In the conference room of Shark Live headquarters, as the executives realized they had unknowingly watched a panda gnawing on sugarcane for an hour, their expressions turned strange.
"Damn, what the hell, how did an hour pass so quickly?"
"Yeah, it didn't feel like we watched for that long."
"How can so many people be watching such mundane content?"
"But it is quite relaxing, I have to admit."
"They can't possibly be broadcasting 24 hours a day like this, can they?"
"Still, they are national treasures after all, so it's normal for many people to watch. Why don't we check out some others before making a conclusion?"
As they spoke, everyone opened a second live stream room, which, in essence, was another surveillance feed.
The name displayed on the monitor at this moment was Forest Sunshine Kindergarten, and the camera was pointed at the open space in front of the kindergarten.
To everyone's surprise, the number of viewers in this live stream room also exceeded 100,000.
With the intention of assessing the competition, the Shark Live executives meticulously studied the content of this live stream.
However, as they watched, smiles akin to those of elders appeared on everyone's faces.
"This little tiger is quite amusing, slacking off during class."
"What's the relationship between those two little bears, one black and one white? Cousins?"
"Why are there four little cats?"
"Those are clouded leopard cubs, not cats."
"Wow, and there are even little wild boars."
"Little animals going to school too, I've truly learned something new."
After an unknown amount of time, the people in the conference room finally remembered what they were supposed to be doing.
"Something's not right, something's not right, their live streams are addictive."
"Right, this kind of live stream has no content, not even interaction. The viewers send gifts, and there's not even a word of thanks."
"They are simply exploiting the cuteness of the animals."
"Everyone must have been blinded by these adorable animals, though these young animals are indeed cute."
"That's true."
"Live streams with no content or gimmicks can't last long."
"But why does it feel like every shot of these animals is a gimmick?"
"The popularity is only over 100,000, nothing to worry about. Our popularity can reach millions."
"You can fool outsiders with that, but we're all on the same side. You know what our popularity numbers really mean."
As they talked, everyone in the conference room exchanged glances.
After watching two live streams consecutively, their initial confidence had dwindled significantly.
Although Xihong Live only had over thirty live stream rooms, each had a popularity of over 100,000.
If this was all real popularity, then any one of these animal streamers was equivalent to a top streamer on their platform.
Even though the content of these live streams was just surveillance footage from the park, and even though these surveillance feeds were devoid of any substantial content, they possessed a magical allure that compelled viewers to keep watching.
More importantly, these animal streamers were not as noisy as human streamers, they didn't push products, and they didn't ask for gifts. Everything was so laid-back, making it incredibly comfortable and stress-relieving to watch.
Many viewers even expressed envy for the animals' seemingly carefree lives.
Having understood the advantages of Xihong Live, the attendees prepared to discuss countermeasures.
"Xihong Live is coming on strong, and with their 24-hour non-stop broadcasting, they will undoubtedly siphon off a significant portion of our traffic in the future."
"Everyone, let's discuss how we can withstand this wave of impact."
As soon as the CEO of Shark Live finished speaking, the conference room fell into silence.
After a long pause, a senior executive finally spoke.
"Why don't we learn from them and join the animal live stream category? Find a zoo to cooperate with."
As soon as his proposal was made, everyone in the room shook their heads in unison.
It was a joke. Although Xihong Zoo's hardware and software still couldn't compare to major zoos in the country, in terms of popularity alone, all of them combined wouldn't be a match for Xihong Zoo.
"In my opinion, we don't need to pay attention to them. Let Xihong Live do its thing. What's bound to leave will leave. Blindly following can only lead to ruin."
"Exactly, our country isn't the only place with live streaming platforms. If traffic is to be divided, we all get divided."
"Let's be a bit more laid-back too."
"I think that's a good idea."
After a meeting lasting over two hours, the executives of Shark Live quickly reached a consensus: they would not compete directly with Xihong Live to avoid a worse outcome.
Of course, Shark was not the only one choosing this plan. Other live streaming platforms, after researching Xihong Live's operational model, also abandoned the competition.
There was no way to follow suit, nor could they suppress it, and poaching streamers was even more impossible. Their streamers were protected animals, how could you poach them? With what resources?
Just as major live streaming platforms gave up their resistance and resigned themselves to a laid-back approach, Xihong Live's popularity continued to rise.
On its launch day, the number of registered users reached over 30 million, and Xihong Zoo saw the birth of thousands of "cloud security guards" and "cloud zookeepers."
What audiences praised most was Xihong Live's gift-giving model.
The gifts on the entire platform were priced according to real-world items.
For example, in Tuan Tuan's live stream, you could choose to spend 7 yuan to gift Tuan Tuan a sugarcane, or 1 yuan for a meat bun.
After gifting, a zookeeper would immediately deliver the gift to Tuan Tuan.
Whether Tuan Tuan ate it or not depended on her mood.
If she didn't eat it, it usually wouldn't go to waste and would be stored or given to other animals.
In Hua Dajie's live stream, viewers could spend 100 yuan to gift a free-range chicken, or 5 yuan to give the tigers some catnip.
This gave viewers the feeling of feeding them in person.
Of course, besides these food gifts, viewers could also choose to gift toys or other supplies to the animals.
By the end of the first day, when all sorts of data were presented to Yang Lin, he was stunned.
"30 million registered users, average viewing time of 2.5 hours, gift revenue of 8 million. Are you sure about the numbers?"
"There's no mistake, we've double-checked everything." Tu Meng replied earnestly.
"After deducting gift costs, the net profit is around 5 million."
"Additionally, based on our website's traffic, many advertisers will likely approach us soon, and advertising fees will also be a considerable sum."
"Heh heh, that's enough, that's enough. We'll just accept a couple of advertisements, no need for too many. Anyway, the current feeding costs for these animals have already been covered."
"The netizens are such good people. From now on, we'll carve the names of the top gifters onto stone tablets in various parks, as a token of the animals' gratitude."
As he spoke, a satisfied smile spread across Yang Lin's face.