In the current internet market, shopping and socializing are services that almost everyone relies on.
When it comes to shopping, the giant Alibaba has always been the industry leader, though upstarts like JD.com and Pinduoduo have also risen to share the market. In the realm of social networking, however, the demand far exceeds that of shopping, and there has only ever been one dominant player—Tencent. No other company comes close.
Despite numerous attempts to challenge Tencent's dominance, all competitors have failed. The reason is simple: once users have established their social circles on a platform, they are unlikely to switch, even if they encounter a better product. For social networking tools, having no one to chat with renders all other features meaningless.
But is WeChat truly invincible? If we define it, WeChat can be categorized as a tool for "familiar connections," primarily used to keep in touch with people we already know. However, does socializing only involve familiar people? Certainly not! If there's a way to challenge Tencent's empire, it lies in "stranger socialization."
One word is closely linked to stranger socialization—loneliness.
Liu Di had a deep understanding of loneliness. Over the past three years, Liu Di had fallen from being a golden boy to a part-time waiter. The pain from his eye injury made it nearly impossible for him to interact with others, as if he were living in a different world. He saw many things clearly and pondered them deeply, constantly asking himself: Is there really someone out there who shares my experience?
There was no answer to this question. But Liu Di realized that life is hard, and happiness is even harder to find. Everyone wants someone they can confide in, someone with whom they can share their innermost thoughts. No matter how introverted or reclusive a person may be, deep down, everyone desires to break out of their current social circles and meet new friends.
Liu Di realized that this was an opportunity—an opportunity to create an entirely new internet business empire.
Three days ago, Liu Di began to refine this idea. With his understanding of human nature and Mo Tong's powerful analytical capabilities, the mobile app *Gemini*, focused on stranger socialization, was born!
Design, programming, development, and backend support—tasks that would normally take months to complete—were accomplished overnight by Mo Tong. The subsequent "guess-the-riddle-for-prizes" campaign was a monumental promotional event for the *Gemini* app.
Now, this young man, who had risen from humble beginnings and was standing on a mountaintop gazing at the sunrise, was embarking on his first entrepreneurial venture, targeting none other than Tencent.
In the backend, the download and registration numbers for *Gemini* were skyrocketing. Driven by immense curiosity, everyone wanted to explore this new app.
In just 10 minutes, downloads surpassed one million. Within half an hour, they exceeded 10 million. After one hour, the app had nearly 100 million users!
Every user who registered was thoroughly impressed by the app's personality analysis. Some were excited, others were amazed, and some even shed tears. No one expected that the first entity to truly understand their innermost selves would be a mobile app!
But the next step brought even more surprises. Users discovered that, among the vast sea of people, there really were individuals who shared their values and resonated deeply with them.
Under Di San's post, the comments surged once again.
"This app is truly unique!"
"It really analyzed me perfectly, right down to my emotional triggers!"
"I've been treated like a weirdo for 25 years, and I never imagined there was someone out there who was just like me!"
"Haha, I met a fellow film buff on *Gemini*, and within three minutes, we were like old friends!"
"My wife initially didn't want me to download it, but then she met a new best friend on here! Now she's fully supportive and says this is a genuine platform for good connections!"
"Though I met someone of the opposite sex on *Gemini*, it's a complete spiritual connection with no ulterior motives!"
"You think that's something? Through *Gemini*, I found out that the girl next door has had a crush on me for years! I'm overjoyed!"
"I found my first love after five years apart! We're still so compatible!"
"This app is amazing! I'm going to get all my friends on here and use it for life!"
Seeing these comments, Liu Di smiled contentedly.
With Mo Tong's extraordinary analytical capabilities, the app could monitor nearly everything. The *Gemini* platform first filters out all illegal information, then maintains a high level of purity, ensuring that no unethical relationships arise between users of the opposite sex.
If *Gemini* wants to sustain its stranger socialization business for the long haul, these are the two principles that must be upheld.
Meanwhile, major internet companies, network experts, and economists were finally taking notice of the enormous waves Di San and the *Gemini* app had created overnight.
"This is terrifying!"
"Over 100 million downloads in just one hour—unprecedented!"
"And users are still downloading it in droves!"
"At this rate, in less than three hours, *Gemini* will top the download charts!"
In an economics research institute, an elderly professor stared intently at the data on his screen, his lips trembling slightly.
"This Di San is no ordinary person!"
"Two rounds of prize draws—one costing 50 million yuan, the other 100 million yuan—totaling 150 million yuan. It seems like a large sum, but it has brought *Gemini* an immeasurable amount of exposure!"
"Using conventional methods, there's no clear price for acquiring over a billion users for an app. It could cost billions, tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions!"
"And he did it all in one night!"
"And the feedback is overwhelmingly positive!"
"His marketing strategies are subtle yet powerful, his technical methods are superior, and his understanding of market demand is spot on!"
"He's nothing short of a business genius!"
At Tencent's headquarters, the top executives had already gathered in the conference room. The upheaval that had taken place overnight made them realize they were facing a genuine crisis.
A middle-aged man adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and asked the marketing director, "What's the story behind this *Gemini* app?"
"Mr. Li, the app is owned by a company called 'The Creator Technology,' which was just recently registered."
"A newly registered company with this much power?"
Mr. Li's eyes sharpened. "There's definitely someone backing this Creator Technology. Reach out to Baidu and Alibaba and let them know there's no need to keep secrets—let's compete fairly!"
The marketing director wiped the sweat from his forehead, nervously saying, "Mr. Li, I've already looked into it. Those two companies are just as spooked as we are! They're terrified that *Gemini* might encroach on their business too!"
"And..."
The marketing director hesitated, unable to meet Mr. Li's gaze. "Since *Gemini* launched, our user base has dropped by 4%, and it's still declining..."
"What?!"
Mr. Li shot up from his seat. "A 4% drop overnight? That's unprecedented!"
Tencent has nearly 900 million users, so a 4% drop in active users is no small number.
"I heard this *Gemini* can analyze users' personalities? What technology are they using? Replicate it for me!"
The marketing director looked embarrassed. "Mr. Li, we've tested it. With our current technical team... we..."
Mr. Li glared. "What? You can't replicate it? I refuse to believe there's any technology out there that Tencent can't copy!"
The marketing director's legs trembled with fear as he stammered, "It's not that we can't copy it; we just can't even begin to understand it!"