The SNS project has finally been completed.
Mark created Facebook, and CEO Im Jae-beom created KakaoTalk.
Thanks to Chu Min-jeong's help, two major projects were completed simultaneously.
"Starting today, the SNS and messenger apps will officially launch."
"For Facebook, it will first be released in North America and Korea, while KakaoTalk will be launched in Korea first before expanding to overseas markets."
The planning director's voice was full of confidence.
His confidence stemmed from the fact that he had already used both services himself.
"Before Cyworld grows any bigger, our product needs to dominate the Korean market. The same goes for the U.S.—we can't afford to fall behind other SNS platforms."
"We've already completed extensive promotional campaigns. Anyone using a smartphone will inevitably end up using our SNS!"
"The initial phase is the most crucial. Even if it costs a lot, focus on securing market share early on."
In reality, neither Facebook nor KakaoTalk belonged to Taewoo Group.
However, since the group owned over 40% of the shares, they were conducting promotional activities at the corporate level.
"There is one concern, though. If you look at it broadly, Facebook and KakaoTalk offer similar services. With both launching at the same time, they might end up eating into each other's market share."
"Preferences for features and interfaces vary by country. You mentioned market cannibalization, but with the number of smartphone users growing rapidly every month, there's no shortage of market share."
While Facebook and KakaoTalk might see each other as competitors, from my perspective, I would benefit no matter which one succeeded, so there was no need to worry.
"Also, there have been some complaints from Taewoo Telecom. With the introduction of a free messenger app, their text messaging revenue will decline."
"That's an inevitable outcome. Instead of complaining, they should focus on building new revenue structures. Besides, while messenger apps might reduce text messaging revenue, smartphone plans are more than twice as expensive as regular plans, so overall revenue is actually increasing."
It wasn't the first time telecom companies had expressed concerns.
While it was true that messenger apps were cutting into SMS revenue, overall profits were still rising.
Of course, massive investments were required to install 3G networks and conduct research.
But that didn't mean telecom companies were taking losses.
"For now, the iPhone is only available through Taewoo Telecom, so other carriers aren't making any major moves. However, once Samsung Electronics and CL Electronics launch their smartphones, things will change."
"By then, people will have already experienced the convenience of free messenger apps firsthand, so there's nothing to worry about. No matter how much telecom companies lobby, they can't override public demand."
Despite various concerns, the SNS services were launched.
Since smartphones were mainly used by younger people, advertisements featured celebrities popular with the youth.
Promotional events were also held at universities across the country.
Large-scale promotions took place at Taewoo Telecom and Taewoo Electronics stores as well.
***
"Vice President! KakaoTalk has reached No. 1 on the Korean App Store! The number of new users is skyrocketing!"
Just as I was packing my bag to leave work, the planning director rushed in to report.
It was natural for him to be excited, seeing the project he had worked on for so long yielding great results. But it was still too early to celebrate.
"With that much promotion, hitting No. 1 on launch day is expected. What matters is how many customers we retain in the long run. And how's the response to Facebook?"
"The response isn't bad, but it's not as enthusiastic as it is for KakaoTalk."
"It will take some time. Just focus on gradually increasing the user base."
SNS platforms like Facebook could be seen as a kind of online social stage.
Abandoning an already established network to move to a different platform wasn't easy.
Fortunately, Cyworld wasn't overwhelmingly popular yet, so there was still an opportunity.
"We've received information that a large number of Cyworld's founders have left the company."
"They probably found it difficult to adapt to the rigid structure of a large corporation, which is completely different from the free-spirited atmosphere of a startup."
"There are also rumors that KS Telecom intentionally pushed them out."
"That's good news. Businesses rarely succeed once their founders leave."
Cyworld's founders had chosen to partner with KS Telecom instead of Taewoo.
Their poor decision ultimately led to them handing Cyworld over to KS Telecom.
No need to feel sorry for them.
I'd make sure to take revenge on their behalf.
"KS Telecom is undergoing a large-scale restructuring of its revenue model."
"For a business, nothing is more important than revenue. But an overly aggressive pricing strategy can drive customers away."
I felt reassured.
Even without my intervention, Cyworld was already walking itself off a cliff.
Once again, history was unfolding as expected in this lifetime.
The growth of SNS was nothing short of explosive.
In Korea, over 70% of iPhone users had installed KakaoTalk, and in the U.S., Facebook was gaining tens of thousands of new users daily.
Then, an external event added fuel to the fire.
"Samsung Electronics has released the Optima smartphone!"
"They launched it faster than expected."
"It's considered more of an experimental product. Compared to the iPhone, it lacks both performance and optimization. But it does have the advantage of being more affordable."
At this point, history had taken a slight detour from what I knew.
As far as I remembered, Samsung Electronics had never released a smartphone called 'Optima.'
But a different name wouldn't necessarily mean different performance.
"This is actually a good thing for us. The bigger the smartphone market, the larger our share of the pie."
"And the royalties alone bring in a substantial amount. Taewoo Electronics is on track to achieve its highest revenue since its founding."
Although appliance sales had increased,
royalty income required no additional costs, making it feel like pure passive income.
"Are you already satisfied with just the royalties? The day will come when the revenue from SNS alone will be just as significant."
"I expect that as well. KakaoTalk's user base continues to grow without slowing down, and Facebook's user numbers are also rising sharply. It's projected to surpass Cyworld's users by the end of this year."
"That's happening faster than expected."
"Smartphone users are strongly gravitating toward Facebook. Cyworld can only be accessed via computer, whereas Facebook is available on smartphones, making it the preferred choice among mobile users."
That was one of the reasons for Cyworld's downfall.
The departure of its founders may have played a role, but ultimately, Cyworld had been slow to adapt to the changing times.
As a result, it hadn't put any effort into making its platform mobile-friendly.
Instead, it had focused solely on strengthening its existing services to boost revenue.
This was a natural consequence of a company losing the passion of its original founders.
"If you fall behind the times, extinction is inevitable—it's the law of nature."
"And they've also adopted restrictive policies. Users must create an account through KS Telecom to access Cyworld. In contrast, Facebook only requires an email address, making it far more accessible."
Cyworld's decline was practically inevitable.
With Facebook and KakaoTalk dealing back-to-back blows, its survival seemed unlikely.
And there was still one final strike left to deliver.
"How is the short-form video platform development progressing?"
"The team led by CEO Seo Moon-young is collaborating with Taewoo IT staff on the project. The initial version is already complete, and they're now working on optimization."
"That means it should be ready for launch by next month at the latest."
"They've even started filming advertisements. However, we still haven't decided on the platform's official name."
A certain well-known short-video platform name from my past life immediately came to mind.
But I didn't want to use that exact name.
"What are the current name candidates?"
"The top contenders are TikTok, Tiki, PingTok, TicTacTok, Shorts, and 3min. For now, we're using 'TikTok' as a temporary name."
"People really do tend to think alike."
"Did you also have a similar name in mind, Vice President?"
The shortlisted names were similar to those of the short-form video platform that had been released in my past life.
And none of them stood out as clearly better than the others.
"Let me know as soon as the name is finalized. We'll launch simultaneously in Korea, the U.S., and China."
"Understood. However, there's one issue."
"Is there a problem with development? If so, let's ask Min-jeong for assistance."
"It's not a development issue—it's a server issue. Taewoo IT is handling so many projects at once that our servers are nearing overload. Although Taewoo Telecom is in the process of upgrading to higher-performance servers, we'll also need to construct an additional data center."
I had overlooked the importance of data centers.
In the IT business, data centers were arguably the most critical infrastructure.
If a data center became overloaded, lag would occur, and speeds would slow down.
To sustain future IT projects, building a new data center was essential.
"We'll need to construct a large-scale data center."
"The construction costs will be significant. A large-scale data center requires a minimum investment of 500 billion won, and depending on the location and size, the cost could approach 1 trillion won."
Building a data center required careful consideration of multiple factors.
The most crucial factor was location, and for a large-scale center, choosing an area with low land costs was ideal.
"We need to find a location with a stable power supply and affordable land prices."
"The best candidates are regions near nuclear power plants in South Gyeongsang or cooler areas in Gangwon Province."
"We'll need to consider the political implications as well, so let's take more time to evaluate our options."
"For now, we'll address the issue by upgrading Taewoo Telecom's servers, but we must begin data center construction within the year to prevent future overload issues."
Data centers weren't considered undesirable facilities.
In fact, many local governments welcomed them.
They provided tax revenue and created jobs.
Of course, due to the nature of data centers, they didn't generate a large number of jobs, but for struggling regional cities facing employment crises, even a small number of new jobs was highly desirable.
That said, we couldn't build the facility just anywhere.
It needed to be in a location that offered political advantages—
or in a district represented by a politician who could provide benefits to Taewoo Group.
TL/n -
Hey everyone!
You can read up to Chapter 560 by supporting me at ko-fi.com/inkbound
Thank you so much for being part of this journey and for all your amazing support! 💙