OBS Chapter 6: Unexpectedly, it was Project Spark
Chapter 6: Unexpectedly, it was Project Spark
"sit."
Gong Yu pointed to the chair opposite him, "Alex told me that you were in charge of this MJ feature."
"Yes, Mr. Gong." Ren Pingsheng sat down in the chair.
Gong Yu looked at him; he was in his early twenties, yet he showed no fear in front of the company's second-in-command.
interesting.
"I've read the special report. From topic selection to execution, it's all done very well. Among all the portal websites that are uniformly using a commemorative strategy, only we raised the banner of seeking the truth. Within 48 hours of going live, it brought Sohu more than three million page views. The last time we saw this data was during the Olympics."
"Well done, but...aren't you afraid that the company will be accused of profiting from others' misfortunes by doing things this way?"
Ren Pingsheng did not answer the question directly.
"Mr. Gong, the competition among portal websites has reached a fever pitch, and copyright prices are rising visibly."
"It's better to grab traffic now with outrageous content than to come up empty-handed when it's time to fight tooth and nail."
A hint of surprise flashed in Gong Yu's eyes as he posed his second question, "Are you pessimistic about the copyright war?"
"It's not pessimism, it's inevitability."
Ren Pingsheng did not hesitate at all. "Since the State Administration of Radio and Television issued the 'Notice on Strengthening the Management of Internet Audio-Visual Program Content' in March, all parties have taken action on copyright. Right now, everyone is just doing their own thing, and there is not much competition. In another two years, when the existing copyrights have been divided up, the exclusive broadcasting rights of a hit drama will rise from the current several thousand yuan per episode to hundreds of thousands, or even millions."
"At that time, whoever has more money will survive, but Sohu, or rather, no video website in China at present, has the conditions to burn money to achieve a monopoly."
Ren Pingsheng's voice wasn't loud, but it carried weight in the quiet office.
Gong Yu fell silent.
Long-form video platforms are burning through cash like water, but monetization seems a long way off.
"So, in your opinion, where is the breakthrough point?" Gong Yu's tone had changed.
"Original content".
The answer was concise and to the point.
"If we can't afford fancy food, we'll grow our own."
"High costs, high risks, and the market may not even accept it..." Gong Yu tapped his fingers lightly on the table. "Do you have any specific ideas?"
Ren Pingsheng did not answer immediately.
His gaze shifted from Gong Yu's face to the right side of the desk.
There was a Nokia E71, a full-keyboard business phone, next to an Apple 3GS that had just been released last week.
At that time, Nokia phones and counterfeit phones were still in use in China. 3G licenses were only issued at the beginning of the year, and the network speed was so slow that even viewing pictures online was difficult. No one would associate mobile phones with videos.
But Gong Yu is different; mobile devices are what he's really concerned about now.
Ren Pingsheng knew that he was about to leave Sohu and go to Wuxian Xunqi, a company that was quietly making a fortune in the mobile market with 12580.
So this wasn't said to the COO of Sohu, but to the future leader of the video platform.
Ren Pingsheng raised his hand and pointed to the 3GS.
"Mr. Gong, when it comes to content creation, you have to consider where users are watching it. I think the future battleground will be on this small screen."
Gong Yu's fingers stopped.
This habitual action, which had continued since the start of the conversation, came to an abrupt halt the moment the small screen was heard.
Gong Yu stared at him. "Why would you think that?"
"Because computers can't follow people around, but mobile phones can."
"Currently, mobile phone screens are small and internet speeds are slow, resulting in a poor video viewing experience. But technology will change, screens will become larger, and internet speeds will become faster. When 3G is rolled out and smartphones become widespread, whoever has content suitable for small screens will be the next winner."
Gong Yu didn't reply. He moved forward a few centimeters, pulled his hands off the table, and interlaced his fingers to rest on his chin.
"Big business on a small screen," a smile played on his lips. "Interesting. I've been thinking about this lately."
He opened the drawer, took out a document, and threw it on the table.
"Since you're so good at reading, why don't you take a look at this?"
Ren Pingsheng reached out and took the document.
The cover features four bold, black characters: Spark Program.
"I plan to set up an innovation project team, which will focus on self-produced content and new media exploration, as you mentioned. It's still in the preparation stage and hasn't been finalized yet. If you're interested, you can start working on finding suitable people."
Ren Pingsheng glanced at the document and said, "My job level isn't high enough to mobilize company resources."
"From now on, your job level will be promoted from 2B to 4A, and you will temporarily serve as the project team leader."
In Sohu's job level system, Level 4 is the top level for entry-level employees, who typically manage a small team of about ten people. Above that is the middle management level.
Alex only got a 5A.
Ren Pingsheng closed the document and stood up.
"Thank you, Mr. Gong."
Gong Yu waved his hand, "Don't rush to thank me. The project team has just been established, and we have limited people, money, and resources. What you can achieve depends on yourself."
"Go pick someone. I noticed you three months ago. Don't disappoint me."
……
At 3 PM, the HR department sent a mass email to everyone in the entertainment division, causing an uproar in the office area.
"Holy crap! Skipping a grade?" Xiaolin stared at the screen, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"Skipping a grade is nothing!" Old Zhou lowered his voice, pointing to the latter half of the email, "Look at this, the Innovation Content Planning Team reports directly to General Manager Gong!"
Sister Zhao read the email over and over three times, without saying a single word.
Everyone instinctively looked toward Alex's office.
Xiaolin opened his mouth for a long time, but finally only managed to utter one sentence.
Everyone knew that Alex was feeling worse than if he had swallowed a fly.
Meanwhile, Ren Pingsheng was calmly tidying up his workstation.
He didn't notice the shocked looks on his colleagues' faces, nor did he glance at Alex's office again.
There's nothing to see here.
The things on his mind now have nothing to do with the people in this office area.
A separate project team and a budget that can be freely allocated.
He'd already decided on his first project—"Unexpectedly."
However, he does not intend to copy the original version exactly.
He wanted to incorporate some elements from "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" into the script.
He did this not because he had any special feelings for Jin Yong, but simply because he wanted to raise another budget.
Gong Yu granted them a considerable degree of freedom, but the money he paid was not much.
So I have to find a way to use other people's money to do my own thing.
Currently, who is the wealthiest member of the entire Sohu Group?
Without a doubt, it is Changyou, which just went public on Nasdaq.
They have marketing budgets they don't know what to do with!
They use the guise of business collaboration to go around begging for alms; why not take the money if it's free?
He had the script in his mind, but he was still missing an actor.
An actor who can put aside his pride, not be afraid of losing face, and is willing to make himself look ugly and silly in front of the camera.
Ren Pingsheng picked up the box and his gaze fell on Da Peng's empty workstation.