Unlike the busy and bustling atmosphere in other departments of the company, Li Xi had recently found himself relaxing.
However, he didn't want this kind of ease.
Especially after hearing that the company was going to develop a free instant messaging application for smart terminals, his worries grew more intense day by day.
Standing at the cusp of the era, one could clearly feel the mobile internet drawing closer.
Before the new year, three 3G licenses had been issued, marking China's official entry into the 3G era.
With the emergence of a large number of smartphones represented by HTC, major internet companies were exploring how to seize the entry point of the mobile internet.
Many companies focused on mobile browsers or collaborated with phone manufacturers to pre-install enterprise service applications on smartphones when they shipped.
It had been almost a year and a half since Renren Farm launched, and recently its growth rate had significantly slowed, with a decrease in daily active users.
Without new projects becoming Renrenwang's new growth engine, the company's projects were currently increasing.
Both Weibo and Zhihu diverted a large number of Renrenwang users or bloggers.
This was the company's grand strategy, and Li Xi certainly had to comply.
But did Renrenwang have to be sacrificed?
Li Xi was very clear that if Renrenwang didn't change its current situation soon, it would decline sooner or later.
Stranger social networking was dominated by Weibo and Zhihu, and acquaintance social networking was taken away by the new project "WeChat."
Was there still room for Renrenwang to survive in the social market?
But if a change was sought, how should it be done?
Not only Li Xi, but also the vast majority of Renrenwang employees were worried about the current situation.
The change in mindset for these people was the greatest.
The former darlings of the group now felt a bit like a faded glory.
This also concerned everyone's income.
Chen Pingjiang also had no particularly good solution for this.
"I think your team should focus on Renren's own development, instead of trying to copy others. Renrenwang still has a lot it can do. Weibo is mainly based on information, with a strong media nature. Users can interact by commenting, forwarding, favoriting, or liking posts on Weibo, and may form friend circles due to common topics.
WeChat, as an instant messaging application, has strong relationship chains between friends. WeChat offers a convenience in real-time chat and communication between users that other social websites like Renrenwang and Weibo cannot match."
"Instead of learning from others, you should think about how to make the Renren cake bigger, such as developing the Android version of Renrenwang. In short, try more internal innovation."
After seeing Li Xi off, Chen Pingjiang leaned back in his chair, thinking quietly.
Renrenwang would naturally not wither so quickly.
But frankly, with the advent of the Weibo and WeChat era, its decline was inevitable.
However, as long as it didn't mess around blindly, surviving would certainly not be a problem; at most, it would no longer be the group's flagship project.
Even if Renrenwang performed poorly, it could still transform into a forum like Tieba, Douban, or NGA.
Chen Pingjiang didn't want this either, but he had to do it.
If others had developed WeChat and Weibo, Renrenwang would still have been the one to die.
Even strong platforms like Facebook later lost their former glory because users had too many choices.
Currently, the WeChat project had already been approved, making it one of the earliest among major manufacturers, not counting Feixin.
As long as the WeChat project firmly established itself, Chen Pingjiang would no longer worry about social networking.
In short, it would be tough for Xiao Ma Ge; he would have to compete for his luck once again.
...
"Cao Jie, you're single anyway right now, why don't you consider our Zhou Guanghan? Don't mind that he's a bit dark-skinned, but he's incredibly strong and very protective."
In the evening, Chen Pingjiang invited Yan Yan, Zhou Guanghan, and Cao Jie to gather together.
Zhou Guanghan was in his second semester of junior year.
Chen Pingjiang had completely transferred ownership of Xiao Chen BBQ at the sports institute to him.
This kid was now living a good life.
He had tens of thousands in fixed net income every month.
Cao Jie didn't go back to her hometown; she started an internship at Renrenwang through Yan Yan's introduction.
When Chen Pingjiang was busy with work, she could keep Yan Yan company.
For such a small matter, Chen Pingjiang didn't even need to say anything; Wan Yuqian handled it.
Time really flew; two or three years had passed in a blink.
Yan Yan and Cao Jie had already started their internships, and Chen Pingjiang wasn't returning to school.
Their first meeting together felt like it happened yesterday.
Cao Jie grimaced:
"Thank you very much, you're quite 'nice,' playing matchmaker randomly."
She had quite a bit of contact with Zhou Guanghan normally, but there was absolutely no spark.
It was one thing that Zhou Guanghan was dark and rustic, but he was also terrifyingly strong.
His two pectoral muscles, from his love for fitness, were exaggeratedly bulging.
Cao Jie was afraid whenever she saw him, always feeling like Zhou Guanghan could slap her into pieces with one hand.
The most crucial thing was that Zhou Guanghan was also dull and wouldn't utter a word for ages, making it hard for girls to like him.
Zhou Guanghan heard Cao Jie's complaints and chuckled foolishly along, not feeling offended at all.
Chen Pingjiang pulled Yan Yan close, letting her lean on his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow at Cao Jie:
"Look, Yan Yan and I will get married right after graduation. By the time our child is old enough to run errands, you'll still be an old spinster, how miserable."
Meeting Chen Pingjiang's provocative gaze, Cao Jie's inner universe was about to explode.
"Chen Pingjiang! I won't become an old spinster. There are plenty of handsome guys pursuing me in the company."
"Which department? I'll fire him."
"I..."
Under someone else's roof, one has to bow one's head.
Cao Jie silently closed her mouth.
Although she could tease Chen Pingjiang a few times, relying on their past familiarity and Yan Yan's connection, Miss Cao was very aware of whose patronage she was under.
"Alright, stop teasing her."
Yan Yan pursed her lips and smiled, then winked at Cao Jie, and said to Chen Pingjiang:
"Cao Jie and I want to start a business."
Chen Pingjiang was stunned:
"You're doing well with your internship, why are you suddenly thinking of starting a business?"
"It's not something I just thought of now; I've had plans for a long time, just haven't told you. I've been interning for a while, and I feel like I've learned a lot, but the longer I stay in the company, the harder it gets to continue."
Seeing Chen Pingjiang's puzzled look, Yan Yan continued:
"If I stay in the company, it's not just that you'd be uncomfortable; other employees would also think I'm riding on your coattails, thereby denying my own efforts. Besides, I also want to be a strong woman."
Chen Pingjiang had to admit that Yan Yan was quite good in this respect.
Even with a district mayor father and a self-made rich boyfriend, she never thought of just coasting through life or becoming a socialite.
She didn't crave material things but rather enjoyed spiritual fulfillment.
In a way, this was also a necessary effort Yan Yan made to catch up with Chen Pingjiang.
Should Chen Pingjiang object?
Of course not!
He wasn't that chauvinistic.
With Yan Yan's personality, having her own career was quite good.
Otherwise, in Chen Pingjiang's eyes, it would be utterly boring.
Every day was either reading or flower arranging; she rarely engaged in typical entertainment activities for young people, and even her only friend was Cao Jie.
"Have you decided what project you want to do?"
Chen Pingjiang asked with a smile.
Yan Yan and Cao Jie exchanged glances, then both shook their heads.
"Then what business are you starting if you haven't decided on anything?"
"Open an online store?"
Chen Pingjiang shook his head, directly rejecting the proposal.
How could his girlfriend, Chen Pingjiang's girlfriend, work for Lao Ma?
Even creating an online shopping platform wasn't a good idea.
Not to mention Taobao, at the beginning of the year, JD.com had already secured a total of 21 million US dollars in investment from Capital Today and several other investment institutions, marking the first batch of investments received by Chinese e-commerce companies since the outbreak of the financial crisis.
Relying solely on these two inexperienced youngsters to break into the online shopping market was far from enough.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Pingjiang said,
"Let's create an interest-based social platform for recording bits of life and sharing lifestyles through short videos, graphic posts, and other forms."
Yan Yan blinked a little confusedly:
"How is that different from Renrenwang? Can't Renrenwang and even Weibo already achieve such functions?"
Chen Pingjiang shook his head:
"They do have such functions, but they are not specialized. What you need to build is a social e-commerce platform centered on content sharing, primarily covering areas like food, travel, beauty, and fashion, and it should have e-commerce features where users can discover and purchase quality goods. In contrast, Renrenwang focuses on weak connections between users, while Weibo is a new type of media publishing platform."
"Moreover, you can build a platform primarily for women, for sharing shopping experiences and so on."
Chen Pingjiang had experience using Xiaohongshu and understood its positioning more clearly, but it would be difficult for Yan Yan and Cao Jie to grasp it quickly.
"I'll give you ten million as startup capital. If it does well, I'll add more investment later."
It was only ten million.
If Yan Yan could do it well, she could continue.
If not, acquiring it later wouldn't be an issue.
Moreover, this track didn't have much competition, making it very suitable for Yan Yan and Cao Jie, two girls.
After clarifying his thoughts, Yan Yan and Cao Jie were too excited to eat; their minds were entirely focused on Xiaohongshu.
That's how entrepreneurship is; once an idea strikes, it makes people excited, as if full of drive.
Chen Pingjiang couldn't argue with them, so he directly had Li Fu drive the two of them to find an office location.
"These two are so excited they won't even eat."
Chen Pingjiang shook his head with a smile, then looked at Zhou Guanghan:
"You'll be interning in the second half of the year. Have you decided what you want to do afterward?"
"Work for you."
Zhou Guanghan grinned.
"What's the point of working for me? Even your great-aunt isn't willing to work for me."
After thinking for a moment, he continued:
"I suggest sticking with catering. Go back and think carefully about starting a chain store; I'll invest in you too. Plus, with the advantages of Renren Gou and your experience, you won't have to worry about not developing."
If possible, Chen Pingjiang still hoped to help those close to him, but he didn't recommend them working for his own companies, as that would complicate their relationships.
It was good as it was now; they could showcase their talents in various industries, while he helped with channels and funding, acting as an investor.
(End of chapter)