New York 2006

Chapter 129 War in the Social Field

"So, Logic, your favorite British female singer is Sarah Brightman?"

On July 2007, 7, Luo Ji and Taylor accepted an exclusive interview with the BBC. The host looked at Luo Ji and asked.

"Yes, as you know, I did 'We are young' with Sarah. Her singing captivated me."

The host said: "How do you know Sarah Brightman? After all, there is a big age difference between you."

Luo Ji held Taylor's hand, smiled and said to the host: "In January this year, Taylor and I were recording a song together in New York. We happened to have free time that day, so we went to see "The Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Sarah Brightman was there, and when I heard Sarah’s singing, I was instantly captivated, so I took the initiative to find her to collaborate on a song.”

The host smiled and said, "Did she agree to you then?"

"Yes."

"Why did Sarah agree to you? You must know that you were not very famous at the time. Your coffee positions are also not equal."

Luo Ji said seriously: "Maybe it's the artist's sympathy for each other."

"I very much agree with this."

The host looked at Luo Ji and continued: "So, did you and Taylor get together because of mutual sympathy as artists? I listened to her new single "Coffee", which is very good. This song was written by Taylor. A song for you?”

"Yes." Luo Ji smiled happily.

The host looked at Taylor and said, "Taylor, is that so?"

Taylor didn't hesitate at all: "Yes."

"So romantic." The host looked longingly: "The lyrics say, maybe next time you come to my city, I will take you to taste my favorite coffee. Did you go to drink it together in the end?"

Taylor smiled and replied: "Not yet, I will take him to drink when I have the opportunity."

With the release of Taylor's single, the media also speculated that it was the song Taylor wrote for Luo Ji.

Discussions on the Internet are also very heated. Fans who were somewhat opposed to the two in the past have gradually become addicted to their pairing.You write a song for me, I write a song for you, and publish it. There is nothing more romantic than this.

"I want to drink as you said. Where is that cafe?"

"Nashville Big Machine Records is not far away," Taylor said, "I usually go there for a drink after recording songs."

"Then next time I go there, Tyler, you have to buy me a drink."

"no problem."

"Although we can't taste Taylor's favorite coffee now, we can enjoy Taylor's songs at that time and ask Taylor to perform her single "Coffee" for us."

Before today's interview began, Luo Ji had already performed a song from the album.The final performance was left to Taylor.Taylor stood in front with his guitar, followed by a band hired by the BBC.

Luo Ji watched Taylor's performance. She was growing up very quickly. Although her singing skills were not top-notch, her songs were not difficult to sing. Her live performance was about the same as in the studio, and she was much better than ordinary new singers. .

What touches people about Taylor's songs is that she tells her emotional experiences in a No. 1 narrative way, and the lyrics have the power to touch people's hearts.

After the interview ended, Luo Ji, Taylor and Fiona took the car back to the Waldorf Astoria Hilton Hotel in London.The three of them came to the balcony of the hotel, enjoying the British afternoon tea comfortably as the breeze blew gently.

Fiona turned to Taylor and said, "Your single is doing really well."

"Billboard is only No. 30."

Luo Ji continued: "But your single online sales are quite good. By the way, will your second album be released soon?"

"It's still early." Taylor took a sip of black tea and continued: "My first album can no longer be sold. Now I still have a few singles in hand, and the company plans to let me release a mini album first. Maybe there will be a Christmas special. Logic, what about you? Do you have any plans for a new album?"

"My album can still sell more than 100 million copies every month, so I'm not in a hurry."

After Luo Ji said casually, he picked up the computer and started processing several company documents.

Since the game company introduced several big names, they also brought the latest electronic office system to the company.After using it, Luo Ji discovered that it was so convenient. All the company's applications, reports, and financial documents could be processed through the Internet.

Therefore, during this period, Luo Ji asked all the companies under his name to start implementing digital offices. Although the company's operating costs increased a bit, the efficiency of communication between various departments was greatly increased.

Luo Ji's office efficiency has also improved a lot. In less than an hour, all the files from several companies have been processed, and only the game company's report from last month is left to worry Luo Ji. "Alas." Luo Ji sighed.

"What's wrong?" Fiona asked.

“Last month’s financial statements from gaming companies didn’t look good.”

Taylor said in surprise: "I remember the media didn't say that the sales of "Twilight" were okay? Was it a loss?"

"It's not a loss, but it's not as good as the media boasted. You can see for yourself."

Luo Ji probably knew what was going on. The "Twilight Saga" game had good initial sales due to the popularity of the novel. However, after the fans bought it, the sales plummeted, making the sustainability much worse.

After reading the report, Fiona said: "What should we do? They also need to develop a new stand-alone game. Without the popularity of the novel, the stand-alone game will easily lose money."

"Let me think."

In the past few months, Luo Ji has visited some well-known Internet companies in the world. The businesses of these Internet companies can be roughly divided into three categories: commercial transactions, search, and finally social interaction.

Among the Internet companies around the world, the one that caught Luo Ji's attention the most was China's QQ Group.Because this company is the most special.

Amazon in the United States corresponds to Alibaba, and Gugou corresponds to Baidu, but no company in the United States corresponds to QQ Group in China.

QQ Group is now listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with a market value of tens of billions of dollars.It belongs to the first echelon of Internet companies. In the social field, except for MSN, it can be said to be in a monopoly position in China.There is no corresponding company in the United States.

It is wrong to say that there are no corresponding companies. Microsoft's MSN, FACEBOOK, Skype, Myspace, Hi5, Friendster, tagged, etc., all have corresponding social interaction companies, but there is no monopoly company like QQ Group.

Relying on its leading position in the social networking industry, QQ Group has taken advantage of everything from games, email, and network security.Last year, their game revenue alone exceeded [-] million US dollars, surpassing most global companies, and their market value has skyrocketed.

The summer breeze blew gently on Luo Ji's face, and he felt extremely comfortable. Luo Ji's mind was working rapidly, all kinds of inspirations bursting out, and he murmured to himself.

"Internet companies are naturally monopolistic. The great battle in the social field in the United States will inevitably determine the winner at a certain time, and a monopolistic super company like QQ Group will be born. This company relies on the market of developed countries around the world. , the valuation will inevitably be much higher than that of QQ Group.”

"QQ Group has given birth to many proprietary terms, cost-free promotion of its own software, user base effect, free value-added, social games, online reality social comparison, etc."

Luo Ji asked himself doubtfully: "Then is it possible to copy some of QQ Group's businesses and make money there? Just like social games, this is very suitable for your own game company."

"But now the social field in the United States is similar to the QQ Group. It is closed and outsiders cannot get involved. How can it be used to make money?"

Taylor looked at Luo Ji and said, "What are you mumbling to yourself? What QQ group, social game."

"It's nothing."

Luo Ji said casually, then took his laptop and started searching the Internet for new trends in the American social field.

"Hi5 has become a newcomer in the social field. Its popularity is not much different from that of the social overlord Myspace. Its user base reached more than 4700 million in June this year."

"MySpace has reached a three-year, US$3 million advertising framework agreement with Google. Google will provide search services to MySpace as well as advertising. After the announcement of the transaction, News Corporation's stock price soared, hitting a record high."

"MySpace banned Vietnamese model Tila Tequila, the biggest Internet celebrity on the platform, because she used a third-party player on the website. She believed that she had become a victim of commercial competition and Myspace had no right to ban her. She planned to File a lawsuit in court.”

"Moldavido Venture Capital launched a series of venture investments in hi5, with a total amount of up to US$2000 million and a website valuation of US$20 billion."

"Although Friendster ranks third in the social field, it was first in the social field before. Users reported that the experience of the website was getting worse and worse, and the website's financing was also frustrated."

"It is rumored that Google and Microsoft are competing for Facebook, which is currently the seventh-ranked social networking site. This site is the fastest-growing social networking site among all social networking sites. It is also the social networking site with the highest ratings among users."

"Some analysts believe that Microsoft has deep pockets and may succeed in this competition. Microsoft has a very strong will and their cash flow is very sufficient. If they want to compete for the lost online advertising market share, they may buy at a premium."

Luo Ji looked around and felt a little anxious. The battle in the social field was already heating up.But he just wanted to take a look. These social networking sites are now valued at more than one billion dollars, and he can't afford to participate.

However, the following piece of news suddenly shocked Luo Ji. The news was this.

"In this moment of fierce competition in the social field, Facebook has taken the first step in the social field. Facebook founder Zuckerberg announced that he will break the closed state of today's social networking sites and launch the Facebook Platform to serve third parties. Facebook Development Platform."

"Facebook has taken action, but other social networking sites are still waiting and watching. The Facebook developer platform has been online for a month. Since FLASH animation is now used in web design, many third-party developers will embed Flash games and applications. Go to Facebook. Some users have very good reviews. They think this kind of social game is very novel.”

Luo Ji watched the news quietly, and couldn't help but smile: "Can't we copy the successful experience of QQ Group and embed social games into it? With more than 4000 million users, as long as we can capture [-]%, it is better than selling a single machine. The game is strong.”

(End of this chapter)