Chapter 17: Suddenly, a spring breeze came
Song Yang returned to Greg's home in the middle of the night. In a daze, he felt a pair of cool little hands reaching into his quilt, and then heard the laughter of Millia.
"Brother, a gift!"
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Millia's little face in front of him, looking at Song Yang with anticipation.
Song Yang looked confused at this time. Seeing that Song Yang seemed to have forgotten everything, Millia pouted her lips immediately. A thunderstorm was about to come. Song Yang remembered that when he left a few days ago, he did tell this girl that he would bring her a gift when he returned.
"There are gifts, of course!"
Song Yang put Milia on the bed and said, "I'm planning to take you to Toys R Us to buy it this week when you have a day off!"
"Really?" Millia looked at Song Yang with her round eyes, expectant but also somewhat unbelieving.
Song Yang readily agreed, "Of course, we'll go together and call Gallo and the others, maybe we can even go to the amusement park!"
"And Logan!" Millia didn't forget her second brother.
Millia went downstairs and Song Yang got up. As his mind began to clear up, Song Yang naturally began to think about the advertising. However, there was no computer in Greg's house, and Song Yang was about to go to Devers School, so he could only wait until he came back.
When Song Yang arrived at Devers School, the online websites of Netscape, Yahoo, and Wired magazine all began to launch the first digital advertisement pushed by DoubleClick Advertising Company.
Thomas, who was sleeping on the floor in an office building in Silicon Valley, got up sleepily, made a cup of coffee, and turned on his computer.
There are countless people like Thomas in Silicon Valley. Like Yahoo, they are Internet startups, or gold diggers. Some people, like Thomas, even set up a company single-handedly and started developing websites, hoping to be invested in by venture capital companies like Netscape.
After Thomas turned on the computer, he went straight into the Netscape browser. These days, there weren't many places to go on the Internet other than Netscape.
But today's Netscape seemed a little different from usual. Thomas, a developer, could tell the difference at a glance.
When Thomas opened a web page, he saw a banner with the words "You Will" on it. Curiosity is human nature, and those engaged in research and development are no exception. Thomas clicked on the banner directly, and the linked web page was opened.
Among the linked web pages, Thomas saw web pages of a number of buildings, including the Louvre in France, the Library of Congress in America, and the Warhol Museum.
The image quality of the web pages is not very high, about the same as buying a large Marvel picture album, but for Thomas, this is a shocking virtual journey. Through these web pages, he saw the portrait of Mona Lisa, Warhol's works in Pittsburgh, etc. Behind these web pages is a "You Will" logo, and at the end there is the logo of the Telegraph and Wire Company and a sentence, "Technology creates miracles"!
After reading it several times, Thomas suddenly realized that it was an advertisement from AT&T.
Thomas clicked on the web ad links, just like "Open Sesame". Every time he opened it, it seemed like something he had never experienced before. It was a dreamlike experience for Thomas.
Looking at the banner ads on the webpage, Thomas keenly felt that the Internet industry seemed to be undergoing changes.
This banner ad appeared not only on Netscape, but also on Yahoo, Wired magazine's online websites, etc. This ad also appeared today, which attracted the attention of the entire Internet and technology industry.
In the latest issue of Wired magazine, which was just published today, the editor-in-chief Kevin Kelly personally wrote a report in bold and colorful terms, declaring that "this is the new first year of the Internet!"
"Netscape and this magazine launched the world's first digital advertisement, introducing digital advertising on the Internet, which helped the Internet industry solve the problem that has plagued the industry for countless years: how to make a profit!"
“If the scale of Internet digital advertising can be expanded, the Internet will not only be able to make profits by selling software, but will also make profits from digital advertising like TV stations and newspapers.
Not only that, the introduction of Internet digital advertising will enable more websites to survive, and the Internet will enter a new era! "
Wired magazine is praising the digital advertisement that went online today, saying that the emergence of digital advertising has solved the dilemma of the Internet's inability to make profits, and has even risen to the point where it concerns the survival of the Internet industry.
Now Wired magazine has a huge influence in the technology industry. When Wired magazine starts to hype it up, naturally more people will start to pay attention.
Although it is not known whether digital advertising is as important as Wired magazine touts, many technology media have begun reporting on it.
Netscape, which was preparing to go public, also began to take advantage of the opportunity to promote its products, continuously increasing its popularity and claiming that Netscape had found a new way to make profits.
As the "darling" of Silicon Valley and a rising star on Wall Street, Netscape has much greater influence than Wired magazine. If this time it was Wired magazine and DoubleClick Advertising Company, the influence might have been limited to public opinion in the technology community and would not have attracted the attention of Wall Street at all.
But when it comes to Netscape, it’s different. Wall Street is now praising Netscape, and venture capital companies throughout Silicon Valley and investment institutions in the United States are all looking forward to Netscape.
The only thing that bothered Netscape, or was criticized by the outside world, was that Netscape could not make a profit. It would be difficult to support Netscape's inflated market value of one billion US dollars simply by charging for the browser.
But after the concept of digital advertising emerged, Netscape didn't need to say much, Wall Street began to take action, and their ability to act was much stronger than that of Wired magazine.
When Wall Street was driving the public opinion machine, America's mainstream technology and financial television stations, newspapers, etc. began to report extensively that "Netscape has launched a new profit model"!
Regardless of what digital advertising is and whether it can make money, in the eyes of these media, Internet digital advertising is the panacea to solve Netscape’s predicament.
When Song Yang returned to the garage and saw the background data, he was also surprised. The click-through rate of the advertisement placed on Netscape today was over 44%. What a concept! Nearly half of ten people opened the advertisement webpage. This conversion rate simply beats traditional media.
Looking at the click rate of this advertisement and then looking at Netscape's actions today, Song Yang had a hunch that Netscape might make a big move.
"Song, today Netscape, Wired magazine, and a company called Yahoo all called you!" Gallo said to Song Yang.
Just as he finished speaking, the phone in the garage rang again. After Gallo answered the call, he immediately showed a surprised expression and mouthed to Song Yang, "Jim Clark from Netscape!"
After dealing with the Internet industry for the past few days, Gallo has gotten to know some Internet figures, and Jim Clark is undoubtedly one of the big names among them.
Song Yang took the call, adjusted his mood, and said to the phone, "Jim, congratulations, the advertising effect is very good!"
Jim Clark's laughter came over the phone, and he seemed to be in a good mood. "Song, you have a share in this, too. DoubleClick is a partner of Netscape!"
Listening to Jim's voice that seemed to have hidden meaning, Song Yang felt that Jim seemed to have something to say.
The noise on the phone was much quieter. Apparently Jim Clark had changed his seat. "Song, I hope DoubleClick Advertising can sign a strategic cooperation agreement with Netscape as soon as possible!"
Hearing him bring up this matter, Song Yang naturally would not refuse, "Of course no problem!"
"In addition, I hope that you and DoubleClick Advertising Company can cooperate with Netscape's promotion," Jim said casually, "Next year, Netscape plans to generate more than 10 million US dollars in digital advertising revenue!"
Song Yang, holding the phone, stood there with his mouth wide open, and almost cursed Jim Clark through the phone.
This is simply bragging without thinking. The little cow is pulling the plane, and Niu Bi is flying into the sky. As soon as he came up, he dropped a bombshell. Song Yang is not sure whether Double Click Advertising Company can survive until next year. Jim Clark actually dared to claim that Netscape can sell for more than 10 million US dollars next year just by advertising fees. How can Song Yang find so many big companies to advertise for him?
Then Song Yang calmed down, thinking about Jim's words, and shouted the slogan of earning 10 million US dollars through advertising. It was obviously for the purpose of going public. This was definitely not his decision alone, but must have represented the intention of Wall Street.
Jim did not urge Song Yang, as if he knew that Song Yang had calmed down. Jim then said, "I am optimistic about the development of DoubleClick Advertising Company, and I hope Netscape can continue to cooperate with DoubleClick Advertising Company. Netscape will not treat any partner unfairly!"
This is a blatant hint. If they cooperate with Netscape, then Netscape will help DoubleClick Advertising Company. If they do not cooperate, Netscape will definitely kick DoubleClick Advertising Company out and replace it with someone obedient.
This is a multiple-choice question. Even though he knew there was a trap, Song Yang had no choice. Netscape is the only leg that DoubleClick Advertising Company can hold on to.
Song Yang responded, "Double Click Advertising Company, of course we are confident that we can provide Netscape with an advertising market worth more than 10 million US dollars next year. You are Netscape!"
Jim Clark couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Song, I'll be waiting for you in Silicon Valley. Of course, I hope you can handle the media as well!"
After hanging up the phone, Jim raised his glass to several Silicon Valley and Wall Street tycoons standing beside him, then said with a smile, "A very interesting young man who knows the rules!"
Song Yang hung up the phone, and the last words on the phone were Jim warning Song Yang not to talk nonsense in front of the media.
Early the next morning, when Song Yang was eating breakfast made by Dana at Greg's house, he finally understood why Jim Clark called him in a hurry last night.
"Wall Street institutions have once again raised their estimates of Netscape's market value. Market feedback from investors shows that they are very optimistic about Netscape's digital advertising strategy. Netscape's president, Barksdale, announced that Netscape's digital advertising revenue is expected to exceed US$10 million next year... Netscape's market value has now reached a staggering US$1.1 billion!"
