Fang: Experiencing the fall of FM365 website

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The fall of the FM365 website is widely discussed in the Internet world. FM365 was born in early 1999 in our software division, as vice president, I naturally is very clear its origins. In 2002 years, FM365 all to me in charge, so, I am also very aware of its downfall.

Contrary to speculation in the industry, the fall of the FM365 website mainly comes from Lenovo's Internet blueprint is very macro, a portal can not meet its appetite, it to do a larger internet. And in the larger process, it encountered AOL (US online), but it is with AOL cooperation in various problems, it led to Lenovo Internet business complete failure.

At the beginning of 2000, when FM365 was not yet unveiled, Lenovo was thinking about one thing: How to be a leading internet business. At that time, the world's Internet leaders are not many, one of which is Microsoft's MSN, the other is AOL. and Yahoo because of alliance with founder, so not in consideration of the list.

In the process of starting negotiations with two, AOL shows the real boss status: annexation of Time Warner. The aol-Time Warner model was considered the best model at the time, so it was determined that Lenovo and AOL were allied.

The negotiations between Lenovo and AOL are hard, and the hardship comes from the difference between the way they do things, the way they think, and so on. At the same time as the negotiations, FM365 launched (April 18, 2000), and in early 2001 to enter the top five Chinese portals.

And FM365 also started with a business, is Lenovo's ISP business, Lenovo in this piece of investment is no less than FM365 website. Lenovo's ISP business is to fully cooperate with China Telecom, in the country to achieve 163 account access and roaming. Even telecom itself did not do this, and Lenovo did. In Lenovo Computer preset one year of free internet service, Internet access, into the FM365 website. A year of free internet access expires, Lenovo to provide a renewal, which began the ISP's business. At the same time, FM365 as a level of portal, all channels to make a vertical portal, so that will constitute Lenovo Internet Business Blueprint: 3.1 Lines (Internet service + Horizontal portal + Vertical portal). Therefore, we look at the win, see the new Oriental, see the Peking University School and so on, are the components of these vertical portals.

Such a "three" blueprint coincides with AOL. AOL is an "Internet access" approach, providing content value-added mode. Users will get an account in the monthly payment mode, using this account to access the Internet from dedicated clients, the client integrates all the services provided by AOL: News/Entertainment/Education/finance/video, search, mail, chat room, IM (in-time communication), newsgroups and so on, the whole of the current SNS system. Of course, you can also visit other websites and so on.

This pattern seems to be seamless at the moment, and at that time nature is beyond reproach. So, in 2001, when the internet world depression, Lenovo intensified the negotiations with AOL, the two sides finally in early June 2001 to launch a grand cooperation framework: the two sides invested 100 million U.S. dollars, set up a joint venture company, Big do the internet!

So the industry's rumored association's abandonment of FM365 and the Internet business is not a defect. In contrast, during the Great Depression of the Internet, Lenovo was investing significantly in order to achieve its ambitious internet dream.

But the joint venture has had a fatal problem. The core problem is that AOL is asking for a license fee so high that the joint venture will never be able to make money! And it was these problems that led to the real failure of Lenovo's internet strategy.

Related background:

April 2000, the birth of FM365, and then, Lenovo and AOL marriage, announced a huge sum of joint operation FM365 website. After the dotcom bust, FM365 has been laid off and transformed, still unable to turn the tide of distress. At the end of 2003, its domain name www.FM365.com even "banner". The industry believes that this is due to the expiration of domain name registration ignored renewal by a Hong Kong company bought, become a variety of content bookmark Web site, a time the industry uproar, resulting in Lenovo's large sense of passivity.