The birth of Sina Weibo

In May 2009, Sina Management Committee members and some senior executives, to Chengdu to open a regular strategic meeting. Such meetings are held once or two times a year, and departments will come to discuss corporate strategy issues. Sina Vice President, microblogging division general manager Peng Shaobin remember May 2009 and October two times such a meeting, he recalls that the conference is Chao and Sina CFO Yu Zhengjun for the first time to make the idea of micro-bo products.

Peng Shaobin said: "At that time did not explicitly say must do microblogging, but because Sina has been investing in interactive products." In fact, both domestic and foreign, there are some very clear routes, but how to use the advantages of Sina's own to do, is the strategic discussion at that time a key. At that time, Chao and Yu Zhengjun put forward the idea is how to better reflect the advantages of Sina, they believe that although the microblogging is different from SNS, but Twitter itself has the media characteristics, this point and Sina's genes are consistent.

Peng Shaobin's memories have also been the Sina Vice President, Wireless Division general manager Wang Gaofei confirmed, "At that time we think of Weibo and Sina's genes in fact just hooked up." Wang Gaofei and many of Sina's top executives have so far argued that "the link between Google and link Facebook is the Internet's two major infrastructure, the" Tao "level, and Twitter is the" surgery "level. But Sina must find an entry point for itself--it's about getting its own genes. As long as we catch the gene of the media, "we dare to say that we do not do well in China, and that no one else can do well, because we are doing this," Wang Gaofei.

Chao is not one step ahead of the idea of going to the Twitter route. As Wang Gaofei said, Sina executives are aware of the general direction is actually Facebook, but Sina did not have to do large-scale SNS technology and product capabilities, so there will certainly be some exploration and twists and turns.

2009 decided to do Weibo, Sina has done the application of more rich sns--sina "friends." But the application, which until now is rarely known, was eventually stopped by Charles Chao, who did not agree with the team's motion to "push and then decide." Wang Gaofei told reporters afterwards, "' Friends ' started with the Facebook line, and Charles Chao kept changing it to the end, a bit close to Weibo, similar to putting Facebook's Mini-fe

Ed function is taken out alone to deliver the dynamic message of celebrities. But because it does not have the bearing of content, he felt that the road is difficult to pass.

Finally, Cao decided not to push the "friend" product. "To know that in Sina, a relatively large internet company, made a product is not the last is quite rare." "Wang Gaofei said. According to some records of employees leaving Sina, the second half of 2008, when the interactive Community Division general Manager Holiang Team Most of the time to mobilize Sina's major departments 80% of engineers and art designers to do Sina "friend", should be a small human investment. Finally, I believe that from Cao Chao to a number of high-level also have pressure, and the middle nature also has a lot of not understand the sound.

It's hard to say which day Sina is starting to turn today. It's July 2009, if it's from the decision to do Weibo. After one months of research and analysis, management clear the target, determined to do micro Bo This product, from two years ago to enter Sina, when the head of the desktop Products Division Peng Shaobin presided over the development.

Subsequently, the interactive Community Division and Desktop Products Division merged, concentrated resources to develop micro-Bo products, and soon the interactive Community Division general Manager Holiang separation. Peng Shaobin was appointed as Vice president of Sina and general manager of Weibo division in October this year. Wireless, the operation of the two departments actively cooperate with the work of micro-Bo Division, three departments in charge, including the executive vice President Sina, Sina Network editor-in-chief Chen, Wang Gaofei and Peng Shaobin often meet together, Peng Shaobin play the role of coordinator, the initiative to summon everyone. However, in Chao's words, we can see that the overall responsibility of Weibo is actually Chao himself, he told the business value reporter, "There is only one department responsible for Weibo, I am the head of the general." ”

Perfect timing.

In the perception of Sina insiders, this time of great metamorphosis may not be particularly clear starting point, because people in different positions realize that the time of the beginning of metamorphosis is not the same. Chao believes the situation is starting with the creation of an interactive community division since he became CEO in 2006. Sina executives, such as Chen, Wang Gaofei and Peng Shaobin, may be slightly different due to their respective areas of expertise or professional perspective--some think they started with celebrity blogs, and some think it's the SNS product Sina "Friends" that has never been promoted, Others think that from the May 2009 Chengdu Strategy will be decided to do micro-blog began.

But Sina Weibo, which began in August 2009 28, did catch up with a perfect time for a change in China's internet age. That time point is just a blank: rice, Twitter, muttering and other micro-blog supervision encountered problems; Sohu was walking on the road of SNS, not optimistic about micro-blog line-This is not surprising, because Sina is worried that Weibo may be just a little chance; Tencent's microblog products "surging" almost stalled. At another hesitant to take off this product, or just as a function of their own platform exists, Sina made a bold decision, also grabbed an empty file.

Obviously, the arrival of time is always contingency, but the accumulation of experience, product trial and error, team and culture construction, understanding of business model, is the decisive factor in the success of change.

Sina's media genes undoubtedly in the process of seizing the microblogging opportunity to Sina "the right first three steps" hit the bottom. Sina has been the leader of Chinese internet media channel, and the popularization of the whole internet new technology is actually reconstructing the chain of Chinese social Information transmission, Sina has played an important role objectively in this process. The changes in the media form are reflected in Sina's own blog products, such as the gradual increase in the content of the blog to Sina Portal home, more and more explosive news from the social media. Chen's "Back Door Era" theory is based on this, that is, the emphasis on Sina must be in the media form from the evolution of the social process to make their own exploration and try. Just chen the "Back Door" era, Sina has found a way to suit their own.

Sina's exploration from 2006 to the CEO of Charles Chao began. Wang Gaofei recalls, at that time, Chao did a little bit of action in Sina, that is, the blog from the operation of the division out, put to the newly established interactive Community division. As we all know, the blog is through the operation of the editors to pull a celebrity to open a Bo, step by step, is the social impact of Sina's products. But both Chao and Chen actually recognize the Web2.0 nature of blogging-blogs are not just private, but public media. Blogging is a huge social influence through the Internet, and blogging is actually part of social media.

But at the time of the stripping or in the internal number of Sina caused some vibration and confusion, after all, just set up the interactive Community division does not have what the main product, and the blog this important resource to the import of this department became famous and real. The next thing to do is to experiment in the interactive Community division, which, of course, upgrades some of the interactive features of the new blog products that are included in the Department, as well as some of the original desktop Internet products, such as podcasts and mailboxes. More important is a series of innovative programs here to explore, such as the later abandoned Sina "friends."

Although the "friend" has not been well-known by the public, but the Sina Interactive Community Division is also the focus of Cao Chao's exploration. Only in the early 2009, the research and Development department will focus on the album, video sharing, and so on almost all SNS website function of product design in front of Chao, he finally chose to give up. In his view, Internet products must be a clear and simple to meet the needs of users, such products "can really become a strong communication, can develop things." But it must be admitted that at that time Sina's ability in technology and products does not have a special advantage.

Sina "Friend" is not the first in Sina to stop the product, the difference is that the previous has been promoted, and then the development momentum is not naturally marginalized. and "friend" is Cao Chao took office after the leading of a SNS direction of the attempt, and ultimately is Chao decided to "do not promote, directly give up" a product.

But Sina's "friends" to build a people-centred product base has not been abandoned. "Without Sina ' friends," Weibo is unlikely to be online in less than two months. "Wang Gaofei said. It has also made a localized microblogging product in China that is different from Twitter in the United States. And the former biggest difference is that the bottom of Sina Weibo is based on the SNS model of the bottom of the relationship, through the forwarding of information can be traced to each of the users, Twitter is copied paste plus "RT" tag forwarding, tracking the user's difficulties. This undoubtedly to Sina Weibo increased the added value of the social network, the success of micro-blogging suddenly changed the "people never login account to see Sina" habit, is a Sina "friend" SNS trial and error of a reasonable, unexpected harvest.

All the attempts of a company are ultimately achieved through the establishment of a business model, and Sina is no exception. Sina's gold advertising is never enough, a quarter of billions of dollars in revenue of more than 80 million dollars from advertising revenue, the vast majority of traditional Web page display of the brand advertising. Over-reliance on this income model is the most obvious problem of Sina's traditional portal model. On the one hand, it explains Sina's portal brand advantage, on the one hand, it also shows that the news model as information portal is bound to follow the path evolution. Sina into the "back door Era" is only a matter of time, rather than into or not into the problem. And when the technology products have the conditions, and find a match with their own genes, can be familiar with the operation of the entry point, the entire business model of the framework conditions in fact, a strong team.

New acquaintance with Sina

In any business model restructuring of the great transformation of the process, "climate, geography, people and" are indispensable. In the "new" Sina Revolution that Cao Chao promoted, the problem of dealing with good people is also a key link. However, the understanding of human problems here can not only be limited to MBO (management buyout), but also including talent deployment and other human resources issues.

In recent years, employees who have worked in Sina know that the Forum Department adjustment, CTO replacement, Interactive Community Division and the Desktop division of the merger and so on have generated personnel shocks, Peng Shaobin also only worked in Sina for more than two years. Cao Chao led several SNS exploration in the Department and the Human resources level caused some confusion, but this is the great transformation of any company had to go through the pain.

But the outside world apparently prefers to talk about Sina's MBO. Chao believes that Sina is not a relying on the rule of the successful company, any company's success must be the success of the business model. September 2009, Sina first announced and the media merge, followed by Cao Chao's leading Sina issued 5.6 million shares, by Cao Chao and other Sina executives to raise 180 million U.S. dollars to buy Sina 9.41% of the equity, Chao himself from the professional manager to become a personal shareholder of Sina. Chao said in an interview with the media, "Jiangnan spring to increase the company's shares of ideas gave me some inspiration," The inspiration is "perhaps a different role will be different." But it may be just a revelation, because the situation of the company is different from that of Sina.

MBO in the internal environment does solve a company from shareholders to agents, from decision-making to action, from performance to incentives, but not a panacea. If there is no industrial environment, product layout and the coordination of management team, there will be no Sina after a few steps of victory. MBO is a step in the right way, but it is only one of them in the perspective of the change of the final business model. Chao said to the media after MBO, whether a company is founder-led, "will bring cultural differences, but it is not a company's decisive factor in success or failure." As a result, the development of a company is determined not only by the mechanism and the founders, but also by the mode it chooses. The mode is very good and the timing is right, the mechanism and the person is close, the company can still be very successful. Sina, which has been in the market for 10 years, has morphed from an investor-led company into a business-led company, while Chao is modest and cautious in putting his role in the company's model, not outside.

At this point, Sina's transformation of the "climate, geography, people and" have been identified, the wind is owed-and the east Wind may be 2009 5-August Gap period. There must be luck in this, however, the most crucial thing is that the long-term business model runs the bottleneck of Sina, at this time from the mechanism to the model and the product has been adjusted in place, so began the history of the second major transformation.

Looking back today, we might as well compare Sina's changes: 5 years ago, "old" Sina asked himself is "the money I earned to make no", because it has found its own business model, and today's "new" Sina began to ask itself "What money I should earn," and perhaps add a "what is left for others to earn." This is the beginning of the restructuring of the business model.

5 years ago, you ask Sina its competitor is who, it will say is Sohu, NetEase, ask Sina today again, may become Tencent's community, Renren and happy net and so on. 5 years ago, Sina built the first door of the Chinese internet world by its own power, and today, Sina provides users with more and more tools to produce and disseminate content, and to attract a third party to create an open platform.

5 years ago, Sina's gold advertising is not enough, two or three-level pages do not sell, and today has not fundamentally changed; But in the next two years, Sina must pay for the results, is a different page and products should be able to provide accurate marketing data platform.

In a word: 5 years ago, Sina grasp the opportunity to make money, Sina today to build core competencies, investment in the future.

We should also have some new understanding of Sina:

First of all, four or five years ago, Sina did not pay attention to the Web 2.0, but Sina did not have the capacity of the Web 2.0 products must have some of the core capabilities. Sina Blog's celebrity strategy is considered to be 2.0 products to do 1.0, this is Sina's only choice, now it seems to know the beginning of the Sina microblog one or two steps is very important.

Secondly, we should also recognize the man Chao. Chao is not in fact like he gave the outside CFO the CEO of the impression that he is a product, operations and the media have a complete understanding of the people, he also has a paranoid side of the network products. In fact, the more important issue behind this is that successful changes are often not planned at the outset, and are always the result of many people's camera choices, the only driving force here is entrepreneurship.