For the vast majority of people, the impact of an individual is insignificant to the national economy. Whether he is a billionaire or a political dignitary, his value lies in how much power he has behind him, not how much power he has.

But no industry, like the Internet industry, is more easily changed by individuals. Whimsy and technical achievements can exert personal influence more quickly, deeply, and easily here, and in essence, the Internet has changed the pyramidal form of society to make it more flat.

That is to say, on the Internet, the influence of individuals will be more easily disseminated, that is, the power of people themselves will be increased. A person does not need an organization to stand behind him to connect with everyone in society. One thought of heaven, one thought of hell. In this sense, the Internet is a natural place for heroes.

Comedy can bring joy, but only tragedy can make heroes.

Netscape is such a hero, it is like Prometheus stealing fire, bringing the Internet into the lives of ordinary people. Mark. Anderson ushered in a time when the Internet was first inaugurated, when everything was new and people didn't know what the Internet could do.

Mark. Anderson was the first to show people what the web can do. He was the first hero of the Internet, and Netscape gave him the power to connect with 25 million people or more. Even the president of the United States cannot achieve this result without relying on the strength of GOV.

Unlike entrepreneurs in traditional industries, it is not Netscape that gives him strength, but he gives his own strength to Netscape to manage. Even without Netscape. Mark. Anderson still wields enormous influence.

Mark. Anderson is a tragic hero because he was the first to achieve this power. He had no experience to harness this power. In essence, he is just an ordinary person, not even a qualified business manager. For Netscape Explorer brings unprecedented success. His heart was full of pride. In fact, it is precisely the case that no one in history was able to challenge Netscape in 1995.

Even in the face of Microsoft, which launched IE, Mark . Anderson still hasn't chosen to work with AOL. Not to mention the Six Ears Software Company, which seems to be countless times weaker, even the most optimistic people would not believe that Zhou Shuo has the ability to overthrow Netscape Browser's market dominance.

"Mr. Case, are you still hopeful about Netscape?" Zhou Shuo asked with his hands crossed, folded his legs.

Keith raised an eyebrow and nodded in acknowledgement, "If Six Ears IM can allow AOL to inject capital and enter the board of directors, we are not out of the question. ”

Zhou Shuo nodded noncommittally. Yoyo asked: "With all due respect, AOL is still not a company that can go around, and the operation of Six Ears IM is not the same as the approach of the website, Mr. Case, are you ready?" ”

If Case's view of the six-ear IM is different from the historical ICQ, it's that AOL isn't so confident yet. In 1998, when AOL acquired ICQ, it was worth $126 billion, and compared to this huge figure, Case's acquisition of ICQ was just equivalent to Jack Ma buying a team to play with 20 years later. Since it's just drizzling and sprinkling, it doesn't matter if you have a very frustrating name. People have money, of course, they can make more attempts. What is the old-fashioned name of "Evergrande Taobao Team", maybe everyone will join the party. As a result, the aura of "the more the Turkish Communist Party is stronger, the stronger the combat effectiveness is"?

But in 1995, AOL did not even have a market value of 10 billion, and Microsoft offered 100 million in cash and 3 percent of its cross-shareholding to acquire Six Ears Software. That's almost one-tenth the value of AOL. Keith may have been ambitious at heart, but he knew better how much to eat when he had a big belly. AOL, a six-eared software company that has not been brought down, really can't afford it.

Keith touched the corner of his eyes and said in a sincere tone: "AOL does not necessarily need to be a controlling shareholder, we can become an arm for the development of Six Ears IM." ”

"Mr. Case, you know that there is a social survey in Langdao. A normal person tells three lies every ten minutes. When everyone lies, they have their own unique micro-expressions. For example, you. The next time you lie, it's best to control your hand touching the corners of your eyes. If AOL does not seek a controlling stake, the six-ear IM will not be of much use to AOL's overall development. Zhou Shuo waved his hand. Stopping Case's attempt to defend himself, he continued, "However, I have a good new plan, and perhaps Mr. Case will be more interested." ”

"A new plan?" Keith awkwardly adjusted his sitting posture and sneered, "Actually, I'm more interested in the six-eared IM, really." ”

"Are you sure you don't want to listen to my plan?" Zhou Shuo raised his eyebrows and asked impatiently.

“OK、OK！” Keith raised his hand in surrender and said convincingly, "Who wouldn't believe in Joey's ability to understand the Internet now?" Of course, I'd like to hear about your new plan. ”

Zhou Shuo nodded and said simply: "That's right, I acquired an unfinished development project under Dream Computer Group in China, called LXBS Financial Platform. ”

Case was embarrassed and said, "Do you want to do a banking system? I'm afraid it's not easy. ”

"No, it's not." Zhou Shuo shook his head, and then said: "Actually, what I want to do is e-commerce, and the financial platform is its foundation. I think the real way out of the Internet has always been online shopping. ”

Keith spread his hands and said helplessly: "That's right, this is indeed a good direction." However, it still has a lot of issues to solve, security, credit, business model and logistics capabilities. Until people are familiar with this approach, the conditions are not yet ripe for large-scale commercial experiments. ”

Online shopping conditions in the United States are actually very good, unlike the initial credibility crisis in China. Americans generally have credit cards and have very good personal credit information, which is a good fit for both payment methods and business environments. But even so, the great development of online shopping in the United States will not usher in a big development until about 2000. It is precisely the bursting of the Internet bubble, the slowdown in economic growth, and the influx of hot money from online investment into the relatively stable online shopping field that has promoted the great development of shopping sites such as eBay and Amazon.

And before that, there were so many projects on the Internet that could be invested in. Running a relatively conservative and slow e-commerce sector is not so attractive.

"We can get involved in the B2B e-commerce business first, especially the multinational e-commerce business." Zhou Shuo said excitedly: "China's products are of high quality and low price, but China and the United States are far apart, and it is very difficult to purchase or develop the market. Before the internet connected to China, there were very few U.S. companies that were able to do business in China. Most U.S. companies have no knowledge of the Chinese market and don't have the ability to do so. But I can go and understand for them, with the popularity of six-eared IM, I still have some credibility available, right? ”

Keith nodded and said, "Mr. Joy, it's going to be nice after all. But it's still the same problem, it takes a long time to cultivate the market. And with these resources, AOL can get better development in other areas. ”

Zhou Shuo knew in his heart that if he wanted to convince Keith, it seemed that he would not be able to come up with some dry goods. If you want to fool him with a long vision and a mouth cannon, it is obvious that you don't have this ability yet. He sighed and continued, "There are still some products that are suitable for sale on the Internet. For example, electronics, books, or software products are naturally suitable for online sales. And I have an idea that I can not only cultivate people's habits of spending on the Internet, but also see the effect of profitability in a short period of time. As long as we continue to do this, I believe that in three to five years, it will be enough to cultivate the concept of online consumption. ”

Keith smiled smugly, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "I believe that Mr. Joy's plan will definitely not disappoint me!" ”

Zhou Shuo opened his mouth and asked, "Mr. Case, have you heard of Amway—ah no, is it a group purchase?" ”

Case replied as a matter of course: "Of course, isn't it a way for consumers to organize themselves to increase their bargaining power with merchants and seek better conditions." Companies, communities, clubs, these are all excellent channels for group buying. ”

"But in fact, don't you think the Internet is the most suitable channel for group buying organizations?" Zhou Shuo said step by step: "How big can consumers in a region organize? If we put it on the Internet, we can easily raise thousands of purchase intentions, which greatly increases the voice of consumers.

On the other hand, we can act as a bridge between merchants and consumers, and if people are worried about the quality of online shopping, then we can sell life services near their area. The products of these merchants can be seen and touched, and consumers will naturally recognize online consumption after a long period of contact. ”

As he spoke, he sighed, looked at Keith and said sincerely: "The only fly in the ointment is that this is a project that needs to cultivate the market for a long time, so I need AOL's help." But in the same way, if online shopping flourishes, the profit is not comparable to IM software. ”

It's not that Zhou Shuo is fooling people, although online shopping and e-commerce cover fewer people than IM software, but the ability to generate profits is much greater. Of course, if the two can be combined, the effect is not as simple as one plus one.

Keith knocked on Erlang's leg and said thoughtfully: "AOL is not afraid to spend time cultivating the market, but we will not give up the dominance of the market to others. ”

Zhou Shuo smiled, stretched out his hand and said, "Don't worry, Six Ears Software is willing to be an assistant to AOL in this project." (To be continued......)