Chapter 181: All Means Used
In the office, Song Ci frowned, his eyes fixed on the computer screen.
Looking at the two pieces of news about myself, which have already rushed into the top five of the trending search list, my mood is extremely complicated, with helplessness and irritability intertwined.
On the first day of Weibo's hot search, the top few hot topics on the list were all carefully prepared in advance.
For example, "My Love from the Star", which topped the list, successfully reached the top as expected thanks to its high popularity and popularity, as well as the early hype. Everything went as planned.
However, the two pieces of news about himself broke through the siege like a dark horse and occupied an important position on the hot search list, which was truly unexpected.
Song Ci took a deep breath and thought for a moment, then let go of the hot search for "Zhou Jun's prototype". It was not a big problem and could be left alone.
But the news about Tomson Yipin luxury house made him feel very difficult.
There is heavy snow in the south now and the disaster is serious. If it is revealed that I have purchased a luxury property at this critical juncture, even if it is a passive exposure, it will inevitably give people the impression of showing off my wealth, which has a very bad impact. The hot search must be suppressed as soon as possible.
Thinking of this, Song Ci picked up the landline phone on his desk and quickly dialed three short numbers to notify Zhang Yong, Wang Jing and Liu Yan to come to his office.
After a while, three people came hurriedly with notebooks.
Song Ci didn't say any unnecessary nonsense, and went straight to the point and said, "Liu Yan, ask the backstage to suppress the trending search on Weibo about my house in Tomson Yipin.
In this year of disaster, being exposed in such a high profile that I spent 85 million to buy luxury goods is a disaster rather than a blessing for me. You should do it immediately. "
Liu Yan was shocked when she heard this. She was just focusing on using the chairman's popularity to drive the trending searches and completely ignored the disaster in the south. She quickly responded:
"I'll arrange it right away." After saying that, he left the office in a hurry.
After Liu Yan left, only the three giants of Tengda Group were left in the spacious office.
Song Ci looked serious and continued, “The disaster in the south is very serious now. As a leader in the Internet industry, our Tengda Group must demonstrate the responsibility and commitment of a large enterprise.
The company will immediately donate 30 million to the disaster-stricken areas, and I will personally donate 20 million to show my support for the people in the disaster-stricken areas.
Sister Jing, you are in charge of the public relations department, so you must establish a good company image when it comes to donations."
Wang Jing nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, Mr. Song, I will do a good job of positive publicity."
Song Ci nodded and turned his gaze to Zhang Yong:
"Mr. Zhang, please inform the financial department to handle the specific matters related to the donation as soon as possible. My personal donation of 20 million will also be transferred out at that time.
In addition, the Chinese New Year is just a week away. Once the company's year-end bonuses are calculated by human resources and finance, please give them to me for signature immediately. Don't delay any further."
Zhang Yong looked solemn. He picked up the pen and the tip of the pen made a rustling sound as it rubbed against the paper. He carefully wrote down the several things Song Ci had arranged in his notebook one by one.
Some time ago, Tengda Group conducted an internal audit and the company found some problems. Song Ci showed no mercy and decisively cleaned out a group of problematic middle and senior managers.
Several of them are Zhang Yong’s old subordinates and were among Tenda’s earliest employees.
Such a ruthless approach made everyone in the group see the courage and decisiveness hidden beneath the chairman's easy-going appearance.
Because of being implicated in this incident, Zhang Yong has been careful with his words and actions recently. He has become even more awed by Song Ci and his attitude has become even more respectful.
"And," Song Ci added sternly:
“Strictly urge all business departments and subsidiaries to collect all receivables before April.
Sister Jing, include this work in the month-end performance appraisal to ensure the completion of the collection work. "
Wang Jing was slightly stunned. She didn't expect Song Ci to take this matter so seriously.
However, there was no hesitation on his face, and he said decisively: "I will ask the human resources department to issue the assessment documents before the end of get off work today.
Song Ci nodded slightly. The US subprime mortgage crisis was about to break out, and the global financial crisis was imminent. He had to ensure that Tengda Group would have no problems with its capital chain in the next two years.
Therefore, we have been urging the company to strengthen debt collection efforts and increase the group's cash reserves to ensure that the company can successfully survive the cold winter.
However, although he has emphasized this matter many times in the company's large and small meetings, the collection effect is not obvious. He can only strengthen the assessment orientation and force various departments to act quickly.
After saying this, Song Ci reminded Zhang Yong: "Old Zhang, the equity investment in the company must be secured as soon as possible. The cold winter is coming, and we cannot be careless at all."
The chairman's cautious look made Zhang Yong feel a huge pressure.
Although he didn't know why Song Ci was so serious, facts in the past had proved the chairman's foresight time and time again.
Therefore, he unconditionally believed in Song Ci's judgment and did his best to cooperate with all the work.
After giving instructions on a few more details about the work, Song Ci let his two right-hand men leave the office.
Looking at the two people's backs, Song Ci had a gloomy look in his eyes. The overall domestic economic environment in 2008 was not optimistic.
It is also a transition period from the traditional PC era to the mobile Internet, and the company needs to be extremely cautious in every step.
If we are not careful, the current good situation of Tengda Group may be ruined.
When I looked at the Weibo hot search list again, the two hot topics about myself had fallen out of the top five.
Knowing that Liu Yan had already asked the backstage to suppress the heat, Song Ci felt relieved.
Tengda Weibo currently has only 12 million users, and the spread of hot searches is far less exaggerated than that of the future hundreds of millions of users. Hot searches within one or two hours will not cause much impact.
The iterative update of Tenda Group’s Weibo version and the launch of the hot search function naturally attracted the attention of competitors.
At this time, in the high-level conference room of Penguin Company, President Liu Zhiping stood in front of the big screen with a serious expression, and the laser pen in his hand pointed at the key information on the screen from time to time.
Chairman Maberly sat at the head seat at the conference table, looking intently at the content on the big screen.
Liu Zhiping cleared his throat and introduced loudly: "Everyone, this is the latest hot search function launched on Tengda Weibo."
Maberly frowned slightly, tapped the table with his fingers, and after thinking for a moment, he asked, "What are the specific features of their trending search function?"
Liu Zhiping tapped on his laptop and presented the important information he had collected through a PPT:
“The Weibo hot search function seems to pay more attention to real-time and explosiveness of hot topics in terms of topic push and screening mechanism.
They quickly attracted users’ attention by closely integrating with some popular events.”
COO Ren Yuxin asked nervously: "Will it have an impact on our existing business model?"
Liu Zhiping thought for a moment and answered cautiously:
"Based on the current situation, it won't have much impact on QQ, but it could be a disaster for the company's portal website and the newly launched Weibo."
Maberly's face darkened immediately after hearing this, and he said belatedly:
"I'm afraid Tengda has been waiting for us for a long time and deliberately delayed the launch of the trending search function, just to keep a step ahead and fear that others will steal our skills."
Ren Yuxin nodded in agreement: "We can't just sit there and do nothing. We must come up with a solution as soon as possible."
Maberly shook his head and reminded, "You can't always be led by others.
We need to study the strengths and weaknesses of Tenda Weibo, combine it with our own strong advantages in the field of instant messaging, and make some innovations.
Otherwise, we will fall into the rhythm of Tengda, who is always ahead, and we will never be able to compete."
After a brief pause, as if he had made some kind of decision, Maberly gritted his teeth and said firmly:
"From today, QQ will block Tenda Weibo, and no user can forward Weibo links on QQ."
Liu Zhiping was shocked when he heard this, and said in confusion: "Boss Ma, is this not a good idea?"
Penguin has long been criticized for QQ's monopoly in social networking. Such a blatant blocking of Tenda Weibo will undoubtedly be more detrimental to the company's reputation and deepen users' disgust.
Ma Boli insisted without question: "The business world is like a battlefield. If we don't use some tricks, Tengda Weibo will be unstoppable."
Coo Ren Yuxin was also concerned and worried:
"Boss Ma, if we completely break off relations with Tengda Group, will they sue us for unfair competition using monopoly?"
When Maberly heard this, a barely perceptible hesitation flashed across his face, which usually wore a faint smile.
But in an instant, a decisive voice came out:
"We will take it one step at a time. We will first block unknown links on the pretext that they may threaten the security of QQ accounts. At worst, we can file a lawsuit. Our Penguin Legal Department has never lost before!"
Deep down in his heart, he had a vague premonition that the Tengda Group would sooner or later fully enter the social field, and there would be an ultimate battle between Penguin and Tengda.
Therefore, Tengda Weibo must be targeted as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the other party’s Weibo platform becomes larger and controls the monitoring and feedback of public opinion, it will be difficult to suppress its development.
The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became tense and serious. All the executives present understood that once the blocking move was made, there would be no room for maneuver between Penguin Company and Tengda Group.
Liu Zhiping sighed and carefully took note of the chairman's instructions. He understood the enormous pressure that Maberly was under.
QQ users have already grown to their maximum in China. If Penguin wants to go further, it can either go overseas to find foreign users or defeat the Tenda Group that is standing in its way.
As the company's president in charge of strategy and investment, he possesses keen strategic vision and rich industry experience.
It is basically clear that Tenda Group has laid out the entire industrial chain in the field of media and social networking.
Once Weibo is added, Tengda Group will no longer have any weaknesses, will form a strong competitive barrier, and have a stable base, so it can launch attacks on other areas of the entire Internet at any time.
Since Maberly, the company's top leader, had made up his mind, Liu Zhiping no longer hesitated, firmly believed, and unconditionally supported his decision:
"Boss Ma, I will take immediate action to curb the growth of Tengda Weibo users and buy precious time for our Weibo."
Liu Zhiping's voice was sonorous and powerful, full of trust in Maberly, as well as desire and confidence in victory.
February 4th is the beginning of spring, and the weather is still chilly.
At around nine o'clock in the morning, the gate of Donghai TV Station was already crowded with people and bustling with activity.
A female reporter in professional attire and with a dignified look was holding a microphone and reporting live to the camera.
“There are already thousands of enthusiastic fans gathered here, and more fans are coming continuously.
The reason for this is that the male and female protagonists of the recent hit drama "My Love from the Star", Fan Bingbing and Qiao Zhengyu, are currently rehearsing for the Donghai Satellite TV New Year's Eve Gala at the TV station."
Inside the TV station building, Director Zhu stood at the office window, looking down at the densely packed crowd downstairs, feeling both happy and worried.
The good news is that “You Who Came From the Stars” was such a huge hit that the TV station had already completed half of its annual advertising target before the Spring Festival.
What is worrying is that with so many fans gathering in front of the TV station, if an accident such as a stampede occurs, and this happens during the Chinese New Year, it will have a very bad social impact.
Director Tao of the Donghai Satellite TV Film and Television Center beside him quickly comforted him:
"Director, don't worry. The city's public security department has been dispatched urgently and will come to the scene immediately to maintain law and order. As long as order is under control, nothing will happen."
Director Zhu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sirens blaring downstairs and a large number of uniformed security officers arriving at the scene.
He has worked in TV stations for many years, but this is the first time he has seen the audience and fans being so crazy. It is truly eye-opening.
"I heard that this drama was introduced by Old Yu's nephew. He originally wanted to sell it on the North Platform, but by chance we got a big bargain?"
Director Tao explained, "Yes, Deputy Director Yu's nephew is the vice president of Tengda Culture. Tengda and the North Platform failed to reach an agreement on this drama, so President Yu introduced it to us. I didn't expect that we would get such a big bargain. An urban fantasy romance drama can actually become so popular. It's weird!"
When it comes to the popularity of "My Love from the Star", it is simply jaw-dropping.
In the few days before the Spring Festival, topics related to it have long dominated the top five hot searches on Weibo.
Moreover, this drama is not only popular on Weibo, but is also widely discussed on Tieba, Tianya Community and even on the entire Internet.
Countless netizens actively discussed the plot, characters, and actors' performances, and shared their own viewing experiences and insights.
What’s even more exaggerated is that a TV series actually triggered a trendy cultural phenomenon.
The dressing style of the heroine Lin Qianyu in the drama has become a hot topic in the fashion industry. The clothes, accessories and cosmetics she used have been sought after by the audience. Many fashion brands have seen a surge in sales because of "My Love from the Star".
There is also Lin Qianyu's line when it was snowing, "How can the first snow be without beer and fried chicken?", which quickly made fried chicken and beer a popular food combination among young people today.
Many fried chicken restaurants took this opportunity to launch "My Love from the Star" meal sets, attracting a large number of customers and becoming a pop culture phenomenon.
Thinking of the gambling agreement, Director Tao couldn't help but sigh with regret: "It's a pity that we signed a gambling agreement with Tengda Culture, otherwise the station could have made tens of millions more."
The ratings of "My Love from the Star" exceeded 3% on its first broadcast, and on the third day of its broadcast, it successfully exceeded 5%, becoming a phenomenal hit that is rarely seen in recent years.
Once this audience rating came out, Tengda Culture not only successfully completed the bet with Donghai TV, but the broadcasting rights had already been sold for the fourth time.
There were also TV stations from South Korea and Japan that approached the company, wanting to purchase overseas copyrights. Preliminary estimates put the profit from the TV series at no less than 300 million yuan, making Tengda Culture a lucrative business.
Director Tao was naturally envious and jealous when he saw how successful Tengda Culture was, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
Director Zhu was quite open-minded. He waved his hand and said with a smile: "I think that this is how TV stations and producers should behave. Everyone can make money, and win-win cooperation is the long-term solution!"
Director Tao immediately flattered him and said, "You are far-sighted."
(End of this chapter)
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