It was not convenient to discuss things in the afternoon in Room 506 of Fulong Building where we were working, so we sat in the cafe downstairs, ordered three cups of coffee, and talked.
Many things are in their infancy, just like when the first Starbucks wafted its first scent in the Capital World Trade Center in January this year, it did not attract much attention. Who would have known that this fast food coffee chain that caters to the pursuits of the emerging middle class and literary youth would quickly establish a high-end brand image and rapidly expand its chain in major cities.
Nowadays, coffee shops in the city's commercial streets are almost standard patrons of well-off white-collar workers and trendy people. The coffee here tastes pretty good. The owner learned the craft from another place and came to Chengdu. The coffee is from Yunnan. In terms of quality, it cannot be compared with imported coffee beans. The growth environment required for the cultivation of high-quality coffee trees is sufficient. There are many mountains with an altitude of more than 1,200 meters. The main difference is in planting technology and fine operation. The advantage is that it is cheap. The owner has friends who collect beans there, and he tries to find high-quality first-class products.
Later, the owner of this shop, Zhao Weiji, became an Internet celebrity in the whole shop. Facing the crowds of people, he pointed to one of the tables and said, "That's how they..."
It was at this moment in 1999.
Lin Xiaosong sat on the wooden bench of the store, took a sip of the wine in the cup, his face was bright, and the topic started from here, "Mr. Cheng is really eloquent, every word is precious. Mingshi told me before that you are in charge of strategy and products, I didn't quite believe it, but the previous speech analyzed the pattern of the entire Internet tide. Regardless of whether some of the judgment bases are sufficient, such as how to judge the specific future value of Google and assert that Jobs is a conqueror, it is at least really exciting, even I couldn't help but applaud!"
Li Mingshi glanced at his classmate and realized that although he was praising Cheng Ran, there was a hidden meaning in his words.
The implication is that even if you speak very well, you can only fool the programmers. For an old hand like him, it is still a little short of the mark.
"Is the company's strategy for developing CQ too singular? I admit that this is a very useful little software, but this also means that it is easy to be copied. Any company with financial resources that wants to enter the market can almost immediately write such a software. As far as I know, ICQ was the first to be created, and many products have followed suit. Software is created to solve people's needs, and many parties can provide this need. You don't have uniqueness. This is what you lack."
Lin Xiaosong thought that he had gotten to know this "Mr. Cheng" through the contact just now, and he also knew why he could lead Li Mingshi's team. In a word, it was because his father was a big business owner. The inflammatory words and knowledge points, especially the high-level and even the judgments and summaries of those Internet figures, seemed more like the summaries from the mouth of an older and knowledgeable person.
This kid is taking his father's words as an order!
Of course, judging from his demeanor and control over rhythm, this is totally not a level that an ordinary high school student can achieve. This is enough to amaze Lin Xiaosong. Of course, he is here to join the team now, and he knows that at this time he has to intimidate the "junior" who is also the boss in front of him. Whether he can convince this kid and let the company develop along his ideas in the future and become the one holding the reins depends on whether the reins can fit this horse.
Perhaps some people are used to taking orders from others, but for Lin Xiaosong, letting the company develop according to his own will, proving his own value and making the boss rely on him, is the most comfortable thing.
Lin Xiaosong smiled. He glanced at Li Mingshi, but found that his words, which he originally thought would get to the point and attract the attention of the person in front of him and be regarded as good advice, only earned a dumb smile from Li Mingshi.
It was as if he saw through Lin Xiaosong's intentions. He saw him knocking with a hammer in a very reasonable manner, but he did not expect that the person in front of him was Li Yuanba.
Cheng Ran nodded, "Well said. You pointed out a problem that everyone can see, but this problem is a blind spot. It is precisely because most people hold common sense and judgment like you that they are careless and lose the battle, which makes us stand out. This is our ghillie suit, the protective color."
Lin Xiaosong was suddenly confused.
What… after all this analysis, I am still blind? My common sense and judgment are out of whack
Cheng Ran laughed and said, "ICQ is indeed the originator of this type, but it is an American model, and it is not suitable for China. Why? Because Americans are rich and powerful, their hardware is powerful, and they do not consider optimizing resource usage when making software. In addition, everyone has a computer, so the database of this type of chat software does not need to be separated. But this is not possible in China. It is a luxury for people to have a computer at home now. Most people rely on Internet cafes. If ICQ is used, the chat records and address book information on this computer will be gone when the computer is changed. Who would use it? Therefore, the development space of these software is destined to be only in homes and offices, and will not be aimed at every user with such needs."
"We are different. We know this problem, so we put the database on our own server, which makes the entire software only about 300 KB. With the current network speed, it can be downloaded to a new computer in five minutes... This is the power of communication. If you use ICQ, it will be at least tens of megabytes, which will take several hours to use, or you can only use CDs, which greatly reduces the speed of communication."
Lin Xiaosong was surprised and asked Li Mingshi, "Is CQ so small?"
Li Mingshi smiled proudly, "I'm here to lead the optimization myself. You should really take a look at the main architecture. It can be regarded as the most beautiful work of my life. The logic is perfect, the interface is clearly structured, and there is very little redundant data... Why do you think we cheer for having a good server? The user end is optimized as much as possible, but the data interface is on the server, which leads to our greatest reliance on the server, and this is also the biggest expense."
Cheng Ran continued, "Instant messaging is not an ordinary software. It will hijack your life and your social circle. Once a software stands out from other similar software, it will soon surpass its pursuers. Even latecomers will find it difficult to catch up. Because when everyone around you uses CQ, you can't let others use ICQ or PICQ to accommodate you... So whether it is ICQ or the Chinese software that imitates it, in my opinion... none of them can compete."
Lin Xiaosong opened his mouth. He didn't expect Li Mingshi to optimize such a software to a few hundred KB. He didn't expect that Q would take a completely different path from the American big brother. At this time, China's Internet was all learning from the United States. They did what the other party did... And those companies that followed the former might find that they were incompatible with this land and it was difficult to turn back. But at this time, CQ might have already sailed through thousands of mountains!
Therefore, Cheng Ran grasped this direction from the very beginning and found the crux of the problem with the precision of a surgical knife.
What is this? This is Dugu Nine Swords!
It seems that the idea of suppressing Cheng Ran has to be abandoned, but Lin Xiaosong is unwilling to give up. He still has a trick up his sleeve. "Then you don't have a way to make money. If CQ grows bigger, how will the company make money in the future? Your server consumption is getting bigger and bigger. Where will the funds come from? I know that Mr. Cheng's family is rich, but do you have to ask your father for money in the future? So I think the company should develop some products that can make money, such as the popular email. I will take the lead in the strategy and I believe we can find buyers."
Cheng Ran shook his head, "No need."
Lin Xiaosong was speechless again.
"This is the importance of ghillie suits that I just mentioned. Yes, why don't other companies come to develop it? This is an important point, because there is no way to make a profit! There is no way to make a profit that can naturally give us a good environment and coat that is not hindered by the crowds of competitors. If we can quickly find the possibility of monetization, capital is profit-seeking. Those capitals are not flocking to it. If they analyze in this direction, they will sooner or later discover the advantages of our CQ and then copy opponents as powerful as us! I don't want to face these difficult enemies so early!"
Then Lin Xiaosong saw "Mr. Cheng" in front of him, and revealed a determination that surprised him. "If there is no way to make a profit, I will supply it with blood myself. I will try my best to supply this spirit that has been reincarnated from a starving ghost. Even if I lose everything, I will persist and persist!"
(First update.)
Ling, did you forget to vote for recommendation on Monday? Bring them all, or I will bleat.