Chapter 543 You Are Not Even an Opponent
On July 2, a piece of news suddenly broke out on Wall Street.
James Chanos, who built his empire by stepping on Michael Mickens and the junk bond empire, publicly expressed pessimism about the stock price of Fun Facts in an interview with American Economic Television.
In the show, he looked cold and said in a sharp tone: "Rejecting cooperation with advertisers may temporarily increase the traffic of interesting news, but that only looks good in data. In fact, it greatly reduces the commercial value of interesting news."
This shocked the reporters, who quickly asked, "But even the world's richest man, Bill Gates, is a shareholder of Quwen. Does Bill Gates have a problem with his investment vision? Moreover, Bill Gates has invested 200 million US dollars to build a software industrial park with Lu Yiming in Zhonghai City, Xia Country."
Facing the reporter's doubts, James Chanos appeared very confident and even said with a proud look on his face: "In the field of portal websites, Yahoo, as a pioneer, has not been able to find a way to make money other than advertising. As an imitator, what better way can Xiaguo Internet companies come up with?"
At this point, James Chanos made a direct judgment: "The correct route now is to rely on advertising to get through the money-burning stage and find new profit growth. If Fun News cuts advertising, it will directly destroy the hope of waiting for a turnaround. How long can pure money-burning last? I am not optimistic about this method. Maybe before dawn, Fun News will disappear in the darkness."
As the founder of the Knicks United Fund, James Chanos is best at making money by shorting listed companies, and now the whole Wall Street knows that Chanos is bearish.
What’s even more terrible is that the reasons James Chanos gave were quite sufficient - even Yahoo makes money from advertising, so why should you, a mere Internet company from Xia country, be so different?
Therefore, as soon as this news was broadcast, the stock price of Quwen immediately fell and was coldly received by the entire market.
Some American stockholders who originally bought stocks of Interesting Stories could not help but curse and criticize Lu Yiming, believing that this was tantamount to fraud.
In a hotel, Ding Sanshi, who saw the news, slammed the table hard and felt his whole body clear: "Well done! I finally got rid of my anger! Interesting news, right? You want to block my listing, right? You want to mess with me, right? You deserve to be shorted. Who told you not to do your job..."
While he was cursing, the phone on the table rang. Ding Sanshi answered it cheerfully: "Hello?"
"Boss, our NetEase's intraday quotation has fallen again."
Ding Sanshi's expression froze, and he shouted, "What's UP! What happened this time?"
The subordinate said depressedly: "We are the innocent ones who have been affected. Now the investors in the US stocks all think that Xiaguo's portal website is not very good."
"I lost..."
Ding Lei collapsed on the sofa as if he had been struck by lightning, like a salted fish, feeling extremely desperate.
When others have a new version and become awesome, my stock price drops. When others are shorted and criticized, my stock price also drops?
Who the hell did I offend?
Destroy it, quickly, I’m tired.
However, Zhang Chaoyang was in an even worse mood. Ding Sanshi had managed to get NetEase listed, but he hadn't had the chance to get on board yet. The stocks in his hands were completely worthless pieces of paper, and he had no way to cash out.
Those securities firms that were originally willing to underwrite Sohu's stock are now backing off one by one. After all, both Quwen and NetEase, the two major Chinese portal websites, have fallen so badly, why should Sohu be an exception?
You, Zhang Chaoyang, dare to gamble, but we are not willing to go crazy with you!
Just like that, Zhang Chaoyang, who was cruelly rejected, didn't stop talking all the way back to the hotel where he was staying. He almost turned into a Zaun madman, and cursed Lu Yiming's ancestors for generations.
If murder wasn't against the law, he would have been planning to buy a gun now.
Xia country.
When the news that the three major portals had suffered a setback on NASDAQ spread back to China, there was an uproar within the huge Internet community.
Even some celebrities in the financial industry have spoken out.
As Zhonghai's stock god, Wang Xiujie certainly would not miss such an opportunity to criticize Lu Yiming. He immediately shouted in a program: "Lu Yiming's previous behavior was simply to raise the stock price by hype, which was suspected of cutting leeks. This move seriously affected the image of our Xiaguo Internet companies abroad. I hope Lu Yiming can stand up and apologize to the public."
Even the host sitting opposite him didn't dare to respond: "You want Mr. Lu to apologize?"
Wang Xiujie replied righteously: "Of course, this is the conscience that financial industry practitioners should have, and it is also the responsibility that an investor should have."
host:"……"
"Hello, audience friends. Thank you very much, Professor Wang, for sharing his views. This is the end of our program. See you next time."
Wang Xiujie: “…”
After the program was broadcast, domestic media immediately rushed to report Wang Xiujie's remarks. They wished that Lu Yiming and Wang Xiujie would fight each other directly, so that their news would be explosive and eye-catching enough.
The pressure instantly came to Lu Yiming.
After all, things like "cutting leeks" are really hated by the majority of retail investors, and Wang Xiujie's "accusations" against Lu Yiming directly pushed him to the forefront.
Lu Yiming is naturally not the kind of person who would not fight back when being insulted. After all, he knows a lot about playing with public opinion.
So he quickly instructed his subordinates to arrange a grand press conference. When they heard that Mr. Lu was willing to be interviewed, financial newspapers and magazines with a certain reputation across the country immediately sent special reporters to Zhonghai to interview him.
The venue was bustling with hundreds of people gathered.
One of the reporters, who was wearing a light grey suit, stood up and asked first, “Mr. Lu, many people now think that you are maliciously manipulating the stock price and damaging the interests of shareholders. Do you have anything to explain about this?”
Lu Yiming looked relaxed and said with a smile: "What's there to explain? Even if I'm really cutting leeks, I'm cutting American leeks. The master hasn't even spoken yet, but the lackey can't sit still? I'd like to ask this person surnamed Wang, is he a citizen of Xia Country or an American citizen? Does he have a green card? Why are you so hard at work defending your master?"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.
At this time, the relationship between Xiaguo and the United States was not very good, and it had not been long since the bombing of the embassy. At this time, Lu Yiming directly said that Wang Xiujie was a lackey of the United States, which could be said to be very sharp.
Then, Lu Yiming solemnly clarified: "As for the operational problems of Fun News, it is even more ridiculous. James Chanos is a financial person, he knows nothing about the Internet. Fun News' new business will be launched soon, and by then, profitability will no longer be a hindrance to the development of Internet companies."
When the reporters heard this, they became excited.
"Mr. Lu is worthy of being Mr. Lu. He speaks very decisively. Even when facing foreigners, he doesn't show any fear."
"Mr. Lu, what is the new business of Quwen?"
Faced with the curiosity of the reporters, Lu Yiming certainly would not miss this opportunity to promote the news, and immediately said: "Quwen has officially cooperated with China Overseas Mobile and plans to launch a monthly news SMS service. The service includes several practical packages, such as weather forecasts, current news information, especially sports and financial sections, which can help mobile phone users get the best information services. Just spend a few dollars to be one step ahead and get the latest and most complete information and news."
If the sports section is mainly about leisure and entertainment, then the services in the finance section directly involve money, which is very practical.
Especially for those users who are often on the go and cannot sit in front of the computer desk all the time, whether they can get financial information in a timely manner may even mean the difference between life and death.
For example, if a stock you hold is plummeting and you are completely unaware of it, by the time you react, it may have already become a complete loss.
For news media professionals, this service is also very practical. Hotspots are pushed directly to your mobile phone via SMS. Aren’t you ahead of your peers?
All of a sudden, these reporters were jealous. After all, following hot topics and creating topics were their jobs. The feature launched by Lu Yiming was perfect for them.
"Mr. Lu, when will this business be launched?"
Lu Yiming, who had been prepared for a long time, also announced directly at this time: "In three days, the monthly news SMS service will be officially launched. We have also specially developed a SMS message comment function, allowing users to express their opinions and comments under the news section. You can try out the specific functions and gameplay after it goes online."
When the reporters heard that they would be able to use this monthly service in three days, they immediately became excited.
Quwen simply cut out all advertisements and launched a mobile phone subscription service to make money. This is much smarter than those companies that only use cliché advertising.
The most important thing is that it costs money to subscribe to newspapers. Not only is it inconvenient to pick up a newspaper, but it can only be read in certain occasions. Unlike mobile phones, which can be held in your hand and access the latest and most complete news anytime and anywhere, the gap is huge. In a sense, this is a revolutionary progress.
After the interview, Lu Yiming said, "Everyone, don't leave in a hurry. Thank you for your hard work in interviewing us today. Our company has just made a batch of cultural and creative products, and we hope to give them to you all to try out. After you use them, remember to give us feedback in the Fun Facts Exchange Area. You can go to our front desk to pick them up later."
They came to interview and received gifts. The atmosphere suddenly opened up and the reporters were overjoyed.
"Mr. Lu is generous."
"It's Mr. Lu who understands us."
Reporters lined up backstage to receive their gifts. When they opened the box, they found a gold-plated Hero brand pen with a market value of about 200 yuan, as well as an exquisite keychain. These items were all printed with interesting brand logos, and they were definitely custom-made, looking very classy.
Even if you don't use it yourself, you can give it to someone else and it will give you face!
As the saying goes, a man who eats someone's food will be soft-hearted, and a man who takes someone's money will be obliged to do his best to speak well of Mr. Lu after he returns.
After finishing all these, Lu Yiming returned to the office and lay down on the sofa comfortably. He said to Li Yiwen, "Cousin, make me a pot of tea. I'm thirsty."
Li Yiwen said as he made tea, "You are really good at playing. You used the leftovers from the company's purchases to bribe these reporters. They will be too embarrassed to say bad things about you when they go back."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "That's right, resources are meant to be used. If I were to say, I have to thank this Lao Wang. If he hadn't come forward, I wouldn't have found a reason to spread this news."
"really."
The next day, before the interesting news service was officially launched, it was successfully reported by journalists and media, attracting a lot of attention. In particular, domestic mobile phone users rushed to tell each other that Lu Yiming's solution was exactly what they wanted.
For anecdotes, the SMS market is also a "panacea" for revival.
You should know that as early as March 2000, the number of mobile phone users in Xiaguo officially exceeded 50 million, and China Mobile became the world's second largest telecommunications operator.
With such a huge base, even if only one percent of users choose interesting stories, it would be an unimaginable huge profit.
It can be imagined that as the first person to try something new, Anecdotes will definitely make a lot of money.
As for capital, they are not fools either. As long as money is involved, their reactions are faster than lightning.
The market's response was so enthusiastic that the news soon reached the other side of the ocean. The stock price, which had originally fallen to around seven dollars, immediately began to soar like a rocket.
Wall Street, Nasdaq Stock Exchange.
The stock price of Quwen has been skyrocketing, causing many retail investors who were slow to realize the situation to become suspicious.
What's going on?
Didn’t everyone collectively predict the future?
Compared with the confusion of retail investors, some well-informed stock brokers have already begun to buy up stocks in the secondary market and frantically buy interesting stocks.
Even some people who couldn't get the Quwen stocks started scrambling for NetEase stocks, so that NetEase, which had been ignored a few days ago, has suddenly become very popular.
Ding Sanshi was a little confused when he saw the pie in the sky while he was sitting at home. He asked his subordinates again and found out that it was Lu Yiming who launched the new project of monthly SMS news subscription in China.
NetEase did nothing and was completely carried away. After all, as a portal website, NetEase can do the same things that Quwen can do.
But at this moment, Ding Sanshi's mood was very complicated. He didn't know whether he should be happy or angry. After all, he now realized that Lu Yiming did not intend to target NetEase before .
But the more this happened, the more uncomfortable he felt. After all, not being targeted meant that his opponents didn't take him seriously at all.
Or to put it bluntly, NetEase is not even worthy of being a rival to Fun Facts.
Being looked down upon is painful enough, let alone being directly ignored like this.
Ding Sanshi became angrier and angrier, and immediately yelled at his subordinates: "You are a bunch of rubbish. Why can't you come up with such a good business model?"
Subordinate: “???”
As the boss, haven’t you figured it out either?
If I could think of myself as a boss, why would I still be working for you here?
Although I was complaining in my heart, I only said it in my heart and dared not say it out loud. After all, life has to go on and I still have to get my salary.
"Boss Ding, you think too highly of us. Can we compare with Mr. Lu, the richest man?"
"that is."
Several executives who had cursed Lu Yiming when the stock price plummeted before now changed their words and said, "Yes, President Ding, there is only one richest man Lu in the world. He is the God of Wealth who has descended to earth. How can we compare to him?"
"Boss Ding, the most important thing now is that Mr. Lu has pointed out a clear path for our portal website. We at NetEase can also provide monthly subscription for news SMS!"
"Yes, the quick hand wins, the slow hand loses. In the final analysis, we are still faster than the unlisted Sohu."
Ding Sanshi felt very aggrieved, but he also understood that making money was the top priority at this time, so he immediately said, "Okay, let's also launch the monthly mobile push service as soon as possible."
Room 501, Hilton Hotel, Times Square, New York.
Zhang Chaoyang was packing his luggage with a gloomy face, preparing to return to China tomorrow. The expenses in this shabby place, New York, were too high and he really couldn't afford to live there.
He had spent money to stay at the Hilton in order to have a smooth roadshow, but now he didn't get any benefits. He was regretting it so much that he wanted to ask his senior executives to just hold on to a swimming ring and swim back to save money on air tickets.
At this moment, Zhang Chaoyang suddenly received a call from the securities firm.
"Mr. Zhang, after our company's consultation and discussion , we feel that Sohu's business model is very mature and fully feasible. We are willing to underwrite Sohu's shares."
Zhang Chaoyang was a little confused and couldn't help but retort: "Didn't you say yesterday that Sohu was rubbish and couldn't even tell a moving story? Why are you saying now that our business model is mature?"
As a Wall Street broker, they are naturally thick-skinned. In the face of Zhang Chaoyang's questioning, they still smiled: "Don't you have an old saying that cognition is a spiral? We didn't have enough knowledge of this business model before, so we made the mistake of empiricism. But after many meetings and discussions in our company and after fully exchanging opinions, we all agree that Sohu is an Internet company with great potential."
Zhang Chaoyang was completely stunned.
Where the hell did you foreigners steal this rhetoric from?
It's too bureaucratic.
Where is the free market? Why are you all talking about bureaucracy?
What exactly stimulated it?
Although he was suspicious and had a new understanding of the foreigners' inconsistency, Zhang Chaoyang had to put aside his pride and said, "Can I know the reason?"
“Of course. Do you know about Fun Facts’ mobile subscription service?”
Obviously, the new model created by Lu Yiming is like discovering a new world for many Internet companies that lack profit-making methods!
Text messaging allowed Internet companies, which had always been free, to receive revenue from users for the first time, and also made wireless technology providers suddenly a hot target for mergers and acquisitions.
As a result, portal websites have also become popular in the eyes of investors.
Zhang Chaoyang, who had experienced great ups and downs in his life in a short period of time, was a little breathless at this moment, and then his heart was pounding with excitement. He felt that this time he was definitely destined to be alive, otherwise how could he come back to life? It must be that God was helping him!
Suddenly he felt himself again.
