Entrepreneur Watch: What can you learn from MSN's big defeat?

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When you see this article, in addition to the Chinese area, MSN was permanently frozen by Microsoft. When it comes to its recent situation, it really makes people feel extremely: you and I are its once brilliant witness, "There is nothing hanging MSN" in the year is the symbol of white-collar workers, but now it is reduced to a close to the application of the chicken, and even became a high degree of network fraud.

Microsoft's move in China is to turn MSN into a WINDOWS8 portal. Yes, for the Chinese users, the relationship of precipitation in the above has not disappeared. But as a witness of its ups and downs, what do we need to do? What kind of revelation does the "cup" that occurs on MSN bring to us?

Guests of this visit to the "Product" column is "Touch Treasure" founder Wang Jialiang and "a push" founder Fang.

Wang Jialiang, Microsoft leaves staff. Although he did not work for the MSN team at Microsoft, he also anxious the MSN Global Research and Development department located in Shanghai and close to him. For the old club's products, he thinks, MSN problems are the details, and MSN and QQ, the success of the current Chinese Internet domain top master-Tencent's first, perhaps the only one reverse attack.

Fang, a number of start-up, has launched products including mobile phone preparation, a letter, a push, a push has just celebrated the "user over 200 million". He was outspoken and had "molested" MA in a group of micro-believers. Coincidentally, on the PC side, MSN lost to Tencent QQ, on the mobile side, his "letter" lost to Tencent Micro-letter. He and MSN once had the same opponents (and they failed).

This issue of observer Wang Jialiang

Former employees of Microsoft, founder of "Touch Treasure"

MSN Business Operations I do not know, but I just entered Microsoft not long, 2006 years or so, Microsoft set up a department in Shanghai, MSN Global Research and development, the overall research and development of a part of the special cut to China to do, in Xujiahui's Hong Kong exchange Square. There are 300 supposedly people, the division of labor is very fine, light a "login" function to take into account all kinds of circumstances, and finally hundreds of people to do. Compare MSN to an aircraft carrier, it needs a whole battle group, the side must have frigates, helicopters, the Chinese team is equivalent to a frigate.

At first, MSN was a Microsoft subsidiary that offered ISPs (Internet service Provider, equivalent to Internet access services) to fight AOL, and AOL had an aim, and Microsoft pushed an MSN Messenger service to increase user stickiness. I didn't expect it to be much more successful than expected.

MSN in 2002, 2003 is already very popular, North wide deep white-collar use MSN, I feel this situation has lasted until 2008 years. And then it went down.

Its most obvious problem is that products are becoming more rigid and stagnant. Its product function is too poor, or useful features are not, but added a bunch of users look very chicken function. The most touching of white-collar class is that the MSN Dialogue window must be in the Windows taskbar, if the work chat, the taskbar where a pile of things in there flashing, the boss walked past can see. QQ is not the same, only the lower right corner of a small icon, press a shortcut key window bounced out.

and "File transfer." Im the main work is chat, file is the auxiliary function. MSN can not achieve a "breakpoint continuation", coupled with their own network instability, did not pass the past and will be again. At the peak of the time, QQ or carrying an alternative tool role, and then all of the QQ file, especially the relatively large file.

These are the details of the user experience, but they allow MSN to slowly lose the white-collar user community. White-collar originally is very top MSN, because everyone think QQ belongs to students use things. I think that from a strategic point of view, MSN is more clear than QQ. It starts with the IM tool, and slowly adds some social attributes, such as adding MSN. Finally, QQ won, which is more or less a component of luck, its own planning, including the entire product context does not appear so forward-looking.

MSN relies on strategy, and QQ relies on tactics. When entering China, MSN is like the subversion of QQ-at that time, the Internet is not many people, but everyone knows QQ.

QQ execution is very strong, the product user experience is good, it has been thinking about what users need, users need me to do. I guess QQ also does not have too many strategic layout, you want QQ to belong to the internal competition type, regardless of that time is not this culture, certainly has that kind of symptom, even some opportunism ingredient.

It's kind of like a planned economy and a market economy. MSN is the former, it felt that this thing strategy above significant, put huge resources, even if it does not make money, the user started relatively slow, also have to do; QQ is the fittest, the user choice, even if the product has been someone else to do, you can try. In fact, I think, the Apple is also a planned economy, the beginning of it is heterogeneous, it is a step-by-step guide you to use it, do not look now popular, before it is a small audience!

In the positioning, MSN is very clear, it is equivalent to real-name, to acquaintances social. You have to know each other's ID, otherwise no way to find, no stranger to add you, you can not add others; QQ inside are anonymous, there is a search function, can be based on age, geographical, etc. to check, then also popular netizens meet, young girls want to contact the society, QQ is also regarded as the year's "gun artifact." MSN main white-collar, is already a circle of maintenance, and QQ is to meet. So I talk with foreigners about these two products, the use of the two words are discovery and maintenance.

As a matter of fact, everyone was a teenager. Including now I feel that it should not be the first choice for white-collar users. After MSN declines, new products should appear. Now I find that micro-letters can play this role, because the micro-letter is also starting from the white-collar side, the so-called elite groups, a large part of the user with MSN overlap. This means that everyone is not entirely satisfied with QQ. Micro-letters if the main push desktop version, most people will be transferred to the micro-letter. Now in fact, QQ is a host of strangers social and acquaintances of the dual role of social networking.

But from another angle, the time of MSN decline and Google, Apple rise time is similar. In China, this is accompanied by a happy net, Renren, micro-blog up the time period.

Google began to develop, MSN in the United States has begun to drop down. In 2002, 2003, when many schools in Silicon Valley began to use Linux, but could not be compatible with MSN, where users migrated to AOL, Yahoo! Messenger, and then went to the Gtalk, and then Facebook, Twitter appeared, Everyone is not in the popular chat. Americans like "asynchronous" communication, you send me a thing, I do not need to return to you immediately, such as telephone messages, mail. American Time management is better than Chinese, which is a cultural nuance.

In China, early im actually played a role as a social network. Later, when Renren and Weibo got up, some people were diverted. Some of the above information, the original is through im inside the "chat group" to achieve. MSN began to accelerate the decline, chat group it did not do well, in a long time there is no way to form a group, and QQ Group is a long-standing. MSN MSN has a period of time is also very hot, and will put the title of the user article to the signature inside to roll update, so I said that MSN Strategic planning is very grand. But unfortunately, all of these moves were made when it was dying.

A good study of the situation of MSN, I found that each of its problems are not particularly important to look at, but it is the user experience in an indispensable link, it lost in the details, and the details at the end of the fatal. It was successful only because the user had no better alternative.

However, this reminds me of the situation of micro-letters. Yes, I'm a little worried about it. Its rise, on the one hand, because the user in the mobile phone, on the other hand is the past IM spam more and more, like the QQ on the people at sixes and sevens, but also with the net name. With more and more rubbish, the value of this social network or communication tool is falling and the cost of maintenance is higher. But frankly speaking, in my opinion, the core of micro-letter is still like QQ, that is, making strangers, it is difficult to ensure that a period of time will not occur before the QQ problem.

Perhaps this kind of product is a cycle of cycles, when it becomes bloated, it needs to be overturned. It's as if your computer's hard drive is constantly being stuffed into things, and the only thing you need is a replacement, a new computer, not an optimization, and how to optimize it is messy. #p # subtitle #e#

This issue of observer Fang

Founder of "a Push"

As a user, I began in 99 with qq,2000 years with MSN; QQ above high school students more, college students are basically added MSN. Then after work because I think QQ too noisy, long time no longer, every four months go up a look at the message.

MSN became my official communication tool, my computer is set to boot automatically started only it, and then has been hanging. 2006 ~2008 years, I basically usually hang, because it is not noisy on top of it. In the happy net out before, you do not boot to hang an MSN you are simply not a white-collar.

I also put myself in the MSN thought, in fact, it has lost several opportunities, only to become the present appearance.

The first is the product opportunity between 2006 ~2008 years. As a "letter," I dug a MSN before the Chinese regional chief architect, now he is a team of technical leaders. He told me, one thing about MSN is that the version upgrade must be a global upgrade, basically in the U.S. time of the middle of the night, causing China to upgrade in broad daylight, the system to upgrade users can not use; later, with the United States headquarters to communicate, the other side said we can not consider each country. MSN such a large product, in China each upgrade will probably have 10% to 5% of users will never come back, the team is very painful: not very easy to activate a user, an upgrade on such a son, this is not to kill themselves?

Now, after the merger with Skype, China is relatively independent. All over the world, in China, there are some innovative, localized things, other places are global catch, Headquarters also constantly stressed to maintain the unity of products, do not let version differentiation. So the deep reason, the death of MSN is the organization is extremely bloated, decision-making inflexible.

Including MSN in the global withdrawal of news, Tang June also said he advocated "add Group", the group added well is very important. In fact, for me, now micro-letter 99% is active in the group, QQ is the case, from the earliest chat demand, to the back of the anonymous dating needs, and then in fact the main group, equivalent to create a communication record for everyone. MSN These steps have not gone, from the beginning has been the demand for communications. MSN so-called "group" is not the concept of group, it means that a lot of people grabbed to chat, and QQ is the group to do very deep.

There are QQ "online stealth", this is cool, fully appreciate as a user may encounter various situations, the excavation of human nature is very flexible. MSN never let you feel cool, you use it, always feel "ah how so, well, I from".

Including MSN's own Hotmail originally done very well-originally Chinese two kinds of people, "Aborigines" on the 163, "foreigners" full use of Hotmail. Gmail was done and I didn't see how Hotmail could improve. Microsoft's technology is not worse than Google to go to it? To later, I found the mailbox of the world, NetEase is actually the mailbox led the game, micro-letter is relying on QQ mailbox experience to do. Mailbox This thing is a strong account system, individual survival ability is strong, as long as your user experience good, the world other products are my fart, I use good is good, use our company's argument is just need, high-frequency.

Then, MSN lost and happy, Sina microblogging cooperation opportunities. MSN User System and QQ is completely different, and its user system is open, you enter the user name, password can be the entire relationship between friends, and QQ has until now not open. What I mean by openness is, for example, how does your buddy relationship build up when Facebook just launched? Now should be input Gmail account, the previous more is the MSN account to enter, and then to help you export, your friends are in the inside, these people come up to add as friends. In the United States, the concept of MSN is very advanced, all the American social networking sites are the mother of MSN. Now the micro-letter relationship is based on the mobile phone communication Record Guide, the Chinese in the micro-letter this model before, in fact, there is no good way to guide users, including Renren and happy Net are guide MSN.

At that time, Happy net MSN Guide the past, I also try to find someone on MSN Chat, found that people are still in. Then happy net up, the MSN's active degree has passed, people are there interactive. Car parking is a weak link, is tantamount to chat form from the word into a grab parking spaces, trading friends such asynchronous interaction.

With happy net, Sina Weibo's cooperation, MSN did not do deep, you can see it struggled a bit, the content of Sina Weibo transferred to its signature inside; But after the user, to Weibo useful, it is not good for itself. It does not take the initiative back, at least to do more to make users active things.

The next opportunity is the "3Q war". 3Q War so that everyone saw a lively, I think it is MSN a Jedi the point of retrogradation. If it has the opportunity to kill out, show a sentiment, but also a marketing point, at least that batch of old MSN users actually still have the moral integrity.

But MSN not as, even Sina is pushing his uc,msn not to insult. I think this time must be the insult. 3Q before the war we and Alibaba people are chatting, the Giants play with each other, there is no chance of defeating each other, only one of them was unconscious recruit. QQ out of the trick is actually quite faint, as long as there are more courageous things to attack, at least white-collar this piece of the crowd can be dug back, because QQ at that time a lot of people to uninstall it, at least a lot of people have opinions about it. Microblogging on the people are scolded, even my brother, my sister, their home in primary school children all ask me this thing. MSN should be stormed up, directly to the group of emotional people to take over, that time a large number of people on the computer also loaded with MSN.

Finally, the opportunity to move the end. MSN so far on the mobile end of the movement, the original mobile end of the packet to pica. 360 also made a message, including grand all first out a youni, everyone is doing, but no MSN voice. Finally micro-letter success, killed two products: mobile phone QQ and MSN. After the micro-letter came up, MSN a little sense of perdition.

I think it goes through the whole process is: happy net out, the entire Internet to entertainment, MSN was killed by happy net, and then the decline of network, Renren did not enter the white-collar, the last QQ slowly penetrate to the happy group of users, and then out of the micro-letter. From the point of view of the user circulation, is actually: MSN to the user to happy net, happy net again pass back QQ, the micro-letter came after, completely the white-collar took over.

I remember having an interview with Zhangxiaolong, who was asked to define a micro-letter, which he did not define. My wife's motto is, we often hesitate in front of a decision, she describes "a wild goose flies", her suggestion is to hit it down first, don't think about how to play. The mobile Internet at least in the first two years of the situation is that one months a change, and then basically is a quarter to change a concept. If you are like MSN, you may be dead.