly formed a basic impression of QQ.
He had downloaded and tried a stripped-down version of QQ before, and didn't think it was very good. Now, after Ji Qing's introduction, he discovered that QQ has been upgraded and is now more than twice the size of what it used to be.
Chris also discovered that QQ's "network interaction" emphasizes interaction between people rather than between people and the network. QQ is more enthusiastic about fulfilling users' desire to make friends, which means it's more enthusiastic about sharing fun.
Currently, the main focus of ICQ development is online farming.
The online farm currently has two directions: a battle mode and a casual mode. According to the boss's idea, both modes will exist simultaneously, and users can choose freely.
Users in Europe and America are more adventurous, so the battle mode is designed specifically for them. Users in China and Southeast Asia are more interested in farming and casual games, so the leisure mode is designed for them.
This online farm has a different development direction than ICQ, emphasizing "enjoying it alone".
"Boss Jiqing, I now know where the lesion is."
Chris said, "ICQ has been undergoing upgrades and optimizations recently, and the new version should be available in about two months."
"I didn't know what made our product unique before, but after chatting with you, I gained a lot of inspiration. Thank you, Boss Jiqing."
Ji Qing sent a message: "That's strange, why is everyone thanking me today?"
Chris casually asked, "Besides me, who else?"
"Penguin Technology's CEO, Mr. Ma, called to thank me today, but I didn't do anything; I just said a few words to him."
“He asked me if I would do it if someone offered me $1 billion to destroy a competitor. I said right then and there that I would destroy the competitor even if they didn’t offer me any money.”
Ji Qing joked, "He left after that, and today he even called to thank me, saying that I gave him some inspiration."
Chris gleaned useful information from Ji Qing's fragmented words.
In other words, in addition to the $20 million investment from Darius Media, Penguin Technology may have also received an additional $1 billion in funding.
Such a large investment is not something that ordinary investment companies can afford.
Tencent's decision to use ICQ as a hypothetical enemy during its development phase was likely emboldened by the funding it received.
Chris was silent for a while before sending a message: "Boss Jiqing, you single-handedly stirred up competition between two companies."
Ji Qing scoffed, "What does this have to do with me?"
"Mr. Ma from Tencent, the competitor he's referring to is our ICQ," Chris said.
"What? Does that mean QQ is going to declare war on ICQ?" Boss Ji Qing was very surprised.
When Mr. Ma asked him this question, Ji Qing thought the competitor he was referring to was a small technology company in China. He never expected that Mr. Ma would be so bold as to directly confront ICQ.
He had no idea that his casual remark would have such a significant impact.
Actually, if you think about it carefully, what Ji Qing said is not important. It's just that Jack Ma wants to declare war on ICQ, so he came to Ji Qing to get a reasonable option from a third party.
"Originally, our ICQ company was going to discuss cooperation with Mr. Ma, but for some reason, Mr. Ma brought forward the upgrade and optimization of ICQ. Now, many of the functions of the newly developed ICQ software are functions that we planned to develop for QQ."
"Now Mr. Ma has gotten there first."
Ji Qing asked, "So now QQ needs to speed up its upgrades and optimizations. When will you release a new version?"
"Products always need to be optimized and upgraded, but the timeline has indeed been moved up. The new version is already in the architecture stage, and it will probably be available in two months. This is something that can't be rushed."
"You'd better keep it up, Chris!" Ji Qing said with some pride. "I'm not trying to flatter Mr. Ma, but this version of QQ is really popular in China right now. I think QQ will soon dominate the social networking market in China."
"I will do my best."
During ICQ's period of silence, QQ continued to exert its efforts in the Chinese market. They invested heavily in advertising and promotion, using television, train stations, websites, and offline physical advertisements to successfully establish a presence in several major first-tier cities in China.
Soon, several investment companies in Southeast Asia took notice of this emerging social networking software.
Xiang Feng was originally on Longteng's side, but seeing QQ's strong market appeal, even the CEO of Asia Travel Capital began to waver.
Currently, the CEOs of Asia Travel Capital have all sent their investment assistants to QQ Penguin Technology Company to make business contacts.
Xiang Feng and Chen Dong had collaborated several times and had developed a certain relationship. Now, given the current developments within Asia Travel Capital, Xiang Feng had to warn Chen Dong to be cautious.
That day, Annie received a phone call in her office. The caller said that the investment director of Asia Travel Capital wanted to meet with the big boss of Longteng.
Chen Dong asked in confusion, "Xiang Feng got promoted?"
"Whether he got promoted or not, he always came to see me in his own name. Why is he coming in the company's name now?"
Annie shook her head and said, "It wasn't Xiang Feng himself who made the call, it was Xiang Feng's assistant. The feeling he gave me on the phone... was that Xiang Feng was intentionally trying to distance himself from us."
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