For the new technology industry, the first major event at the beginning of 1995 was the update of the IE browser.
On January 1st, New Year’s Day, the core Internet software IE browser owned by YGRET updated the latest version at one time globally in accordance with the antitrust settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, giving up locking the YGRET portal. The software homepage was changed to open mode, officially announcing that Igret had given up its monopoly on the Internet interface.
In the past few years, many technology companies, which have been tightly controlled by the Yigrit Portal and have struggled to use their traffic interfaces, are cheering and gearing up to welcome the arrival of the new era.
Within Yigret, the company's most powerful industrial moat has been abandoned. Many people are inevitably worried about loss and have to brace themselves for the upcoming challenges.
This compromise has even had a significant impact on the IPO that has already been launched.
Although the portal is only a part of Yigrit's huge product matrix, in the eyes of many people, it is precisely because Yigrit has monopolized the Internet interface that it has driven the company's various products to advance by leaps and bounds in the past few years. comprehensive development. Therefore, investors will inevitably question whether Igret can maintain its past rapid growth without its monopoly on Internet interfaces.
Only a few core members of the Westeros system understand that this concession is actually just a change in corporate strategy of Ygriet Company.
The key is the 'Google' search engine on the new default homepage.
Abandoning the portal monopoly and opening the search portal actually represents the official shift of Igret's strategic focus from content to platform.
Simon began to inculcate the concept to Bezos and others very early on that the scale of network information is growing exponentially and explosively, and it is impossible for any single enterprise to meet the differentiated needs of massive users for information. Therefore, Yigre What Te ultimately has to do is not to produce content, but to create a platform to integrate content.
Portals in the Internet 1.0 era are actually also platforms if you look carefully.
Just because of the serious lack of online content in the early stages of the development of the Internet industry, portals had to focus more on producing content while operating platforms.
After the Westeros system has spared no effort to support and catalyze in recent years, network information resources have been abundant enough, and now is the right time to start the Internet 2.0 era.
Search engine platform Google, social network platform Facebook and e-commerce platform Amazon will be the top priority of Igret's network business sector in the Internet 2.0 era. Of course, in order to lead competitors astray as much as possible and gain more development time for the three major platforms, on the surface, Igret will still attach great importance to the portal business.
While a large number of media are discussing the long-term impact of this incident on the new technology industry, the 'Information Age' marketing plan, which was officially concluded on December 31, 1994, and a series of industrial data related to the new technology industry are also starting the new year. It initially became the focus of media and public attention.
The Yigrit portal launched a news feature as soon as possible on January 1st.
As of December 31, 1994, preliminary statistics show that the number of domestic Internet access users in the United States was 78 million, an annual increase of 69%, and the total number of Internet users was 140 million, an increase of an astonishing 86%. As a result, the Internet coverage rate in the United States has increased to 53%, far ahead of other countries in the world.
Among them, the 'Information Age' marketing plan in the last two months of 1994 contributed 20% to the two core figures.
In terms of personal computers in the hardware field, in 1994, domestic PC shipments in the United States reached 28 million units, of which 9 million units came from large-scale marketing in the last two months of the year. The number of PCs owned in the United States has officially exceeded the 100 million mark due to rapid growth in the last two months of last year.
Globally, as overseas countries increased their efforts in the information industry, in 1994, including the United States, the number of global Internet access users reached 130 million, covering 230 million netizens. Compared with 1993, the growth rate 78% and 109% respectively.
In addition to a wide range of industry data, Igret also announced the growth overview of its own business in portals, emails, social networks, e-commerce, electronic games, outsourcing platforms, etc. in the past year, each with super The data of high growth rate all represent the rapid arrival of a new era.
The total world population at the beginning of 1995 was 5.7 billion.
Therefore, Igret has judged that although the growth in the number of Internet users in the United States will slow down after the explosion in the past year, globally, the current number of 230 million Internet users only accounts for 4% of the world's total population. just started. From 1995 onwards, Igret will significantly increase its overseas expansion efforts.
In addition to Igret, new technology industry giants such as America Online, Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, HP, and Compaq, which have participated in the "Information Age" marketing plan in the past two months, have posted their own good news.
This series of good news was directly reflected on the first trading day of the U.S. stock market in 1995.
Monday, January 2nd.
On the first stock trading day of the new year, as of the closing of the afternoon, the Nasdaq index rose by 2.7% that day, reaching 1938 points, only one step away from the 2000 point mark.
As the three major technology giants in the Westeros system reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust investigation, which had been fluctuating, Cisco's stock price continued to rise in the last month of 1994.
On January 2, driven by a series of good news, Cisco's stock price, which still accounts for more than 80% of the global network equipment market and has an absolute leading position in the industry, rose by 3.5%, and its closing market value reached US$156.3 billion, ranking first among listed companies in the world. Ranked first in corporate market capitalization.
Following Cisco is AOL.
According to preliminary public data, although a large number of telecom operators have been developing ISP services regardless of cost in the past two years, in the past year, AOL, which has taken the lead in the industry, has expanded its presence in giants such as AT-T and the United States by exploring the Great Lakes region and the southern United States market. Under the attack of a large number of small ISP service providers, it still managed to gain 15.1 million new users in the United States. The overall number of users in the United States reached 47.7 million, with an annual growth rate of 46%. The local market share was as high as 61%, far ahead of the ranking. AT-T, which ranks second, has only 19% market share.
Moreover, the reason for emphasizing the local area is that AOL's overseas user growth has been equally gratifying in the past year.
In the key markets of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Italy, and Russia, despite the suppression of local operators, AOL still gained more than 3.7 million new users in the past year, and the overall number of users reached 5.1 million.
Based on the total number of 52 million Internet access users in overseas countries, AOL's market share in overseas countries is close to 10%.
After previous efforts, AOL also successfully obtained the ISP access license in Germany in the second half of last year, and established joint ventures with telecom operators in two important markets, Japan and South Korea. Therefore, although local growth has slowed down, the U.S. The explosion of online overseas business has just begun.
Today's AOL is completely two companies from the AOL that Simon remembered as it took the wrong direction of development and eventually fell apart, a top Internet service provider that truly spans the world.
On January 2, the first trading day of 1995, AOL's stock price also rose by as much as 2.9%, with a closing market value of US$139.2 billion.
Daenerys Entertainment, which once jumped to the top in market capitalization when the three technology giants of the Westeros system encountered antitrust investigations, ranked third. On January 2, its share price increased slightly by 0.7% on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at the end of the day. Market value is US$132.6 billion.
Although the growth rate is slow, Daenerys Entertainment's stock price has still shown an upward trend since its listing on July 1 last year. Its terrifying market value of hundreds of billions is beyond the reach of other Hollywood studios.
Microsoft, which launched extensive testing of the Windows 95 system at the end of last year, has seen a rapid increase in market value over the past year due to the strong response to the new system and the rapid decline of its direct competitor Apple, and in mid-December last year it officially became another company with a market value of 100 billion. .
On January 2, Microsoft’s share price rose 1.9%, with its closing market value reaching US$115.3 billion, ranking fourth.
General Electric, an old industrial giant, ranks fifth, with a market capitalization that also exceeds 100 billion U.S. dollars. It is also the only traditional industrial group among the top five.
On January 2, GE’s stock price rose 0.9%, with a closing market value of US$106.1 billion.
Compared with the dazzling brilliance of several other emerging companies, General Electric's market value of hundreds of billions is regarded by many media as just the last glory of the American industrial era.
After the top five giants with a market value of 100 billion, a series of new technology companies such as Intel, SUN, and Oracle are also constantly crushing various traditional corporate giants in market value.
When Daenerys Entertainment became the first company with a market capitalization of US$100 billion in American history after its listing in July last year, many financial media believed that US$100 billion was already the market value ceiling for a listed company, and they all predicted that Daenerys Entertainment The market value of entertainment will fall sharply in the second half of the year.
As a result, in just half a year, five giants with a market value of hundreds of billions emerged in the U.S. stock market.
Cisco's terrifying market capitalization of US$156.3 billion has raised the market value ceiling previously predicted by the media to another level. Now, looking at US$200 billion, it is probably only a matter of time.
When the capital market marvels at the record value of a series of technology stocks, it is difficult to ignore a certain problem.
Among the five companies with a market value of 100 billion, the Westeros System clearly occupies four.
Although Daemon has expressed his dissatisfaction with the outside world's inclusion of Microsoft in the Westeros system more than once, either explicitly or covertly, no one can deny that Simon's nearly 20% stake in Microsoft has already exceeded his holdings after continuous reductions. Paul Allen becomes Microsoft's second largest shareholder.
While some people have not forgotten the shock and numbness caused by Simon's personal net worth of US$300 billion on last year's Forbes list, based on Westeros' publicly disclosed shareholding ratio and the market value at the close of trading on January 2, Just four companies, Cisco, AOL, Igret and Microsoft, have brought Simon a total wealth of US$294.7 billion.
The distance to 300 billion is only a slight increase in one trading day.
However, in addition to the four companies, the Westeros system also owns Ygrit, which has been given a high valuation of US$100 billion by many analysts even before it is listed, and Igret, which has an increasingly important voice on Wall Street. Cersei Capital, Melisandre, who continues to expand in the fashion industry, Nokia, which has become the world's largest mobile phone giant, Verizon, a wholly-owned regional telecommunications giant, and Australia's leading Mining giant Billiton Group, as well as tens of billions of new technology elites such as Intel, SUN, Oracle, etc. with heavy holdings, and many more such as Tinker Bayer, Aaliyah, etc. may emerge at some point. Start-ups of all types.
What is the value of all this? !
After many events in 1994, the North American media were very cautious when expressing their views on the Westeros system. Even so, some media people could not help but sigh in the newspapers the next morning, Simon Westeros There is just too much money.
Simon will not be like Bezos in his memory, who only thinks of relief when all the pressure is on his face.
The Simon-Janet Westeros Foundation announced on Wednesday morning that Simon will inject another $3 billion into the foundation to fund the establishment of professional computer classrooms and the training of professional teachers in primary and secondary schools in impoverished areas in the United States. Let teenagers from low-income families who cannot afford PC and Internet access to the latest technology in a timely manner.
As for the source of the funds, Simon plans to obtain it by reducing its holdings of a small amount of AOL shares.
But this matter has not been made public again.
Because it is conceivable that there will inevitably be accusations such as Simon's doing this just to avoid taxes.
Even though the charity project has been made public, in fact, there are still many voices of dissatisfaction. Simon just asked the Westeros family's public relations team to follow up quietly, just complaining. If they persist, Simon will not be polite at all.
In addition, Simon also commissioned the New York Times to prepare an article analyzing the ultimate ownership of Simon's huge personal wealth in the future many years later.
The conclusion reached is that because this asset is too huge, it is impossible to set up a foundation to manage it like the Rockefeller or Ford families did back then. Therefore, more than half of the share will inevitably return to society and become the collective wealth of the American public.
The Los Angeles Times on the East Coast also published an analysis article, pointing out that relative to revenue, the market value of Cisco, AOL, Daenerys Entertainment and Microsoft all have serious bubble components.
The bubble will burst one day.
Because most of Simon's personal assets are stock assets with serious bubbles, in fact they are far less exaggerated than the superficial figures.
When the bubble bursts, Simon Westeros' personal fortune may not even be $200 billion.
Starting from two newspapers, and under the deliberate guidance of the Westeros family media and public relations team, two public opinions gradually spread: Simon's personal wealth will eventually return to society and Simon's personal net worth figure has been seriously exaggerated.
Ah Q’s spirit is actually a common problem among all human beings.
There is no distinction between East and West.
Just like when Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, appeared on the Forbes rich list for the first time, countless reporters rushed to Walton’s hometown and found a mediocre old man driving a broken pickup truck and wearing cheap clothes. They were immediately disappointed. Others laughed at him for not being like the richest man in the United States.
After getting in touch with this circle, Simon also learned more about the inside story.
Sam Walton’s private life is definitely not as simple as the media publicized. Just like when the media later advocated that Zuckerberg Fit lived a simple life, they didn’t know that there was a world-limited Zonda in his garage, and they didn’t know that little Zuckerberg was living a simple life. A gray-looking woolen sweater is worth $2,000.
Likewise, Simon is giving the public a comforting public opinion pacifier this time.
Simon Westeros' wealth is unsustainable. Simon Westeros' wealth is grossly overvalued.
In short, seeing that Simon's personal wealth is not as exaggerated as imagined, public sentiment will calm down a lot unconsciously.
Subsequent media feedback also proved that the effect of this public opinion operation was very good.
Simon will not discount the $3 billion charity plan at all, and will even connect computer classrooms that will be distributed across the United States to the Internet.
That's not too generous, but Simon also plans to install a collection of popular video games from EA on the computers used for teaching.
Education through entertainment is the way to go.