booktalesy Chapter 240 Yahoo, the Troublemaker
Chapter 240 Yahoo, the Troublemaker
Chapter 240 Yahoo, the Troublemaker
In the early morning in Manhattan, New York, sunlight streams through the coffee shop's huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled shadows on the dark wooden floor.
The air was filled with the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans, a scene that should have been a pleasant and relaxing experience. However, the harmony was disrupted by John Crosby's tense and taut demeanor, like a fully drawn bowstring.
He held his coffee cup, his gaze carefully landing on Charlize Theron across from him, the flattery in his eyes almost overflowing.
He opened his mouth, hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "You don't actually need to make a special effort to see me; you could spend more time with me—"
He stopped mid-sentence, staring at Charlize Theron's exquisite profile, his mind a jumble of thoughts, struggling with what title to give Ernst.
lover?
As soon as the word came out, John quickly shook his head in his mind; it was too jarring and had a vulgar connotation.
What's more, if he said that in front of Charlize Theron, he'd probably be kicked out of the coffee shop the next second.
Godfather?
I also felt something was off; the word always carried a strange, incongruous feel to it.
Investor?
This word is even worse. It equates the relationship between the two people entirely with monetary transactions. Isn't that just being a prostitute?
That boyfriend?
John chuckled to himself, deciding it was best not to pat himself on the back.
His greatest strength is his self-awareness; even though Charlize Theron is his client, he knows she is not qualified.
"Ernst—" In the end, he felt that calling him by his name was the safest and simplest option.
However, Charlize Theron seemed completely unconcerned. She picked up her cappuccino, took a small sip, and her thick eyelashes drooped down, obscuring the emotions in her eyes.
What's wrong with being a lover? In her view, it's just a choice. As long as she likes it and the relationship makes her feel comfortable, what others think or say doesn't matter. She has never been someone who is bound by worldly views.
At the age of 16, she witnessed her mother raise a gun and point it at her father. The gunshot echoed in the empty house, shattering all her illusions about marriage.
From that day on, marriage became a word filled with fear and shadow in her heart. She never dared to hope for a normal marriage and scoffed at the so-called forever.
Although the two hadn't known each other for very long, Charlize Theron had to admit that she had feelings for Ernst.
Living in the chaotic entertainment industry, she had heard too many rumors about the relationship between big shots and actresses. In most of these rumors, people like Ernst treated actresses like trash, cold and ruthless.
How many people are like Howard Hughes?
How many more are like Hugh Hefner?
Even though they are known for their womanizing, they still maintain a basic level of respect, so they are called playboys. But there are many more tycoons hidden beneath the glamorous exterior in the industry, who are the real devils.
But Ernst was clearly different; he wasn't the kind of devil who would wantonly trample on the dignity of actresses.
At least in the process of getting along with him, he was able to communicate with me as an equal. Although he sometimes showed a domineering temper, that domineering attitude was not offensive. Instead, it carried a reassuring sense of control.
Thinking of this, Charlize Theron subconsciously shifted her body, a barely perceptible blush flashing across her face. Even now, sitting here, she could still vaguely feel a dull ache emanating from her lower body, and she couldn't help but curse inwardly: What an energetic bull.
"He went to Mountain View," Charlize Theron replied calmly, looking up.
It's also a way of telling the other person not to flatter themselves, that they didn't come here specifically to see them.
Ernst never expected that while the browser war was still at a stalemate, with none of the three sides reaching the final, frantic life-or-death struggle, the troublemaker was coming from outside.
At this moment, Ernst never expected that while Google, Microsoft, and Netscape were still locked in a stalemate in the browser market, and the competition was fierce, it hadn't yet reached the point of a desperate, all-or-nothing frenzy. But just then, a troublemaker suddenly appeared from the outside.
Pushing open the door to Hamilton's office, Ernst immediately saw Bowen Carter, the head of Gmail, there, and the two were discussing something with serious expressions.
He strode over and asked bluntly, "What's the situation now?"
Bowen Carter glanced at Hamilton, and seeing that Hamilton didn't seem inclined to speak, he took a deep breath and reported urgently, "This morning, Microsoft suddenly and without warning released an announcement, declaring a major upgrade to Hotmail."
"Although this upgrade didn't include our Gmail's exclusive co-editing feature, it does support large text transfers. And most importantly, they announced that all features are completely free and have increased users' storage space to 30MB. This is clearly aimed at us."
At this point, Bowen Carter swallowed hard. "And less than two hours after Microsoft's announcement, Yahoo followed suit and announced that Yahoo Mail would be available for free trial, also supporting large text transfers, and they raised the storage limit to 50MB. This is practically a capacity war with us."
"It was intentional, Yahoo was definitely doing it on purpose." Ernst grasped the crux of the matter almost immediately.
His eyes sharpened instantly, staring at Bowen Carter like an eagle. "Yahoo's decision to jump out at this time is absolutely not a coincidence. I don't believe it's such a coincidence even if you beat me to death."
"That's right, that's what we think too." Hamilton nodded from the side, his expression equally serious. "It's obvious that Yahoo and AOL have reached some kind of tacit agreement, and it's even possible that they've been in contact privately for a while, which is why they've joined forces against us like this."
"As you know, AOL's acquisition of Netscape is basically finalized. The only thing left for both sides is the final audit, which is just a final procedural step. Now their various businesses have begun to gradually integrate and undergo internal consolidation. At this time, Yahoo's move is very clear in its purpose."
Ernst sat down on the sofa, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, his mind quickly processing the current situation.
Google, Microsoft, and Netscape are currently locked in a fierce battle in the browser market, with all three investing significant resources.
Everyone wants to dominate this market, both materially and financially.
But Yahoo just happened to jump out at this time and disrupt things, choosing to open up a new battlefield in the email field. This was clearly intended to put Google and Microsoft in a dilemma of fighting on two fronts, having to deal with fierce competition in the browser market on one hand, and also having to contend with Yahoo and Microsoft in the email market on the other.
It's obvious that the two companies have reached a tacit agreement to drag Google and Microsoft down.
Moreover, Yahoo has also opted for a free model this time, which is undoubtedly forcing Google to make concessions again and further reduce the revenue of Gmail.
"What about the assessment results? Have we completed the assessments regarding how many resources we need to invest in our fight, and whether we have enough ammunition?" This is the question Ernst is most concerned about right now. He needs to understand Google's current strength in order to make the right decision.
Hamilton quickly picked up a thick report from his desk and handed it to Ernst. "This is the latest assessment data that our internal team worked on overnight. You can take a look at it carefully. It details the cost and benefit forecasts for various scenarios."
Ernst took the report and quickly flipped through it, while Hamilton patiently explained, "If we calculate based on our previous standard of 10M capacity per user, just one million registrations would require 10TB of storage capacity, and the monthly hard cost would reach $150 million."
"Google Mail now has over 2800 million users. Based on that, the hard costs alone amount to $4200 million per month."
He glanced at Ernst, whose gaze was fixed on the report, and continued, "If we choose to do what Microsoft and Yahoo do and increase the user's storage capacity to over 30MB, although the average cost per user will be lower, even so, with one million registrations, the monthly hard cost will exceed $320 million."
"With our current user base of 2800 million, Gmail needs to spend at least $9000 million every month, and that's a conservative estimate."
Ernst frowned; he knew all too well that these things were unavoidable.
The purchase and maintenance of hardware, high network costs, and the salaries of a large technical team and operations staff are all significant expenses, and none of them can be eliminated.
Email culture is so prevalent and developed in the United States that almost every user sends and receives emails frequently every month, unlike in other regions where some users may never send an email in their entire lives after registering one.
Therefore, in the United States, the operating cost of maintaining an email platform is very high. This is an objective fact that cannot be changed.
"According to our previous plan, Gmail would have been close to breaking even after a while, and might even have become profitable. But now it seems that if we choose to follow in the footsteps of Microsoft and Yahoo, increase storage space and keep it free, our revenue will definitely decrease significantly, and we may even suffer serious losses."
Hamilton's tone carried a hint of helplessness: "If we exclude the revenue generated by the email business itself and simply calculate the additional funds needed to cope with this email war, then if this war continues, we will have to invest at least $3000 million to $5000 million every month."
"This is just a short-term investment; in the long run, this number may increase."
Ernst put down the report in his hand, rubbed his throbbing temples, and knew very well that Google was the one that would suffer the most in this sudden email war.
How many users does Yahoo Mail have?
How many users does Hotmail have?
The combined user base of the two companies is just over half the number of Gmail users.
In this scenario, a larger user base means higher costs and a greater risk of losses.
Yahoo and Microsoft recognized this, which is why they started by reducing costs.
However, having more users isn't without its advantages; at the very least, it means having more traffic. And in the internet industry, the saying "traffic is king" isn't just a casual remark.
However, Gmail's monetization methods are currently too limited, failing to fully leverage this traffic to create more value.
Take Gmail as an example. Currently, its revenue sources are nothing more than two: one is GG revenue, which generates income by displaying GG content in the email interface.
The other part is paid value-added services for corporate email, such as providing corporate users with larger storage space expansion, etc.
However, even combined, these two sources of revenue are still a drop in the bucket compared to the enormous operating costs.
Ernst carefully reviewed the assessment report in his hand again. It listed all possible scenarios and their corresponding outcomes, ranging from optimistic to pessimistic, and the analysis was very comprehensive.
As he looked around, he suddenly let out a cold laugh, his tone laced with sarcasm, "It seems no one dares to touch the corporate email market, huh?"
Hamilton and Bowen Carter exchanged a glance, wondering if Ernst had lost his mind. How could anyone dare to touch the corporate email business?
Google Mail's Google revenue is incomparable to that of other internet products. Even Google Mail, with AdWords' precise Google targeting technology, only generates a little over three million dollars in Google revenue per month. This amount is a drop in the ocean compared to the tens of millions of dollars in monthly operating costs.
If we make a comparison, with the same 2800 million users, the revenue generated by Google Chrome through Google Chrome and other partnerships is several times or even dozens of times that of Gmail.
Therefore, the bulk of email revenue actually comes from value-added services, and 99% of the consumers of these value-added services are enterprise users, accounting for more than 90% of the total email revenue.
Yahoo and Microsoft's current actions are akin to striking at the heart of the problem.
In terms of email functionality, Gmail has consistently maintained a leading position in user satisfaction thanks to innovative features such as collaborative editing.
In terms of user numbers, Gmail also holds an absolute advantage.
The storage space alone can significantly increase the hard costs of Gmail, so how could it possibly go down in one fell swoop?
If enterprise email were also made free and open to the public, what good would it do even if Yahoo and Microsoft unified the email market? This business would become a bottomless pit of pure losses, and they wouldn't do something so thankless and exhausting.
"Google can afford to lose $50 million a month," Ernst suddenly said.
When he said he could afford to lose money, he didn't mean he would keep losing money endlessly and drag things out with the other party.
Turning his gaze to Bob beside him, his expression turned serious. "When will Project SHIELD be launched? Given the current situation, we must find a new breakthrough as soon as possible. We can no longer be passively drawn into this war of attrition."
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