deltrittennovels Chapter 235 The Next Strategic Move of Xingyu
Chapter 235 The Next Strategic Move of Xingyu
2 PM, Xingchen Technology conference room.
The core team meeting has been going on for over an hour. The topic: Responding to the competitive landscape following Microsoft's acquisition of ICQ.
"Star Language's user growth hasn't slowed down," the product manager reported. "This morning, in fact, we saw a surge in new users due to the news coverage. Many people downloaded Star Language out of curiosity. Our advantage lies in game integration and social sharing."
"ICQ's advantages are its large user base and high brand awareness," said Director Carly. "After Microsoft takes over, it will definitely push it aggressively through Windows Update, OEM pre-installation, and bundling. Our pre-installation channels are limited, and we mainly rely on word-of-mouth and gaming platforms to drive sales."
"From a technical standpoint," Eric said, "ICQ's protocol is relatively outdated and less scalable than ours. But Microsoft has a strong engineering team that can make rapid improvements. Our advantage lies in audio/video and in-game integration, which ICQ will find difficult to catch up with in the short term."
After listening to the report, Ling Yun wrote "Star Language" on the whiteboard. Then he drew a horizontal line below it, dividing the whiteboard into two halves.
In the upper section, he wrote: Social/Gaming. This is Xingyu's current positioning.
"We started with games, and we retained our first batch of users through social networks and convenient communication." Ling Yun pointed to these words with the tip of his pen. "But with social and game communication, user online activity fluctuates, and user engagement isn't deep enough. People might use it to play games at night and forget about it during the day."
He pointed to the bottom half and wrote: Office/Productivity.
"Next, we'll shift our strategic focus here. We want users to move their work communication, customer contact, and team collaboration into Xingyu. We want Xingyu to transform from a tool 'used for fun' into one that 'must be opened every day at work.'"
Carly raised her hand: "There's a lot of resistance to starting a social media-based office approach. Companies are used to email, phone calls, and even some early internal communication tools."
"So it's not about replacement, it's about penetration." Ling Yun drew several arrows next to "Office," pointing to: small teams, freelancers, and cross-company project groups. "Let's start with these groups who are cost-sensitive, have flexible processes, and dislike complex systems. What do they use now? Email is too slow, phone calls are inconvenient for taking notes, and faxes are outdated. We need to give them a reason to make Xingyu their first choice."
He looked at Eric: "From a technical standpoint, the core of the next iteration is not to add more social features, but to improve the office function plugins."
He opened a section on the right side of the whiteboard and wrote: Plugin System.
"First, the basic office plugin package, which we developed ourselves. What does it include?" Ling Yun quickly listed:
Group announcements/to-do items (an alternative to email notifications and simple task assignments)
Collaborative file preview/annotation (supports online viewing and simple marking of common documents, images, and code snippets, without needing to open local software)
Quick voting/schedule coordination (negotiating group meeting times)
Local export/backup of encrypted chat logs (meets the archiving needs of small teams for communication records)
"These features need to be lightweight, quick to start, and deeply integrated into the chat window sidebar or quick menu. The goal is that a five-person design outsourcing team or a ten-person software development team can basically complete internal coordination and external client communication within Xingyu, reducing the need to switch between different software."
Eric quickly took notes in his notebook while asking, "What about audio and video conferencing? Many teams need it."
"Put that in the second phase. First, get asynchronous collaboration and lightweight synchronization working. Audio and video put a huge strain on the network and servers, so we'll wait until the technology is more mature," Lingyun replied.
He then pointed to the section below "Plugin System": "The more crucial part is the second part: opening up the API and establishing a Star Language plugin market."
This statement made several people in the conference room look up.
"We only develop core communication and basic office plugins. Other vertical needs—project management, customer relationship management (CRM), code collaboration, design review, and even specific industry tools—are all open to third-party developers," Lingyun explained.
Lisa leaned forward: "Just like how gaming platforms attract game developers?"
"Similar logic, but different goals," Ling Yun said. "Game platforms sell games and take a cut. In the plugin market, we provide the platform and traffic, and developers earn money by selling plugins or subscription services. We take a cut, say 30%. Initially, it can even be lower to attract early developers."
David (the platform) asked: "To what extent should it be open? How are API permissions controlled? The security risks are very high."
"Tiered access," Chen Tie (cybersecurity) proactively chimed in. "Basic-level API: reading non-private group information (requires user authorization), sending message notifications, and calling basic UI components. Intermediate-level: limited file transfer interface, user status query. Advanced-level: deep interface integration, backend services, requiring strict review and even signing commercial agreements. All plugins must run in a sandbox, with core data isolated."
"Chen Tie is responsible for developing detailed security guidelines and API permission levels," Ling Yun confirmed. "Lisa, your task is to: within a week, produce a draft of the basic rules for the plugin marketplace, the developer onboarding process, the revenue sharing plan, and the initial recruitment plan for 'seed developers.' Find small teams or individual developers who create niche tools, have creative ideas, but lack distribution channels."
Eric added a technical point: "We need a plugin management framework that allows users to easily install, enable, and disable plugins, and ensures that plugins do not conflict with each other."
"You'll be in charge of this framework," Lingyun said. "Goals: Release a new version of Xingyu within two months, including a built-in plugin marketplace and basic office plugin package. Simultaneously, release basic API documentation and a testing environment, and begin recruiting developers."
Finance expert Emily asked, "Profit forecast? In the short term, the plug-in market may only see investment."
"In the short term, the goal isn't direct revenue," Lingyun turned to her. "The goal is to build an ecosystem barrier and user stickiness. If a designer stays with Xingyu because they use a good design review plugin; if a small company gets all its employees to use Xingyu because of a few cheap and easy-to-use project management and CRM plugins—they won't easily migrate to ICQ or other tools. Once stickiness is established, our game-based social networking, and even future enterprise-level paid services (such as more advanced cloud storage and meeting rooms), will have a basis for monetization."
He returned to the whiteboard and drew a two-way arrow between "Office/Productivity" and "Plug-in Marketplace".
"Use office features to attract users and keep them engaged, and use the plugin marketplace to attract developers and enrich the ecosystem. The two reinforce each other." Lingyun put down his marker. "Let's summarize the task allocation:"
Eric: Leading the technical architecture, plugin management framework, and development of basic office plugin packages.
"Carly: Refine the needs of the office environment and design the user experience, especially the smooth transition from social to office."
"Chen: Security Architecture and API Permission System."
"Lisa: Developer ecosystem building, market rules, and seed developer recruitment."
David: Coordinate platform resources to ensure a consistent user experience between the plug-in marketplace and the Starry Night Games platform.
Tom: Explore the potential of game-related plugins (such as team management and performance analysis) as a pilot project in this vertical field.
"Emily: Evaluating long-term cost-benefit models and preparing for potential early developer incentive funds."
He looked at everyone: "StarTalk is no longer just a communication tool. It's going to be a digital hub with communication as its foundation, plugins as extensions, and covering both work and life. Microsoft spent $430 million on a communication tool. We want to build a more vibrant ecosystem at a lower cost. Any questions?"
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.
"No," Eric said first.
"Understood," the others responded one after another.
"Won't the Windows version distract us and weaken the uniqueness of the Starry Sky ecosystem?" someone asked.
"It's necessary in the long run, even in the short term," Ling Yun said. "We can't limit the battlefield to the Starry Sky system. Microsoft has already come knocking, and we need to get a piece of the action on its home turf. The Windows version of Starry Sky can be lightweight, with complete core functions, and can be integrated with the Starry Sky platform account. Key selling points: clearer and smoother audio and video, optimized for gaming and remote communication, no glitches, and respect for privacy."
"The next strategic focus is to enhance the stickiness of instant messaging for office work, encouraging users to bring their clients to Xingyu. The next step is to improve the office function plugins in Xingyu. On the other hand, we will release some APIs to allow third-party software companies to adapt to Xingyu and integrate them into Xingyu as plugins, creating a Xingyu plugin marketplace to provide developers with innovative ideas with the opportunity to earn money through plugin development."
"Boss, if there are any major new initiatives, we might face some financial strain," said CFO Emily. "Although our cash flow is currently healthy, and in-app purchase revenue for Plants vs. Zombies continues to grow, as does platform revenue sharing, we may need to raise funds to cope with a large-scale marketing campaign."
"We can start contacting investors, but don't rush into pricing. We'll first reach out to investment institutions, with Xingyu acting as a separate entity to raise funds," Ling Yun said. "On the other hand, we'll observe Microsoft's actions. They've spent a lot of money and need to produce results quickly, so their actions might be distorted. We'll remain flexible and capitalize on their mistakes. We'll wage a market war against them, and if we win, our fundraising will be much smoother, allowing us to raise more funds with fewer shares."
"Meeting adjourned," Ling Yun said. "I need to see preliminary technical and market plans in a week."
After the meeting, Lingyun remained alone in the conference room.
He opened his laptop and logged into the Star Language backend. Real-time data showed:
Star Language currently online: 1,512,389
New registrations today: 47,112
Total messages sent today: approximately 1.2 million
The data was growing, but he knew the real test was yet to come.
Once Microsoft's promotional campaign fully launches, it will result in a massive influx of Google Chrome, pre-installed software, and bundled products. Starry Sky needs to find its own anchor point to stay afloat amidst this giant wave.
He recalled the rise of Tencent QQ in later generations, which was not only due to its product, but also to its operations, ecosystem, and even some of the coincidences of the times.
Now, he needs to create his own "chance".
Lingyun closed her laptop and walked to the window. The afternoon sun shone warmly through the glass.
Microsoft spent $430 million to buy an expensive ticket.
And he was already on the stage.
How should we perform the next act?