lovenovelstory Chapter 51 I've gone mad
Chapter 51 I've gone mad
Friday, January 12th.
The third episode of "Report to the Boss" was released on time.
The opening scene shows Lin Gengxin with messy hair standing right in front of the camera.
A narrator begins to speak.
"My name is A-Xin, and I've had a dream since I was little."
"My dream is to be an employee who doesn't get yelled at by his boss."
"For this reason, I have honed the strongest skills in the workplace."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a slap landed on the back of his head.
The scene shifts, and Ah Xin is sitting at his workstation. Behind him, his supervisor withdraws his slap and throws a stack of documents at him.
"Rework this plan. You're not allowed to leave until it's finished."
"But...it's Friday today..."
"What's wrong with Friday? Does your commission also go over the weekend?"
A very subtle expression appeared on Lin Gengxin's angular face, but his body had already started typing automatically.
Exaggerated special effects subtitles pop up on the screen.
"Ninjutsu."
The next ten minutes are a workplace survival guide disguised as a movie called "Kung Fu Hustle".
The last shot.
Ah Xin finally snapped, kicking open the conference room door and yelling at Da Peng, "Boss! I can't eat your pancake anymore!"
Da Peng remained unfazed. "Can't eat? If you can't eat, pack it up and take it with you."
Black screen, music playing.
The comments section turned into a massive sharing session about workplace trauma.
"Take it to go, this boss is really ruthless."
"Screenwriter, did you install surveillance cameras in our company?"
"Ninjutsu, what a damn ninjutsu! Waaah, in last week's Naruto update, Jiraiya died!"
"That final kicking down of the door was so satisfying! I'm going to kick down my boss's door tomorrow!"
"Calm down upstairs. Tomorrow's Saturday. Go on Monday if you dare."
After this episode was released, the number of views no longer depended on Sohu's rating.
In less than 24 hours, it broke three million.
On the other side of "Men's Diary 2", Alex has already given up the struggle.
A collapse in reputation is something no amount of public relations can salvage.
The more Zhao Baogang tried, the more awkward the audience felt.
Those meticulously crafted jokes and the endorsements of big-name celebrities all became disgusting to ordinary viewers.
Ren Pingsheng used a brilliant flanking maneuver, leveraging Weibo as a bottom-up weapon, to dismantle the barriers that Sohu had built using traditional media thinking.
Ren Pingsheng didn't know how many people realized the power of Weibo after this battle.
But the person who was beaten must have found out.
……
Sohu Building, Conference Center.
This meeting room, which is usually only used for group meetings, was temporarily put into use today.
Zhang Chaoyang sat in the main seat without saying a word.
On the projection screen, a video analyzing the Weibo post about his life and the other three Weibo posts were playing on a loop.
From limericks to "IP + Celebrity = Box Office?", and then to "Elites never feel like they are looking down on you".
The long table was surrounded by people: technical staff, marketing staff, video entertainment staff, gaming staff...
The room was packed with the heads and key personnel of Sohu's various business lines, some of whom had been called in temporarily and hadn't even figured out what was going on when they entered.
"Tell me your thoughts," Zhang Chaoyang finally spoke, "Is there any point in continuing the 'White Society' product?"
BaiShehui is an SNS product launched by Sohu in May of this year.
Just like its name suggests, this is a social product designed specifically for white-collar workers.
Zhang Chaoyang personally endorsed the project and invested the group's best resources.
But now, a new Langweibo, which was launched four months later, has shattered their proud Sohu Media 1.0 system.
Editor-in-Chief Chen Chaohua forced a smile and began, "Charles, from a product perspective, BaiShehui is an SNS social network, leaning towards strong relationships among acquaintances, emphasizing interaction and application. Weibo, on the other hand, is an instant information stream, leaning towards media attributes, emphasizing content dissemination. Strictly speaking, the two are not..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Chaoyang interrupted him.
"Media attributes? We are the largest portal website in China. You're telling me we can't compete with a newly launched Weibo in terms of media attributes?"
Chen Chaohua opened his mouth, but swallowed the rest of his words.
No one can answer this question, and no one dares to answer it.
The content on portal websites is selected by editors, while the content on microblogs is generated by users themselves.
One is from top to bottom, and the other is from bottom to top.
This isn't a matter of ability; it's a matter of genes.
But who would dare say that to Zhang Chaoyang?
This time, however, there was no need for anyone to speak to the arrogant Zhang Chaoyang.
Zhang Chaoyang stood up, placing his hands on the table. "I've already learned about this matter. That former employee of the company named Ren Pingsheng, through his own efforts, stirred up a massive online backlash against 'A Simple Noodle Story' on Weibo, turning the Beijing entertainment circle upside down, and then naturally directed that fire towards our meticulously crafted 'Loser 2'."
He glanced around at everyone present.
"And what about us? Dozens of editors and hundreds of content creators were completely blind after the incident, belatedly realizing what was happening and utterly powerless to fight back!"
Why?
Snapped--!
He slammed his hand on the table, causing the water in the glass to spill out.
"Because we're still using Web 1.0 thinking, deciding for users what they should see! That young man, on the other hand, is already catering to their preferences—no, guiding them on what to see!"
The meeting room was so quiet you could hear someone breathing.
Zhang Chaoyang's chest heaved violently a few times, his tone filled with obvious regret.
"What a pity! Originally, Weibo had nothing to do with Xinlang! This opportunity, this product, was on my desk months ago! But because of my personal judgment, I chose Baishehui, which gave Xinlang the upper hand!"
No one dared to speak.
Charles admitting his mistake is more terrifying than his outburst. Such an arrogant person, admitting his error in front of the whole company, who knows what kind of madness he will go through.
as predicted.
"But now, we must take back our country!"
Zhang Chaoyang straightened up. "I hereby announce that, starting today, the Sohu Weibo project team is officially established, and I will personally lead the team!"
He turned to the heads of the technology and product departments: "I will select 100 people from each department to form a development team, and the product must be launched within a month!"
"A month?" the technical director blurted out, then immediately shut up.
Zhang Chaoyang ignored him and focused his gaze on Deng Ye's face.
"Deng Ye, the Video and Entertainment Division must fully cooperate and leverage our network to finalize the onboarding arrangements. We need celebrities, famous people, and KOLs—we need them all."
"Let's start with the team behind 'A Simple Noodle Story'—Zhang Yimou, Shen Yang, Yan Ni—we can't leave anyone out! And we must also bring in international stars like Chen Long and Jet Li! I know Leehom Wang well; I'll contact him personally!"
"The content department is now starting to prepare the content ecosystem after Sohu Weibo goes live, including professional, entertainment, and vertical content, we need them all."
This is no longer a simple strategic shift; it's the entire group going all in!
Even the previous plan to reach the top of the video platform only required various departments to cooperate online.
This time, Zhang Chaoyang wanted to dump all the company's people, money, and resources into Weibo.
Deng Ye couldn't help but speak up, because she had to, as it concerned her position within the group.
The video business is her territory; copyright lawsuits and self-produced content are a scheme she has been setting up for over half a year.
"Charles, the video feed is at a critical juncture. If we have to make large-scale relocation of personnel and resources..."
"Deng Ye".
Zhang Chaoyang interrupted her, his voice not loud, but heavy, so heavy that everyone in the conference room felt a pang in their hearts.
"Weibo is no longer an ordinary product. Its success or failure will not only affect one business line, but may even endanger the foundation of Sohu's entire Media 1.0."
"If Weibo loses this battle, Sohu will be in great danger."
He tapped the table twice with his index finger knuckles, uttering the roar that would later circulate in the online world for over a decade:
"The whole company is about to explode! They're about to go crazy!"
"Since I've gone mad, everyone's going to follow suit!"