However, the one losing sleep tonight is not just Baidu chairman Li Yan, but also 360 chairman Lao Zhou!
The ambition of Lao Zhou, the leader in red, is extraordinary!
If there's anyone who most wants to challenge BAT's dominant position, it's 360's Lao Zhou!
Just the standalone 360 Security Guard and antivirus software were not enough to contend with BAT; instead, Tencent PC Manager snatched away half of its market share!
This put Lao Zhou in a critical situation, forcing him to focus on the search market, hoping to turn the tide.
However, search engines are highly technical, making it too difficult to develop one independently.
Moreover, with Baidu's dominant position, even if one were developed, it would be extremely hard to seize market share.
So Lao Zhou made up his mind to directly acquire Sogou!
After many communications, Lao Zhou offered a fair price, and Zhang Yang had no objections, but Wang Dachuan rejected it every time!
He claimed it was due to conflicting philosophies, stating that Sogou needed independent development!
Lao Zhou was furious about this, but there was nothing he could do.
After all, Sogou was founded by Wang Dachuan, and if he didn't agree, Zhang Yang couldn't persuade him either.
But Lao Zhou hadn't given up and was still thinking about how to acquire Sogou, yet now it had been directly taken by Wang Yi, and it was a complete acquisition!
This made Lao Zhou's face contort with anger!
That feeling was like his dreamed-of goddess, whom he had pursued relentlessly for a year, constantly rejected, never even getting to hold her hand.
But as soon as Wang Yi appeared, after just one meeting, the goddess ran off with Wang Yi!
She even brought all her assets and conveniently blocked Lao Zhou!
How could Lao Zhou not be angry at such a differential attitude?
He was absolutely furious!
Fuming with anger, Lao Zhou threw a cup, shouting:
"Wang Dachuan! You're too much of a bully! How have I, Lao Zhou, wronged you?"
"Why is it that no matter how much I begged you, even offering shares, you wouldn't sell? Now Wang Yi comes, and after just one time, you directly agree!"
"From the acquisition proposal to stock repurchase to the completion of the acquisition, it only took a few days!"
"This is truly going too far!"
"It's outrageous!"
Such an outburst startled his wife, who quickly comforted him:
"Lao Zhou, don't be angry, it's just a Sogou, isn't it? If Wang Yi acquired it, then he acquired it. As long as it wasn't acquired by Baidu, it's fine!"
"What do you know?"
Lao Zhou said angrily:
"Without Sogou, we can only build our own search engine. Although it's under development, progress is too slow. Even if we hastily launch it next year, both the search accuracy and database breadth will be unsatisfactory. Forget comparing it to Baidu, it's far worse than Sogou!"
His wife furrowed her brows slightly:
"Lao Zhou, we have the 360 browser, couldn't we just integrate it directly then?"
Lao Zhou shook his head:
"Search engines are incredibly complex. Sogou started in 2004 and after more than seven years of development, still only has a few percentage points of market share. Our 360 Search started even later, which is also a problem."
"Even if we directly integrate 360 Search through the 360 browser, we won't instantly gain so many users. Many 360 browser users will still choose Baidu Search and Sogou Search!"
"What if we directly block Baidu Search and Sogou Search, and make 360 users use 360 Search exclusively?"
Lao Zhou sighed:
"That's just wishful thinking. No matter how you restrict it, users can still directly open Baidu Search's webpage and use it. Not only can it not be restricted, but it might also cause user resentment, leading them to abandon the 360 browser!"
"You're right. That makes it difficult!"
His wife also fell silent.
Lao Zhou's face darkened, and he was seething with anger:
"Chairman Wang's move is a masterstroke for Xingyi Technology, but it's a stab in the back for me! Alas, 360 Search's already difficult future has just become even harder!"
"I'll remember this!"
His wife's expression subtly changed:
"Then couldn't we just give up on 360 Search and only focus on the 360 browser and cybersecurity?"
Lao Zhou shook his head again:
"No, that won't work. Before, Baidu had no browser, only a search engine, and our 360 browser was the second largest, with a market share of over 30%. But now, Baidu has also started making a browser!"
"Baidu Browser + Baidu Search Engine, who can withstand that? Our 360 browser's market share has already dropped by 4%, and it will continue to decline."
"Lao Zhou, listening to you, I somehow feel this isn't a Sogou problem, nor a Chairman Wang problem. It's a Baidu problem!"
"???"
Lao Zhou looked bewildered:
"What do you mean by that?"
"Look, in the search engine domain, Baidu dominates with a 76% market share. Sogou only has a few percentage points. For 360 Search to grow, grabbing Sogou's few percentage points isn't very meaningful; we need to grab Baidu's share!"
Lao Zhou nodded:
"That makes sense."
His wife continued:
"It's the same in the browser domain. Baidu Browser is seizing the 360 browser's market. If we want to survive, we must take down Baidu Browser!"
Lao Zhou nodded:
"You're right, it truly is the case. You're right, the key isn't Sogou, it's still Baidu! Only by taking down Baidu can we survive! Similarly, only by taking down Baidu can Sogou survive! Only then can Xingyi Video grow!"
"Exactly, that's the logic. We need to clearly identify our main opponent! So, whether it's Sogou or Chairman Wang, we shouldn't make enemies; in fact, we can unite to tackle Baidu together."
"Wife, you really see things clearly!"
Lao Zhou nodded:
"I'll visit Chairman Wang another day to see if there's an opportunity to cooperate and tackle Baidu together!"
His wife smiled slightly:
"That's right. If the second and third don't team up against the first, but instead fight among themselves, that's just foolish!"
"Wife, you're always so thoughtful!"
Lao Zhou suddenly realized, almost overcome by anger! As for Google, it was not a concern.
Ever since Google announced its withdrawal, it had been on a downward trend.
Whether the entire search domain survives in the future depends entirely on whether Baidu can be taken down.
"We need to study Baidu's weaknesses and then launch an attack!"
Lao Zhou hugged his wife, but his thoughts were still on Baidu...
Xingyi Technology Park.
Wang Yi paid no attention to the trending topics, instead, he was contemplating how to better integrate Sogou and Meiyou's resources, and how to take on Baidu Search!
Currently, Meiyou, besides the Meiyou Mall with its hot-selling apparel and beauty products, is also a vertical-market APP!
The Meiyou APP has core functions such as tracking menstrual cycles, preparation for pregnancy, and parenting tips.
Whether it's women who are not yet pregnant, pregnant women, or women raising children, they all rely on Meiyou!
There's also a social square, which has become a daily communication base for many women.
In the current Meiyou social square, numerous women interact daily, sharing their lives, experiences, and fashion tips...
Many gynecological experts have also opened verified accounts, posting numerous important popular science articles explaining various issues.
For example, explaining the dangers of certain external activities, the importance of condoms, the unreliability of the "seven before, eight after" method, how girls can protect themselves, and which months during pregnancy certain activities should be avoided...
These professional and important popular science articles attracted high attention, garnered many followers, and even turned several experts into online celebrity experts!
Originally, these experts were invited by Meiyou from the maternal and child hospital in Jeju Province for interviews and published public welfare popular science articles.
Initially, they only cooperated due to the hospital director's request.
But now, by a strange coincidence, these experts have become online celebrity experts, gaining hundreds of thousands of followers and significantly increasing their visibility!
This put the experts in a great mood, and they actively started posting more public welfare popular science articles, even logging in after work to interact with netizens and answer various questions...
Moreover, a person-to-person traffic fission also occurred.
Seeing that Deputy Director Lao Qian had become a Meiyou online celebrity doctor, Director Lao Sun couldn't sit still either, and decisively uploaded his information, opened a verified account, and started posting!
Seeing that Director Lao Sun's followers had reached hundreds of thousands, Deputy Director Lao Meng also took action!
Consequently, more and more doctors verified their accounts on Meiyou, opened accounts, posted popular science articles, and answered difficult questions...
This caused the value of Meiyou's posts to skyrocket.
Wang Yi even directly instructed the Meiyou department to roll out a small upgrade, specifically creating a Q&A channel—Meiyou Q&A! Similar to Baidu Knows!
Of course, Meiyou only provides the platform and is not responsible for the Q&A content.
It also requires doctors to only provide popular science advice, not diagnoses!
At most, they can say that a certain disease or condition will exhibit certain symptoms, and suggest getting a specific examination at a local top-tier (Grade A, Class III) or second-tier (Grade A, Class II) hospital, with all results subject to hospital examination...
This way, no adverse effects will be caused.
These Q&A contents are very valuable database resources, specifically precise data in the maternal and child health field.
Baidu is powerful because you can search for anything there.
Similarly, in the future, both Sogou Search and Xingyi AI will also need such a powerful database.
And this maternal and child Q&A communication between female users and doctors is the best maternal and child big data!
In addition, there are other Q&A channels, such as cooking exchange, parenting exchange, work exchange, fashion exchange, travel exchange, civil service exam preparation exchange, postgraduate exam preparation exchange, certification exam preparation exchange, and so on.
Wang Yi had the Meiyou department subdivide and establish various interest groups.
Then, based on user profile information and posting history, Big Data 1.0 is used for tag-based content pushing, allowing Meiyou users to see topics and posts they are interested in, find like-minded friends, and interact cordially.
Similarly, various questions raised by users will also be pushed via big data to other users and experts in relevant fields, inviting them to answer.
High-quality answers can earn points, achieve 'expert' status, receive badges, attract followers, increase Meiyou level, and even obtain official expert certification!
Those bloggers are naturally willing to post and share, and willing to answer with high-quality responses!
Gaining followers and traffic is the biggest attraction!
Once expert sharing and Q&A content are fully enriched, Meiyou's big data across all aspects of life, such as maternal and child big data, recipe big data, fashion big data, and parenting big data, will all be perfected!
Next, it will be integrated with the Sogou database, introducing Sogou Search.
Similarly, Sogou Search will also incorporate the Meiyou database, thus achieving a perfect closed loop.
In the future, young girls experiencing their first period, ignorant and confused, can use Meiyou Search for help.
Those who engage in high-risk X behavior can also search on Meiyou for how to best remedy the situation, where to get preventative medication, get tested...
Girls focused on civil service exams or certification exams to improve themselves can also use Meiyou to find various resources, help, and strategies.
Bloggers decorating their homes can also search on Meiyou for various renovation plans, tips to avoid furniture pitfalls...
...
It can be said that in the future, all kinds of problems and solutions related to women's daily lives—clothing, food, housing, and transportation—can be found on Meiyou!
This is the most valuable big data!
As a result, Meiyou's user base is growing, the number of followers is increasing, and user engagement time is also getting higher and higher!
Many users will consider Meiyou an essential software for frequent use.
When they encounter problems, they will no longer blindly search on Baidu or ask around, but instead directly search on Meiyou!
For no other reason than that the search results on Meiyou are more professional, more precise, more current, and more perfect!
After all, women understand women better; some things, men truly don't get.
In fact, in his past life, many girls, when encountering problems, wouldn't use Baidu but would search on Xiaohongshu.
That's because Xiaohongshu has various posts and expert shares, making it far more perfect than Baidu in the women's domain, so Baidu was naturally abandoned.
Similarly, Meiyou reaching this point, doing it earlier, more precisely, and more comprehensively than Xiaohongshu, can also completely capture female users!
Allowing the vast majority of female users to abandon Baidu and choose Meiyou, choose Sogou Search!
Of course, all this Meiyou big data will, like Taobao, block Baidu crawlers, prohibiting Baidu from crawling it!
This way, in the female search domain, Baidu will be completely inferior to Meiyou and Sogou!
Then Meiyou and Sogou will be able to capture the female user base!
Later, they will create a digital technology portal website and an ACG (anime, comics, games) portal website to capture a portion of the male user market.
The digital technology portal website will focus on digital tech information, and the ACG portal website will focus on anime, novels, etc., also completely banning Baidu crawlers!
Gradually eroding and segmenting Baidu Search's market and users, redirecting users to Sogou Search!
This is entirely feasible!
Currently, Sogou's database is somewhat inferior to Baidu's, but the gap between the two isn't too large.
For regular content, if Baidu can find it, Sogou can find it too.
For very specialized content, if Sogou can't find it accurately, Baidu is also useless.
Furthermore, although Wang Yi acquired Sogou, the cooperation between Sogou and Sohu still exists.
The Sohu portal website still features the Sogou search engine, and the Sogou search engine still has information data from the Sohu portal website.
Both parties benefit from cooperation.
Therefore, in terms of news and information on portal websites, Sogou is no worse than Baidu.
Subsequently, as long as Sogou performs more professionally than Baidu in vertical segmented fields such as women's interests, digital technology, and ACG, coupled with Wang Yi's resources and integration into Xingyi phones, surpassing Baidu and overthrowing it will only be a matter of time!
The day Sogou rises will be the best time for Sogou to go public!
And the moment Sogou surpasses Baidu will be the day Sogou's stock price skyrockets and Baidu collapses!
To this end, Wang Yi quickly created a work group, bringing together several Meiyou managers and Wang Dachuan from Sogou, and arranged for them to coordinate their work.
And he informed Wang Dachuan to quickly create a digital technology portal website and an ACG portal website to take on Baidu in vertical markets!
After arranging these matters, Wang Yi opened Weibo to check the trending topics and public opinion.
He found that many netizens were criticizing Baidu and supporting Xingyi Technology.
No other reason than that young people are mostly fascinated by Xingyi Technology, and have even become fans of it.
Male users inherently prefer digital technology.
The Xingyi xphone 1 burst onto the scene, and with its various advantages, it outperformed Samsung, stomped on Apple, and was hailed as the phone of the year, directly attracting countless fans.
The epoch-making X buds even made many stubborn Apple fans buy them!
Even die-hard fans would say Xingyi Technology was just so-so, while using their X buds with great fondness...
The main point is that actions speak louder than words.
As for female users, it goes without saying that the emergence of Meiyou's "innocent yet seductive" style attracted many female fans.
It can be said that there isn't a single woman who dislikes Meiyou!
The clothes are beautiful, and the beauty brands are reliable and affordable.
The maternal and child popular science, and women's Q&A on Meiyou have also garnered countless fans.
And Meiyou Novels, which currently has over seven million users!
Moreover, the payment rate is very high, over half!
These people are loyal fans of Meiyou, and naturally also loyal fans of Xingyi Technology!
And Xingyi Video's sign-in for membership also attracted many casual fans!
Among the current 500 million internet users, seven out of ten people who have heard of Xingyi Technology are fans and support Xingyi Technology.
Nearly 30% of casual observers are not hostile towards Xingyi Technology; instead, they hope Xingyi Technology rises and takes down European and American giants.
True anti-fans of Xingyi Technology are very rare.
Even die-hard iPhone 4s fans would curse while watching Xingyi videos, listening to Xingyi music, and using X buds.
It can be said that Xingyi Technology has a good brand image, many fans, and good public appeal!
Baidu, however, is different. Its search results often prioritize pirated information and advertisements, a long-standing complaint among users.
Now, to suppress competitors, it directly banned Xingyi Video, making Baidu's already poor reputation even worse!
Consequently, not only did Xingyi Technology's fans rise up to resist and boycott Baidu, but many casual observers also couldn't stand it!
As soon as Wang Yi's acquisition of Sogou hit the trending topics, public opinion in the comment section split into two factions!
One faction supported Xingyi Technology!
The other faction criticized Baidu and boycotted Baidu!
"Chairman Wang is mighty! Baidu Search blocks, he directly acquires Sogou Search!"
"1.65 billion! He just acquired it like that, Chairman Wang is too dominant!"
"He truly is my idol! I'm uninstalling Baidu Browser and switching to Sogou now!"
"Sogou is quite good, has fewer ads, a clean page, and is as easy to use as Sogou Input Method."
"Baidu has too many ads; out of twenty search results, five can be ads. It's ridiculous."
"Don't even mention it, they've lost all shame just to earn advertising fees. The hospital ads on there are all scams!"
"Yes, a girlfriend of mine went for an abortion and searched for a private hospital. They quoted 4,000, but halfway through the surgery, they demanded more money... if she didn't agree, they would stop!"
"My girlfriend was on the operating table, how could she refuse? She swiped her credit card for 10,000 and almost died on the operating table!
Later, she went to Meiyou Q&A and found out those were Putian-affiliated hospitals, notorious for scams.
The Meiyou Q&A expert explicitly said that for an abortion, go to a top-tier (Grade A, Class III) hospital; it's safe and reliable, only two or three thousand. Painless ones are only three to five thousand!
The Putian-affiliated hospitals just make you waste money and suffer for nothing!"
"Don't even get me started, another girlfriend of mine, who originally just had inflammation, ended up searching for a Putian-affiliated hospital and was treated for an X disease!
Damn it, she later asked a maternal and child director on Meiyou Q&A to find out the cause, then went to a top-tier hospital for examination and treatment."
"Girls, it seems you can't trust Baidu when you're sick; Meiyou Q&A is more reliable!"
"Yes, the doctors answering on Meiyou Q&A are all certified directors and deputy directors from top-tier hospitals, and they are not allowed to include any advertising."
"By the way, what is Meiyou Q&A?"
"Meiyou Q&A is a new feature launched by Meiyou recently, integrating various maternal and child questions, fashion Q&A, renovation Q&A, food Q&A, and more. There are also experts from various fields sharing tips and experiences."
"Especially for Q&A in the medical field, seeking certified directors from top-tier hospitals won't cause problems. It's much better than the Putian-affiliated ones."
"Sisters, trust me, if you have any problems in the future, go to Meiyou Q&A, absolutely do not trust Baidu's ads, they are unreliable!"
"I see, then Baidu can't stay, I'm uninstalling it now, and I'll use Meiyou from now on!"
"By the way, can boys use Meiyou Q&A? A friend of mine is curious."
"Actually, I don't recommend boys download Meiyou. After all, many sisters share fashion tips and have sexy, hot figures, so please don't come."
"If you say that, then I must download it and criticize you thoroughly! How can this be? The world is truly going downhill!"
"I have a friend who also needs some criticism."
"Damn, you guys found this trick too? My long-legged girlfriend in black stockings was found on Meiyou!"
"Holy crap! Awesome! How did you do it? Please guide me, master, I'm all ears!"
"I'm listening on my knees!"
"I'm listening prostrate!"
"It's not hard. My girlfriend shared her outfits and showed off her figure, and I commented and praised them a lot. Later, we found out we both loved playing 'Defend the Pomelo,' so we started chatting. The more we talked, the more compatible we found each other, and one thing led to another..."
"Honestly, this idea really works. All girls use Meiyou; in other words, Meiyou has the most girls! Getting out of singleness depends on Meiyou!"
"Huh? Meiyou was made by Chairman Wang for us women, why are you guys messing around? Please don't come."
"I have an eight-pack!"
"Then come on, handsome, post pictures!"
"!!!"
"What Baidu? I'm uninstalling it now. Meiyou and Sogou are my future!"
"Pfft! Upstairs, I can hear your ulterior motives from halfway across the country. You're just after the many girls on Meiyou!"
"Honestly, Baidu really isn't good, it's petty. Xingyi Technology is still more impressive!"
"That's right, anything from Chairman Wang is a masterpiece. My idol!"
"My male idol acquired Sogou, it's time to uninstall Baidu and switch to Sogou!"
"Yes, let's uninstall together!"
"I really admire Chairman Wang's 'if you don't like it, then fight' attitude! What 'leader of BAT'? We'll take you down just the same."
"Exactly, I dare to bet that in less than ten years, Baidu will definitely be inferior to Xingyi Technology!"
"Ten years is too long, five years will be enough!"
"Let this post be my witness: uninstalling Baidu for Sogou today, in five years Chairman Wang will overthrow Baidu!"
...
For a time, many fans of Xingyi Technology successively uninstalled Baidu, abandoned Baidu Search, and switched to Sogou! Seeing this public opinion, Li Yan's face darkened:
"Damn it! These netizens are truly crazy, is it really worth defending Xingyi Technology so much?"
"Simply incomprehensible!"
He was very disheartened; people usually admire strength.
Logically, Baidu is stronger right now, so users should support Baidu.
How could they support Xingyi Technology?
They even said that in five years, Xingyi Technology would overthrow Baidu!
How is that possible?
Are they crazy!
But unfortunately, in this round of confrontation, 70% of netizens sided with Xingyi Technology and supported it.
They even uninstalled Baidu for this, supporting Sogou!
Facing this, Li Yan felt nothing but helplessness and melancholy!
"If this continues, the situation will be bad!"
Li Yan frowned slightly, then sneered:
"It doesn't matter. Sogou's current market share is less than a fraction of Baidu's. Even if it increases a little, it's very limited and nothing to worry about!"
However, as he smiled, the smile on his face froze.
US stocks reopened, and Baidu's share price began to plummet again!
"Damn it!"
Li Yan's face contorted with rage, and he slammed his hand on the table:
"Wang Yi and Sogou chose this moment to release the news and get it trending, precisely to severely hit our stock price after the market opens!"
Those institutions heavily invested in Baidu in the US stock market are not fools!
They had been following the conflict between Baidu and Xingyi Technology daily.
Previously, Wang Yi's lawsuits against Baidu for monopoly and unfair competition, and against iQiyi for copyright infringement, caused Baidu's market value to plummet by 15 billion.
Today, Wang Yi's 1.65 billion acquisition of Sogou, Baidu's biggest competitor, and his determination to fight Baidu to the end, is even more bearish news, and Baidu's market value is still plummeting!
More critically, the public opinion below the trending topics showed a stark contrast between domestic netizens' criticism, boycott, and uninstallation of Baidu, and their support, affirmation, and optimism towards Xingyi Technology and Sogou.
These public opinions were also translated into English by European and American institutions and delivered to their senior management.
An enterprise fiercely boycotted and even uninstalled by users was not favored by those institutions, who decisively began a massive sell-off.
Thus, that night, Baidu's stock price collapsed even more severely.
Its market value plummeted from around 265 billion to 240 billion.
In a single night, 25 billion evaporated!
The evaporated market value did not recover even by the close of US stock market.
Li Yan, who had been sleepless all night, gave a wry smile:
"Wang Yi, you only spent 1.65 billion to acquire Sogou, yet you made our Baidu's market value evaporate by another 25 billion!"
"Well, that's something!"
"I'll remember this!"
Li Yan was burning with rage, feeling his liver ache from anger.
It hurt too much!
All that money, just gone!
However, Wang Dachuan was even more adept at playing the game.
Early in the morning, he placed the news of Baidu's market value evaporating by 25 billion at the top of Sogou Browser's trending list!
Without any surprise, this news also made it to Weibo's trending topics, appearing as a unified trending topic across the four major Weibo platforms: Sina, NetEase, Sohu, and Tencent!
[Sina Weibo: Baidu Suffers Another Heavy Blow, Market Value Evaporates by 25 Billion Overnight!]
[NetEase Weibo: Xingyi Technology Acquires Sogou, Baidu Market Value Plummets by 25 Billion!]
[Sohu Weibo: Facing User Boycott and Uninstallation, Baidu Stock Price Plummets!]
[Tencent Weibo: Unfair Competition, Blocking Competitors, Baidu's Market Value Has Evaporated by 40 Billion in Total!]
All four major Weibo platforms had this trending!
And it was the top trending headline!
Additionally, the top trending topic on the four major portal websites, 360 Browser, Zhihu, and other platforms, was also this news!
Regarding this, Wang Yi was in a great mood:
"Everyone seems to have a tacit understanding when it comes to ganging up on Baidu!"
Jian Ziyan nodded repeatedly:
"Indeed, who told Baidu to control such massive traffic, monopolize so many internet entry points, and constantly use its monopoly to suppress and block competitors? Of course, the other companies couldn't stand it!"
Simply put, there are only so many internet traffic entry points.
If Baidu doesn't cool down, how can other competitors develop?
But on Li Yan's side, he was fuming with anger:
"Damn it! This is outrageous!"
"This is going too far!"
"It's outrageous!"
"If you continue like this, how much market share will our Baidu lose? How many users will we lose?"
(End of Chapter)