The last month of 2008 was very uncomfortable. I unilaterally ended my cooperation with a friend. Since it was a collaboration, Fearless was naturally responsible for the network part. However... the problem lay in my unwillingness to compromise. In fact, it wasn't just limited to the network; I am a person in life who doesn't know how to compromise, and I certainly wouldn't either. In the end, I could only say sorry to the entrepreneurial team and ask my friends to forgive my capriciousness.
After careful reflection on the events, at least the time wasn't wasted. Setting aside other factors of the failed cooperation, I have a new perspective on the network aspect. If you want to start a business, you really don't necessarily need a network.
Many friends of the same age often invite me for meals and chats, saying they want to do something, and then they come with: "F, can you help me handle the network part?" In the past half year, I've been approached in this way no less than ten times. During these chats, I'm always full of confidence, thinking that what they talk about is so reliable... And there are former colleagues who have started their own businesses, asking me on instant messaging without any warning: "F, how long would it take you to build a website and how much would it cost?" My goodness, some websites can go online with dozens of dollars per minute, like this site, while others may cost millions of yuan and still might not be completed after a year. It's amazing that these people have been senior executives in multiple network companies...
These are all laughable stories, but they haven't affected my mood. I just want to tell everyone as a small person who depends on the network for a living: the network is not important for what you are going to do. The network cannot make you succeed quickly. Why? As the saying goes, don't do things you're not familiar with. You are too unfamiliar with the network, so for you, the network is just a loud fart, nothing more.
If after hearing all this, you think I'm just venting emotions and still believe that the great invention of the network is an invincible magic weapon, let's take a look at an article from The New York Times - Newspaper Shuns Web, and Thrives
The newspaper mentioned in the report, located in Asbury Park, Monmouth County, is called 'Tri City News'. Although it is named a newspaper, in fact, there are only three full-time employees responsible for the content and advertisements of the newspaper, one part-time employee responsible for distribution, and it is a weekly publication with 10,000 copies issued each week.
Friends in China might be shocked, is this even called a newspaper? Maybe you should start one tomorrow, huh! But wait, there's a more shocking story. The income of 'Tri City News' has consistently been in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and such an income level is quite affluent for supporting four people in a remote area. Moreover, in the ten years they have been running the newspaper, this income has never decreased.
In fact, 'Tri City News' isn't completely detached from the network. They do have a website, but it only has six static pages, with no reports or news updates. It's just a simple introduction to the newspaper and contact information. Interestingly, when The New York Times published its report, their website crashed immediately due to the large number of visits. People wanted to see what the website of this newspaper that avoided the internet looked like, just like seeing a big dinosaur in the modern civilized world.
When the boss of the newspaper, Dan Jacobson, was asked by a reporter why he didn't develop towards the network, he surprisingly counter-asked the reporter: "Why must we do the network? I don't understand it well. What else can putting things on the network do except destroy the newspaper?"
This newspaper boss actually believes that publishing content on the network will only make readers stop buying their ink-printed newspapers. It's hard to imagine that in today's era, there are still newspapers that avoid the network. Dan Jacobson must be a tough conservative who has an emotional aversion to the network. This can be seen a bit from their company name "Limited Risk, Inc." which is indeed quite conservative.
However, we cannot ignore their achievements. Their conservatism unexpectedly gained them an unbeatable space. For ten years, in order to operate this newspaper... please check the links below, there are many internal text links that need to be read together!