diymy Chapter 2 This hat is deadly enough
Chapter 2 This hat is deadly enough
That evening, Ren Pingsheng received nothing.
Zero views, zero comments, zero shares.
Expected.
A video posted by an anonymous account was buried among hundreds of posts on the homepage, not even making a ripple.
Lying on the bed in the shared apartment, staring at the ceiling, Ren Pingsheng plotted his next move.
The video itself isn't the problem; the content is solid, and the pacing is even more impressive.
The problem lies in the cold start.
The internet in 2009 was not like it would be in 2025. The concept of short videos did not exist, there were no algorithm recommendations, and there was no information feed.
Video websites' traffic is concentrated on various pirated film and television resources and funny clips.
Why would a user click on a ten-minute in-depth exposé video?
It needs to be pushed, pushed by "people".
The next day at work, Ren Pingsheng sat at his workstation as usual, pretending to work.
He finished what Alex asked him to do yesterday.
This job certainly doesn't require any brains, but he does it faster than anyone else.
Taking advantage of the quieter lunch break, he opened Tianya Community.
Mop is already on the decline, Baidu Tieba is still growing wildly, Douban's literary youth are talking about Bergman and Tarkovsky, and Xinlang Weibo will not be launched until August.
Tianya, especially its forums such as [Guantian Tea House], became the center of public opinion on the simplified Chinese internet at that time.
It was also the main stronghold of what was later known as the "public intellectuals" group.
They were the "people" that Ren Pingsheng had his eye on.
A group of people who are passionate about arguing, have a strong desire to express themselves, and believe they have the truth.
Ren Pingsheng registered a new account with the same name as his video website, called "Life Story".
He didn't post the video link directly, because doing so would have resulted in the video being immediately deleted.
He posted a message.
Title: [In-Depth Analysis] Did you manage to snag tickets to the MJ concert? I advise you not to get too excited yet.
The main text consists of only three lines.
Has anyone noticed who Michael Jackson's personal physician was?
Has anyone looked into the background of AEG?
"Fifty concerts, a fifty-year-old body, you guys do the math."
Then, on the second floor, he left a message: "Don't rush, let me explain slowly."
This is a classic "pitfall" writing style on Tianya.
They only provide the questions, not the answers.
Let the experts explain, let the funny ones chat, let the fans vent, and let the ordinary people watch.
After posting the message, he closed the page and continued "working" until he glanced at it before leaving get off work.
Seventeen replies.
"Please don't abandon this story, update soon!"
What happened to MJ's doctor? Please explain!
"Another clickbait headline. I bet five cents it's from the editor-in-chief."
"Save it for now, see how it goes later."
It's not much, but it's enough.
BBS-style forums rely on continuous updates and interaction; as long as someone replies, the post won't sink.
Ren Pingsheng did not rush to update.
The next evening, the number of replies increased to more than forty, half of which were urging him to update, and the other half were cursing him.
Someone posted a recent photo of MJ, saying that the King of Pop was in great shape and that he should stop spreading rumors.
Someone copied information about AEG from Wikipedia, saying it's the world's largest performance company and very professional.
There was also someone with the ID "Under the California Sun" who wrote a long article arguing in detail that MJ had no health problems.
The commentary concludes: "Domestic keyboard warriors love to point fingers at things they don't understand and use their dark thinking to speculate about the light."
"I suggest you focus your energy on improving your own understanding, instead of exploiting a great artist."
I've been waiting for you.
Only with opponents can there be an audience.
Ren Pingsheng began updating the second layer of content.
This time he didn't use emotional language; he was extremely restrained.
He cited foreign media reports point by point:
Witnesses described MJ collapsing during rehearsals...
Court records of Dr. Murray's three previous medical malpractice cases...
AEG employees made only a few remarks during an interview regarding "the insurance application not being approved"...
Each one is marked with its source.
It wasn't because he suddenly developed journalistic ethics, but because he knew that in a place like Tianya, mere verbal attacks would only bring temporary fame.
A truly brilliant post always contains solid material that leaves its opponents speechless.
After updating, he added at the end: "You can verify the above information yourselves."
"I also made a video to make the timeline clearer, and the link is downstairs."
three days later.
The post went from over 40 floors to 327.
The data was viewed on his phone on Monday morning, while he was on paid leave to take a dump.
The replies were divided into three groups.
The first wave of followers upgraded their tone from "Don't abandon this post, OP" to "Speak up, bro."
The second wave of criticism escalated, with more aggressive language.
"Under the California Sun" published another long article, this time citing an interview with the Los Angeles Times to refute Ren Pingsheng's arguments point by point.
The final comment read: "Looking forward to your response, if you are still able to."
The smell of gunpowder grew stronger.
The third group was the most interesting; they didn't take sides, just watched the excitement and made comments along the way.
"Where is the video? Why can't I open it?"
"I clicked on that Youku link, and it kept spinning for five minutes."
"You can watch videos on ACFun, but they're so blurry they look like porn."
What is A-site? The one that's all about non-mainstream content?
Internet speeds were like this in 2009.
Let alone watching a ten-minute video online, even opening a Flash player takes forever.
It's more like watching and downloading at the same time, but that's a different story altogether.
But complaining itself generates traffic.
If you can't open it, someone will mock you while simultaneously teaching you how to open it.
The teacher felt a great sense of superiority, and the learner readily shared the link.
One pass ten, ten pass a hundred.
Free promotion is more effective than spending money.
When I returned to my workstation, there was someone else next to me.
"Are you up to no good behind the company's back?"
Dapeng sat on the chair next to him, with half of his buttocks resting on the edge.
He never puts on airs, but today his posture was more casual than usual, almost deliberately casual.
"Hey, I have a question for you, answer honestly."
"Go ahead and ask."
"A post on Tianya has gone viral, detailing MJ's concert, and it even includes a video link."
Dapeng paused for a moment.
"The content is exactly the same as your proposal, isn't it?"
Ren Pingsheng leaned back in his chair, his posture unchanged, but the sand table in his mind had already been laid out.
The fact that Dapeng could see that post indicates that its spread has penetrated into a wider circle of people.
This is a good thing.
However, the fact that he could connect the video to himself indicates that the content was too targeted and overlapped too much with the proposal presented at the meeting.
This was an oversight.
No, it wasn't an oversight.
He had no intention of hiding it at the time.
The project proposal is an open card, the video is a closed card, but both cards are the same suit.
Anyone who has seen the project proposal and watched the video can easily identify it.
The question is how Dapeng will handle this matter.
"it's me."
Ren Pingsheng did not deny it; denying it would be meaningless.
Da Peng showed no surprise and lowered his voice.
"Do you know Alex's background?"
"Columbia University Media Studies, returned from overseas."
"I'm not asking about his education; his surname is Deng."
Deng, the Deng in Deng Ye.
CEO of Sohu Video, and future Vice President of Sohu Entertainment Media.
She is also Alex's sister.
Ren Pingsheng knew about this relationship in his previous life, but it was too late when he found out.
"If he knew you were posting this kind of stuff outside, he wouldn't wait for you to resign; he'd just get it done for you."
"And it's the kind of thing you can't put on your resume later."
Ren Pingsheng remained silent; he understood the meaning behind Da Peng's words.
Alex's Columbia University degree and professional skills are real, but his narrow-mindedness is also real.
It's not that he's a bad person; he's just someone who's been pampered since childhood, and he simply thinks that others are inferior to him.
Being contradicted at the meeting by a newcomer with a degree from a third-tier university was already the limit of his tolerance. What he really wanted was for that newcomer to then post the rejected proposal online...
That's really taking advantage of someone's kindness.
What Alex can't stand the most is being proven wrong.
Going against him is like going against his sister, and going against his sister is like going against Sohu Video.
Sohu is considered the "Whampoa Military Academy" of the domestic video industry.
The founders of Youku, Kuliu, and Wuliu.com all came from here.
The circle is only so big; offending one is like offending a whole bunch.
Although the internet companies in 2009 did not have the strict non-compete agreements and content review mechanisms that later emerged.
However, "company employees published controversial content related to the company's business, which caused a huge public outcry and damaged the company's reputation."
This label, once placed on someone, is deadly enough.