“Boss, this is impossible! We need to edit a website from scratch, and it’s such a complex website, even more complicated than the current Sina or Sohu portal websites. I’d even say it’s the most complex website system in all of China.”
“And this isn’t just about the frontend display. Behind this frontend is an even larger backend. These are not things that ability alone can solve. You expect me to complete an identical thing in 15 days? That’s simply impossible. 15 days is not enough time.”
Zhang Zhidong said immediately. Although he was a diligent old ox, one couldn’t force an old ox to fly.
“What if we give you whatever you need?”
“That’s still impossible. This is no longer just about money and manpower. Money can’t buy time, and if the number of people exceeds a certain limit, it will actually waste more time. How about this: give me two months, and I guarantee you a beta version of the website within two months!” Zhang Zhidong gritted his teeth.
“…” Little Ma was silent. He was also from a technical background, so he naturally knew how impossible the 15-day request was. However, he was worried that if he couldn’t release a website similar to Facebook within 15 days, QQ’s market share would fall below 40%, and the investors might come to force him out.
“What if we just rip it off?” After a while, Little Ma asked in a deeper voice that only Zhang Zhidong could hear.
“Rip it off!” It was a phrase that didn’t carry much positive connotation. Rip off a car, rip off a wall, rip off ashes, rip off skin… it was hard to find many positive words associated with “rip off.”
And the “rip off” that Little Ma was referring to was naturally not something good. For someone in computer networks, hearing the word “rip off” would immediately make them understand that it meant taking someone else’s stuff and then copying and pasting.
That’s right, Little Ma meant to discard even the most basic decency and directly rip off all the code from the Facebook website, then copy and paste it onto that code as a base, make some key data modifications, and then directly use it as their own website.
This way, most of the coding work could be omitted, and there would be no need to worry about a large number of bugs. It was truly a highly profitable deal.
But when Zhang Zhidong heard this, his face changed drastically. “Boss, we can’t do something so unethical. This is illegal!”
“I know!” Little Ma said calmly. “But our Chinese laws haven’t regulated this area yet. I’ve asked a lawyer, and as long as it’s operated properly, we can avoid considerable legal risks. At most, we’ll have to pay some economic compensation, a few million in damages, nothing significant.”
“Boss, I strongly advise you to abandon such a dangerous idea!” Zhang Zhidong said. “Even if we can legally avoid these risks, how will our users see us? Anyone who knows a little about computer technology can immediately tell that our code was ripped off. Once it’s exposed, the reputation of Tengda will be ruined!”
“Besides, even if we can rip off the frontend code, what about the backend code? The amount of backend code is likely even larger than the frontend code. This also can’t be done in 15 days. More importantly, have you considered the data traffic issues that such a website requires? We’ll probably need to purchase new servers, and the delivery time for these servers might exceed 15 days. Have you considered these issues?”
“I’ve already ordered the servers. They are all HP servers, ordered through Mr. Sun’s resources. The total cost is 100 million RMB, and they can be delivered, installed, and debugged within 20 days at the latest!” Little Ma said.
“…” Zhang Zhidong stared at Little Ma in shock. He hadn’t expected Little Ma to have already ordered the servers, which meant Little Ma had made up his mind to build his own Facebook. There was no turning back now.
“Boss, give me one month!” Zhang Zhidong finally said. “We can rip off Facebook’s frontend code, but we need to replace 60% of the code with our own, retaining only the basic framework and replacing all the art resources. This way, no one will dare to say we are copying for a while.”
“As for the backend, we’ll create a simple backend first, temporarily disabling some of the frontend functions. After the website is launched, we’ll continue to work day and night to enrich the backend and gradually unlock those disabled functions.”
Truly, when Little Ma heard Zhang Zhidong’s words, he almost shed tears. This person was truly the best technician in China. Where in China could he find such a good person?
However, Little Ma still said, “Do as I command, but you don’t need to worry about the backend. You just need to rip off the frontend code, replace all the art resources, so at least the appearance is not identical. That will be enough. With this, there shouldn’t be any problem with the 15-day timeframe, right!”
“Then what about the backend? What about the backend?”
“I naturally have my ways for the backend!” Little Ma waved his hand. “You don’t need to worry about these issues. Anyway, within five days, I’ll give you a complete backend. You just need to match it with the frontend!”
“Boss, you don’t mean to steal Facebook’s backend code, do you!” Zhang Zhidong immediately realized that Little Ma’s actions would send him to jail.
“It’s not stealing, don’t worry, I won’t do anything that would send myself to jail!” Little Ma said decisively, refusing Zhang Zhidong’s advice.
Zhang Zhidong tried to persuade him earnestly several times, but finding Little Ma unmoved, he changed his approach. “Boss, even if our website goes online within 15 days, are we prepared to compete with Facebook? I heard that Huang He spent tens of millions to invite these celebrities to join Facebook for marketing purposes. Zhang Rong alone reportedly cost a full 5 million. These celebrities must have signed exclusive agreements, and their resources are monopolized by Facebook. It’s hard for us to replicate Facebook’s promotion model…” Zhang Zhidong was truly worried. To dissuade Little Ma, he even started considering marketing matters.
“No, Facebook hasn’t signed any agreements with any celebrities!” Little Ma said lightly. “I’ve already had someone contact these celebrities, and they said they logged onto Facebook out of respect for Jiangnan Group. Jiangnan Group didn’t pay them any fees, only verbally promised some resources.”
“Therefore, we can actually sign agreements with these celebrities right now. When our website launches, all these celebrities will switch to our website to open their accounts and spaces!”
“At the same time, because we are signing exclusive agreements, their accounts on Facebook will have to be closed.”
“Huang He, this person, is indeed incredibly capable, but he is not a god. He will eventually make mistakes, leaving such a huge loophole for us. He would never have dreamed that his meticulously planned marketing strategies would ultimately pave the way for us!” At this point, a faint smile finally appeared on Little Ma’s face.
—————
Little Ma was right. These celebrities who had been enthusiastically cooperating with Jiangnan and Facebook, announcing their move to Facebook, had not signed any cooperation agreements. All of them were brought over by Boss Huang using his influence and resources.
Firstly, Boss Huang was rich, incredibly rich, with billions of dollars. The entertainment industry has always been unable to resist the wealthy, so all celebrities had to give Boss Huang face.
Secondly, Boss Huang had resources. Although the triple profit-sharing agreement of Tangren Film and Television had made many artists and actors in the film and television industry very dissatisfied, this had severely broken the unwritten rules of the industry.
However, Boss Huang was adaptable. If they cooperated in filming Tangren Film and Television’s works, they could still get paid according to the previous rules. Therefore, as long as they were not part of Tangren Film and Television, there would be no reservations in cooperating.
Then, there was Tangren Film and Television’s ambitious plan to film 10 film and television works within three years.
Because filming 10 film and television works required a huge amount of manpower and material resources, almost half of the actors in the entertainment industry would be mobilized for these 10 works. Therefore, as soon as Tangren began preparing these 10 works, it was impossible to keep any secrets. The entire industry knew about Tangren’s formidable filming plan.
At the same time, everyone was smart. Judging by the resources and scale of the crews that Tangren was mobilizing, these 10 works were all major productions with an investment of over 20 million.
Entering such a crew, besides the money they could earn, the improvement in their own fame and status would undoubtedly be extraordinary.
These 10 film and television works were the greatest resource.
Not to mention that before Facebook’s launch, Boss Huang personally went to Hong Kong and visited these celebrities.
A billionaire personally calling on them, and at the same time offering some important resources from his own television series as an exchange, how could these major celebrities dare to be coy with Boss Huang?
Moreover, Boss Huang’s request was merely to open a personal space on their website. If they were unwilling to manage this space, Boss Huang could even have the official team help them with daily space promotion and management. All they needed to provide were some photos and simple mood texts, and the rest would be packaged and enriched by a professional team.
At the same time, every space message would be approved and reviewed by them before being published, making it incredibly effortless.
They didn’t need to pay any price at all, yet they could gain the favor of a wealthy individual and a heavyweight resource. They couldn’t think of any reason to refuse such a good thing!