"Manager Zhang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't just say anything. You claim that oo has 1.2 million active users, but what evidence do you have for that statement?" Li Dan immediately questioned. "After all, according to our backend data, we've only lost that many users! Does your conclusion have data support?"
"I'm looking at the backend data too, but I'm not looking at the growth numbers. I'm looking at the average online duration of users!" Zhang Zhidong sighed. "After receiving the meeting notification, I went to the backend to check for more detailed data. I found that in June, our active users' average daily online duration was 3.23 hours. In July, this figure dropped to 3.05 hours, and in August, it was only 2.82 hours on average."
"That's just users spending less time online. What does that have to do with oo's users?"
"It has everything to do with it. Don't you remember that July and August aren't ordinary months? They're when the summer vacation starts nationwide. And among our users, high school students, junior high students, and even elementary school students combined account for over 70%. So, logically, their average online duration in July and August should have seen a significant increase."
"But the average online duration in July and August decreased instead of increasing. Yet, the number of active users hasn't dropped much. What does that imply? It means that many of our users are simultaneously using QQ and oo. As a result, QQ's online duration decreases, but the number of active users appears to remain stable!" Zhang Zhidong explained.
"..." Li Dan fell silent, realizing he couldn't refute Zhang Zhidong. No one was foolish, and arguing further would be pointless.
"There's actually even more telling data, and that's the volume of messages sent. In June, we accepted and sent 81.058 trillion messages in a month. In July, this dropped to 79.124 trillion messages. But this was just the beginning. In August, the decline was even more drastic, with only 71.745 trillion messages. That's a reduction of 800 billion messages. Based on this data, I estimate that perhaps 10% of our users are no longer chatting on QQ but have switched to oo. That's why I came up with the figure of 1.2 million users."
"But this is a conservative estimate, as new users who have never used instant messaging software are constantly joining. The actual number of active users on oo can only be greater than we imagine!" Zhang Zhidong finished speaking, and the room fell into an even deeper silence.
"I strongly agree with Zhidong's opinion. As a great leader once said, 'In strategy, despise the enemy; in tactics, take him seriously.' Undoubtedly, oo has become our competitor, and it's a contender that could potentially challenge our market position. We need to formulate corresponding measures to deal with it, which is precisely why we are gathered here today. Let's all discuss how we should respond to oo's challenge, especially how to address the issue of oo's 'Drift Bottle' feature."
"Brother Ma" (presumably referring to Pony Ma, the founder of Tencent) directly steered the meeting towards the most practical and urgent issue: what to do about oo's "Drift Bottle."
"I think we can run some promotional activities to win back our customers!"
"That's not enough of a push. I think we still need to do more publicity. We've always advertised very little on television media, which has led to a consistently low number of users over 25. We should strengthen our publicity efforts to capture more market share!"
"I still believe we should investigate oo's funding sources. If their finances are problematic, oo will collapse entirely, and we won't even need to exert ourselves!"
"Wouldn't it be better if we simply bought oo? Also, oo's development team must have very few personnel. Why don't we poach their development team directly and cripple their research and development capabilities?"
Everyone chimed in with their opinions, discussing animatedly. However, "Brother Ma's" face remained devoid of a smile, as if none of these suggestions and opinions pleased him.
"Zhidong, what are your thoughts?" "Brother Ma" asked Zhang Zhidong, who had been silent until then.
"I believe our QQ must undergo a major innovation in versions and features. For example, the UI. Compared to oo, our UI color scheme is significantly outdated!"
"At the same time, QQ should also enhance the chat experience. For instance, we can add a picture feature so that users can send pictures while chatting. And for some small files, I believe our QQ can fundamentally crush and defeat oo!" Zhang Zhidong proposed.
"Allow QQ to send pictures and files? Zhidong, that's too unrealistic!" Li Dan couldn't help but exclaim upon hearing this.
"What's unrealistic about it? There are no technical issues. I've researched it myself. Give me a month, and I can deliver the BAT version for you!" Zhang Zhidong retorted.
"No, I'm not talking about the technology, I'm talking about the cost!" Li Dan spread his hands. "Zhidong, do you know how much our company spends on internet fees each month? Let me tell you, it's a whopping 5 million yuan. We have to pay 5 million yuan in internet fees every month just to meet the network demands of our server room!"
"If you implement the file and picture sending features, users will definitely love them and use them every day, sending 99+ pictures and files. Then our internet fees won't be just 5 million, they might not even be enough with 50 million!" Li Dan stated.
"..." Zhang Zhidong was left speechless. He couldn't deny the cost issue; these features indeed relied on Tengda's massive internet fee expenses.
"The features Zhidong mentioned are very important, and I agree with them. Zhidong, your BAT version can even be developed now, but perhaps not at this very moment. The company's cash flow is still quite tight. Until we find a stable source of profit, we can only rely on financial investments. So, these features will have to wait. Zhidong, you understand my difficulties, right?" "Brother Ma" looked at Zhang Zhidong with a hint of apology. Zhang Zhidong was immediately touched and nodded repeatedly, indicating that waiting was acceptable.
"So, can we come up with any more reliable ways to counter our opponent?" "Brother Ma" asked the room again.
"Actually, the quickest solution is very simple: we should also launch a feature similar to oo's 'Drift Bottle.' After all, oo's current users are almost all attracted by its 'Drift Bottle.' If we also have our own 'Drift Bottle,' those users who have temporarily left us will all return!"
"But won't people accuse us of plagiarism? Many media outlets and users are already accusing us of copying oiCQ through various channels. I'm worried that Tengda will forever be branded as a plagiarist and won't be able to shake off this reputation. And I, Brother Ma, might be cursed as a plagiarist forever. That's too terrifying. How can I do such a thing!" "Brother Ma" sighed with deep concern.
"Boss, please don't worry. In fact, even a fool can see that oo, whether it's their name or icon, is copying our QQ. They are already plagiarizing us. If we plagiarize them too... no, if we innovate based on their foundation, no one will say we are plagiarizing!" Cai Xin immediately interjected.
"Exactly, Boss. It's not like you're saying we should copy; it's a decision we made in the meeting. What does it have to do with you?" Li Dan also added, "If anyone is to be accused of plagiarism, it's oo who copied first. We're just following their lead. oo is the real plagiarist! We are innocent."
"Alas, you are all forcing me into this! You are all harming me!!" "Brother Ma" cried out to the heavens and then instructed Zhang Zhidong to set aside his current tasks and develop QQ's own "Drift Bottle" as quickly as possible.