Although it was only five short years apart, both Charlie Rose and the audience here felt as if they were a world apart.
The epoch-making role of smartphones is becoming more and more prominent. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and Wall Street investors value the performance of Internet applications on mobile phones as much as on personal computers.
This is the first time since the Internet wave that a terminal can compete with personal computers in some areas, something that neither handheld computers nor laptops can do.
Some of the audience members over thirty years old here felt like they were watching Zhou Xin grow up. After hearing Charlie Rose's question, everyone wanted to hear Zhou Xin's opinion.
To some extent, this is a question of the future development direction of smartphones.
Zhou Xin thought that such a trend would indeed appear for a long time in the future, but it took about ten years from the time smartphones entered the stage of history to when consumers lost interest in Apple’s launch conference.
Therefore, there is no need to worry that the early Mphone will not be popular. Zhou Xin will not squeeze out toothpaste like Apple and will not learn from the good functions and designs of Android phones.
Even so, answering this question still requires skills. He did not want to reveal too much to his friends and businessmen:
“This is how I look at this issue. Current applications have not yet given full play to the advantages of smartphones. In the future, everyone will feel more and more deeply about the benefits of smartphone upgrades.
Take electronic payment as an example. From the initial online payment to the current QR code payment, more and more offline merchants support QR code payment after the launch of Mphone2. This requires offline cooperation and is determined by the convenient portability of smartphones. It can break down the barriers between online and offline.
In the early days, the development of smartphones will be about performance improvements, and then developers can use smartphones to develop more and more complex applications. Later, when smartphones fall into the same bottleneck as personal PCs, smartphones will use offline feedback. Come and influence online.
Connecting online and offline will bring new improvements to users. "
Zhou Xin paused for a moment and then said: "At least in my opinion, there is no need to worry about smartphones not being able to bring freshness to everyone in the short term, and I can't see anything in the future."
Charlie Rose applauded: “It seems Newman has a lot of ideas on how to break down the barriers between online and offline.
When I first came into contact with NewPay, I thought it was a genius idea.
In the past, we always relied on past experience to solve problems. For example, traditional payment relied on credit cards and physical goods, and online payment also simulated the payment process by establishing a virtual account. QR code payment is completely different from the previous payment model.
Newman has even considered a complete system to ensure the security of electronic payments, so that no other electronic payment company can bypass NewPay's patent wall to achieve offline electronic payments. "
NewPay’s QR code payment mechanism allows merchants to scan users’ QR codes, so there is no risk of being scanned. In addition, banks, investment institutions, and various giants all have shares in NewPay, so NewPay can operate under strong supervision. Survive in the cracks.
There were two anti-monopoly lawsuits in the process. It was believed that NewPay had achieved a substantial monopoly in the field of electronic payment with the help of QR codes. This was also fought back by the legal team hired by NewPay. The legal team grasped one point, that is, electronic payment is only payment. A type of behavior.
The emergence of NewPay has not made traditional payments disappear. Banknotes and bank cards can still be used unimpeded. In addition, NewPay has interested parties in Washington, so NewPay can be regarded as having passed the risk.
Charlie Rose continued: “Newman’s words make me look forward to the future of smartphones even more.
NewPay has brought so many differences to our lives, and I am looking forward to what impact smartphones will have on our real lives in the future.
Although I really want to ask how smart phones will break the barriers between online and offline in the future, I believe this is a commercial secret. If I reveal it casually, everyone can use Newman’s ideas to make a PPT and go to Wall Street to attract investment.
So I won’t ask too much here. "
After Charlie Rose finished speaking, there was a sigh in the audience, as if to say that Charlie Rose was really ignorant.
Zhou Xin smiled: "Haha, I wouldn't tell you if you asked."
Charlie Rose said: "So I don't ask."
Zhou Xin said: "I can still reveal one thing. For example, interview programs can also be made into apps and put on smartphones. Users can wear headphones to listen to the programs during their free time outside.
For example, our current interview program can simply put the audio online for consumers to listen to.
Of course, this does not mean to break the barriers between online and offline. It just moves some software on personal PCs to smartphones. The portability of smartphones determines that it will have more fans.
Compared with TVs and computers, users naturally prefer to lie on the sofa and watch TV instead of sitting in front of a chair and watching a computer. "Zhou Xin leaned back on the sofa and spread his hands, showing how comfortable he was.
"Compared with TVs, smartphones can be carried around with you. When you are in boring situations and don't know what to do, you can listen to programs to pass the time. There are definitely many users with similar needs."
Charlie Rose thought thoughtfully, "It seems that I have to discuss it with the TV station, and we can also enter the mobile Internet industry."
Zhou Xin said: “Yes, smartphones are a rare opportunity, and I think both individuals and companies can try to seize this opportunity.
This is an era opportunity comparable to the Internet wave in the 1990s. "
Despite this, most people are still cannon fodder. It just means that in the face of opportunities in this era, the probability of success will be higher than usual.
Charlie Rose stood up and straightened his tie: "It seems that it is my turn as an old man to take action. I also have an entrepreneurial heart.
Newman, if I were to start a business, what would you recommend I do? "
Zhou Xin said: "First open an account on Weibo, so you can share your experiences with various interview guests.
For example, if you are interviewing Newman today, you can post on Weibo and say: Newman is incredibly smart. He is the smartest guy I have ever seen.
Or when interviewing the old Bush, you can also post on Weibo: If your father were this guy, you could get into Yale with an SAT score of 1206. "
After the first paragraph, the audience and the host just thought Zhou Xin was narcissistic. Then they thought it was Newman, and they thought it was not unacceptable.
After the second paragraph was finished, the audience burst into laughter. Ridicule is a common part of talk shows, but it is rare to see it as straightforward and humorous as Zhou Xin said.
Charlie Rose said: "As expected of the founder of the new media concept, he is ten times better than me at how to attract attention. If it were me, I would never think of teasing Bush in this regard.
I will only send: Man, do you still need a grandchild? "
Everyone here burst into laughter again, because the subtext of this sentence is that I also want to be a **, implying that the power inheritance of the Bush family is so obvious.
After the two joked, Charlie Rose brought the topic back on track: "Even in the field of mobile Internet, I am still more suitable for expressing related work.
Newman, not long ago, Nokia and Motorola refused to allow WeChat to log on to their platforms. This matter was hotly discussed in the media. I am curious about your personal views. "
Zhou Xin said: "Probably because they are too afraid of direct competition with me, so they can only use this monopoly method to deal with WeChat."
After Zhou Xin finished speaking, there was a burst of applause from the backstage, and some audience members shouted: "You are right."
Charlie Rose asked: "Why don't they target Weibo?"
Zhou Xin said: "The reason why we don't deal with Weibo is because Weibo is not as valuable as WeChat. There are too many community-based applications, and it makes no sense to specifically target Weibo.
Even if they do not allow Weibo to enter their platform, they cannot ban all community applications.
They can achieve a monopoly on instant messaging software, at least on their own platform.
What Nokia and Motorola do does not have the magnanimity and structure of the century-old giants. This incident also makes me more confident in the competition between Mphone and these two companies. "
Charlie Rose nodded after listening: "Newman has never lacked confidence. When I interviewed you here, I asked you how Quora defeated competitors. You didn't take any competitors seriously at all.
Newman, why doesn't the Matrix take the same approach against them? "
Zhou Xin said: "Because there is no need, even if Nokia and Motorola put their instant messaging software on the Mphone app store, they will not be able to compete head-on with WeChat."
Charlie Rose picked up the material in his hand and began to speak: “We all know that the most important function of instant messaging software is communication between users.
When downloading and installing on the platform, this will cause a problem, that is, Nokia or Motorola users cannot communicate with other users.
But they can use instant messaging software developed by Nokia or Motorola to communicate. Will cross-platform communication become their unique advantage?
And then affect the number of users of WeChat? "
This question goes to the core and is what the staff of The Charlie Rose Show are thinking about. Not only do they want to know, but the audience also wants to know why Zhou Xin didn't take countermeasures.
From the perspective of the Americans, not to mention fighting back when you are being targeted, even if you are not being targeted, when you have an advantage, you should use it.
The best case is that when IE and Netscape browsers were fighting, Microsoft directly forced the installation of IE and then set up various obstacles for the installation of Netscape.
Zhou Xin said: "Because there is no need. One thing you just said is right, that is, the most important thing about instant messaging software is scale.
The scale effect is very important. Most of your friends use WeChat, so you will also use WeChat.
Regarding the question you just mentioned, I think the number of consumers using Nokia smartphones is not enough to affect WeChat’s scale effect.
To put it more bluntly, in the smartphone market, Mphone is the absolute mainstream, and the traditional giants combined are not enough to beat Mphone. "
Charlie Rose laughed: “Newman, you still have a familiar taste.
I'm looking forward to what the CEOs of the two companies think after watching this show. "
Zhou Xin said: "They will definitely watch it, just to understand my thoughts, they will all watch this program.
I just want to say that Mphone's opponent is not Nokia and Motorola, Mphone's opponent is Microsoft. "
This is the highlight of today. The regulatory authorities rejected the merger of Microsoft and Matrix on the front foot, and the merger of Matrix and Apple on the back foot. This caused a violent shock in Amerikan.
If Apple became Microsoft's rival in the 1990s and then declined rapidly, then Apple, which has made a comeback after merging with Matrix, is definitely Microsoft's biggest competitor.
Apple has its own operating system, and Matrix also has its own operating system. In the past, Apple's biggest disadvantage compared with Microsoft was the user scale.
Microsoft has billions of users worldwide, while Apple has only millions of users, not even tens of millions.
After merging with Matrix, relying on the halo effect of Zhou Xin, Apple can quickly expand its scale. At the same time, Mphone has tens of millions of users, and these users can be converted into Apple computer users.
Therefore, on the first day after the merger of Matrix and Apple was approved by the Nasdaq exchange, the front page headline of the Wall Street Journal was: "Apple-Microsoft's biggest competitor is back."
"People" magazine uses the heads of Zhou Xin and Steve Jobs as the cover of its latest issue. Zhou Xin's head is larger in the upper left corner, while Jobs's head is smaller in the lower right corner. The entire cover is very textured.
When Charlie Rose saw Zhou Xin take the initiative to mention Microsoft, he happened to take over the words: "We all know that first Microsoft wanted to acquire Matrix, and after that failed, Matrix acquired Apple.
Can we consider Apple to be your second best option? "
Zhou Xin said: "Whether it is Apple or Microsoft, these two choices have their own advantages and disadvantages, and there is no first or second.
In fact, I would rather cooperate with Apple because Microsoft has too many businesses and is too complex to focus on consumer electronics.
The merger of Matrix and Apple can better achieve resource focus, but there may be a certain degree of internal friction if it merges with Microsoft. "
From an organizational and personnel perspective, Microsoft has never had a hard time. Its senior executives will not look down on Zhou Xin just because an outside monk can chant sutras, nor will they cooperate fully.
Just like Intel is filled with various homeless tribes and hills, Microsoft's situation will only get worse, not better.
As for Apple, just take care of Steve Jobs in terms of internal management, and Jobs will take care of everyone else.
In addition, after the merger, Zhou Xin still holds more than 60% of the shares of New Apple, so the legal control is firmly in his own hands.
Charlie Rose said: "According to the latest product sales data released by Peter below, we can see that since the merger with Matrix, Apple has set a new sales record this quarter, with a total of nearly 900,000 Macs sold. It is also the first time in the past three years that Apple has new high.
Sales of notebook products including Apple also set new records this quarter, including 240,000 iBooks and 220,000 PowerBooks sold.
Some media believe this is the Newman effect. The emergence of Newman has refocused consumers on an established company like Apple.
What do you think of this statement? And what do you think you can bring to Apple's original products after the merger of Matrix and Apple? "
(End of chapter)
