[Chapter 915: The Internet Battles]
In this world, it was clear that there couldn't only be Bill Gates. Just like what the great Steve Jobs said, he was incredibly successful, but couldn't he make his products just a bit better?
Of course, if there were only a bunch of Steve Jobs types, that wouldn't work either. Those struggling with decision-making might have found a solution, as they wouldn't have to choose; they would just follow Jobs' lead, convinced their choices were all wrong.
Jobs was obsessive, and so was Andy Grove. Silicon Valley, that quirky place, seemed like a haven for the obsessed.
William White sensed something was off; nowadays, the IT ecosystem had completely transformed. He recognized the names of those companies, but why were their paths so strange?
Damn it, couldn't they just stick to the original road? This just rendered his foresight useless!
Of course, it was mainly because of PayPal.
The successful launch of online payment had indeed shocked the world. Although it was just small payments, it actually addressed the issue of profitability on the internet.
In the past, it was all about attracting eyeballs; now, someone had built a bridge connecting online and offline. Yahoo began enthusiastically promoting paid email, while eBay also started getting restless. With PayPal in the picture, they could finally move forward instead of being stagnant.
Since unused items could be sold online, couldn't the variety of goods be even more diverse?
With that hive system, the path between warehouses and consumers was clear, and that was crucial. Before, some people were just playing around or bored, and their shipping costs far exceeded the value of the items.
Now, they might actually consider making money. The costs were simple: website maintenance fees, storage, and shipping costs. Next, all they needed to do was figure out what those internet users really wanted!
NBC Online, So Easy, Yahoo, these types of websites suddenly had a new value. Many discovered these so-called portal sites could guide user traffic on the internet.
Wow, who still dared to say this was meaningless?
If someone did, they would just smile knowingly, as no one had an obligation to enlighten them. If they were clueless, they continued to cheer mindlessly.
However, what was most amusing was that Warren Buffett and Alan Greenspan, who had once loudly proclaimed the internet bubble, had since gone silent. It proved that they truly didn't understand.
Since they didn't get it, continuing to argue aimlessly was pointless. Losing wasn't a problem; if they couldn't keep their composure and kept criticizing, everyone would see them as clowns.
"Tom, the network speed just can't keep up! This isn't going to work out."
Fat Cat Tom hadn't expected that a company which had been unheard of just a few months prior would suddenly explode onto the scene. But when it came to Jeff Bezos' comments, he could only take half of it seriously.
"Come on, the speed at which we're opening stores can only be described as exaggerated. PayPal and Hive are running independently, they can't just help Amazon with deliveries."
"Jeff, who else has opened stores at this speed? To be honest, the owner's advisory team was strongly against this investment."
"Pfft, what do they know? If your boss was only running a supermarket, of course, it wouldn't make sense. There are other crucial businesses involved, right?"
"You're right; do you know why PayPal and Hive are all owned by offshore companies?"
Jeff Bezos realized he had misunderstood. The tax issues didn't seem to concern William White. If he put all these companies under his name, he could certainly risk an antitrust investigation.
So, he had nothing to complain about. Whether William White wanted to or not, these two companies would provide services for PayPal.
Wasn't Yahoo still competing with NBC for email users? You didn't see PayPal refusing to cooperate, did you?
In fact, the conditions given were quite similar to those of NBC Online.
"Bill, what if I moved computer sales online?"
Looking at the somewhat anxious Michael Dell, Bill Gates felt conflicted. He had to admit that William White had come up with something undeniably crazy.
In the future, don't be surprised if it's not just computers anymore; even cars or real estate could be involved. They were industry insiders, so they could clearly see it. The method didn't matter, the platform didn't matter; what was crucial was being able to connect the necessary channels.
"Michael, transportation will be a huge issue. By the time those computers reach the customers, will they just be parts?"
"Damn, that William White; couldn't he expand that nest a bit?"
"Hahaha, just kidding. Those 7-Elevens are in really good locations. Let me tell you, many were bought up by him."
Michael Dell had nothing to say except to chuckle at the wealthy guy.
"Michael, for high-value items, it's best to keep it point-to-point. My recently released software is selling well, but you shouldn't worry; since there's market demand, the couriers will have to adapt. By the way, you haven't visited his central warehouse yet, right?"
Michael Dell paused, wasn't it just a larger warehouse? What was so worth seeing?
"Really big?" he asked, a bit puzzled.
"It's not about size. He's building a fully automated logistics system. The difficulty of this project surpasses that of car assembly lines."
Both men, neither of them fools, exchanged looks and understood what each other meant. William White's ambition was far too big to be summarized by just a supermarket and Hive.
All those folks fighting online never realized that William White was laying out an offline platform.
At the end of the day, being impressive online didn't mean much; they understood the state of American delivery services well enough.
However, they still overestimated how simple it was. Did they know why future couriers could deliver so quickly?
The number of clicks on a product determined how much inventory would be stored at that location.
That so-called big data was just a mathematical model. For every hundred people who clicked, maybe five would buy. Over time, this became a probability.
So, determining how much inventory to prepare led to the next time you opened a webpage, information would be pushed to you.
It was just consumer habits; the same applied when shopping in stores. The most prominently displayed shelves weren't just the best-selling ones but also the most profitable. The so-called big data just transplanted those consumer habits from offline to online.
It was more accurate, more successful. Of course, shopping became that much more enjoyable.
Buy, buy, buy a whole bunch of useless stuff! Even if it's a flop, can't it still be sold on eBay?
So, in the current chaotic state of the internet, William White was pleased. If everyone developed progressively, this industry wouldn't heat up.
Don't just point fingers at America; even what became China later didn't fare differently. First, they had their yellow pages, and later it was Alibaba. E-commerce was dragged out for many years, with few understanding what it really meant.
Sending one email and posting a few ads on a website? Ahem, that wasn't real e-commerce.
What was laughable was that some universities had courses on this, offering a major in e-commerce.
Rumor had it that when the professors at top universities lectured, Jack Ma would sne sneak in to audit the classes, while the professors were passionately explaining concepts they themselves didn't quite grasp.
Ultimately, it concluded that Jack Ma would play around for a year at most before returning to teach English.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.