Chapter 74
Facebook had its hands full because of Moment.
Google had its hands full because of Search.
And the owner of both of those headaches was the same person.
Another Technology.
So the enemy of my enemy is my friend, huh.
A strange smile spread across Sergey’s lips.
He had a pretty good idea what Zuckerberg was thinking.
Interesting.
Sergey turned his chair around and gave his assistant an order.
"Connect him through the conference room phone. Speakerphone."
“Yes. Also, Google’s YouTube division is currently suffering massive losses because of the enormous network usage fees and server costs. They’re hanging on by pouring in a huge chunk of the money they earn from search.”
Inside Google’s headquarters conference room.
A young man’s voice drifted out from the phone installed in the room.
["Good to meet you, Sergey. And everyone at Google. This is Mark Zuckerberg."]
"Long time no see, Mark."
Sergey Brin leaned back in his chair as he answered.
"California’s weather’s been fickle lately. How’s the weather on your end?"
["Haha. It’s not exactly great over here either. There’s so much fog I can barely see in front of me."]
Zuckerberg laughed, but there was an edge to the joke.
So much fog.
It was also a metaphor for Facebook’s current state.
Sergey understood the meaning and replied calmly.
"That’s a shame. So, you told your assistant you had something to discuss about Search. What is it?"
["I thought we might have a 'common enemy.'"]
At that, Sergey nodded without a word.
Just as I thought.
"If you mean a common enemy, are you talking about Another Technology?"
["I like how quickly you get to the point. Yes. I don’t know the exact numbers, but Google’s been having a rough time because of Another Technology’s Search, hasn’t it?"]
Sergey glanced around at the executives beside him.
Every one of them wore a cautious expression.
"To some extent."
He said to some extent as if he were being cool about it, but the truth was that Google had practically been struck in its vitals by Search.
["To some extent, huh… I see. Facebook’s the same. Another Technology’s Moment has been giving us a bit of a headache too."]
"Looks that way. These days, more people at our company seem to browse Moment than Facebook."
["……"]
Sergey gave him a small jab, and Zuckerberg answered in kind without missing a beat.
["Yes. These days, even Facebook employees search on Search more than Google. They say the results are more accurate."]
"……Hm."
Sergey’s brow twitched.
They hadn’t agreed to join hands and overcome each other’s crisis, but both of them already knew one thing.
Now was not the time to keep puffing out their chests and taking petty swipes at each other.
Still, before sitting down at the negotiation table, a little show of force over who would occupy the position of power was absolutely necessary.
["So, what I’m saying is—"]
Just as Zuckerberg was about to continue, a man sitting next to Sergey suddenly cut in.
"Cut the pointless posturing."
His voice was calm, but it carried weight.
"Even now, whether it’s Facebook or Google, we’re both losing traffic to Another Technology."
For a moment, silence hung on the other end of the line.
["……And you are?"]
"Larry Page."
The other cofounder of Google, and its de facto leader.
With Larry Page’s appearance, Zuckerberg’s voice turned noticeably more serious.
["Larry Page… I’ve got a lot I’d like to say to you, but fine. Let’s get straight to the point."]
Zuckerberg stopped beating around the bush and laid his cards on the table.
["Facebook and Google should pool our money and jointly acquire Another Technology."]
"Acquire it?"
["Yes. Our legal team has already reviewed the antitrust issues and other regulatory problems. As long as we use an indirect method, we can get around them without much trouble, so don’t worry."]
Larry Page adjusted his glasses and asked, "Are you sure? There’s no law more troublesome than that one."
["Yes, I’m sure. It’s a workaround, but not illegal. You’ll understand once you look at the detailed clauses in the contract later."]
"Then we’ll look at that when the time comes. How much is Facebook willing to put in for acquiring Another Technology?"
["One billion dollars."]
"One billion."
Larry Page fell into thought for a moment.
It wasn’t a small amount, but it was also far too little to buy Another Technology outright.
In the end, that meant Google would have to put in more money.
"If Facebook’s one billion dollars and our money are combined for the acquisition, what exactly is Facebook after from Another Technology?"
["Moment. As for the rest of the services and technologies, Google can own them, or we can share them. Either way, what Google wants most right now is Search, so I’ll hand over full ownership of Search to Google."]
"Hmm. Another Technology has several services, and if Facebook only puts in one billion dollars for Moment… then does that mean Google pays all the money needed to acquire the rest?"
["Is that difficult?"]
It was a provocative question.
Larry Page gave a faint snort of laughter.
"Difficult, yes. Impossible, no."
Google’s cash reserves couldn’t even be compared with Facebook’s.
They were several times beyond the limits of what an ordinary person could imagine money-wise.
And even at this very moment, the pile kept growing in real time.
"All right. Let’s do it this way."
Larry Page thought for a moment and then made his decision.
"As you said, Facebook puts in one billion dollars, and the rest of the money needed for the acquisition… let’s call it five billion to be safe. We’ll cover that."
["A rational decision."]
"And."
["And?"]
"Since we’re investing far more initial capital, I want Google to receive every piece of data generated through Moment for the next fifteen years."
["……Hmm."]
Zuckerberg let out a low hum.
Data sharing. It didn’t mean cash was leaving his hands right this second.
But both Zuckerberg and Larry Page understood it all too well.
In the future, power was data.
Who consumed what, when, where, how, and what they liked.
The one who held the data on those hidden desires would rule the world.
In other words, with data, anything was possible.
Absolutely anything.
If the twentieth century had been built on oil pulled from the earth, then the twenty-first century would certainly be built on the oil of computers: data.
After thinking for a while, Zuckerberg spoke.
["Fifteen years is too long. Let’s make it ten."]
"Thirteen years."
["……Do you really need to stretch it even a little longer than that?"]
"I’m throwing that right back at you. Do you really need to cut off five years?"
["……"]
Zuckerberg’s silent sigh was practically audible.
Right now, Facebook was the one more desperate, so there was nothing he could do.
["Fine. Thirteen years. If we acquire it, then the Moment data generated over that period will be shared with Google."]
"Glad we got that decided quickly."
["In exchange, the data gathered from Another Technology’s other services… Search, FreeChat, and games, among others, should be shared with Facebook for the next five years."]
"Hmm…."
This time it was Larry Page’s turn to think it over.
The data from Search was also immensely valuable.
But if it was a trade against thirteen years of Moment data, five years wasn’t a bad deal.
"We’ll do that."
["Good. Then who’ll be starting the negotiation with Another Technology?"]
"We will."
Larry Page said it confidently.
"If we offer Facebook’s one billion dollars plus our money, any startup founder would have their eyes pop out and stamp it immediately."
* * *
["If we offer Facebook’s one billion dollars plus our money, any startup founder would have their eyes pop out and stamp it immediately."]
Listening to Larry Page’s words through the receiver, Zuckerberg nodded.
He’s right.
Even one billion dollars was an enormous sum—enough to completely alter the fate of an individual, no, an entire organization.
And if it was several times that amount?
Refusing it was unthinkable.
In a capitalist society, that kind of figure had enough force to make even the strongest hero abandon his convictions.
There was just one thing that bothered him.
Steve Jobs said it, didn’t he. That the founder of Another Technology wouldn’t sell the company even if you gave him the Statue of Liberty.
That line lingered in his mind like a thorn.
But Zuckerberg soon shook his head.
That was probably when Jobs was talking about a one-billion-dollar offer.
Change the amount, and the story changes too.
At a fantastical sum in the tens of billions, even the Statue of Liberty would lose its shine.
With that kind of money, you could build an entirely new statue in the Statue of Liberty’s place.
While Zuckerberg was lost in thought, Larry Page’s voice came through the receiver again.
["Then send over a draft contract. And make sure to spell out the antitrust-evasion strategy you mentioned earlier in detail."]
"Understood. I’m glad we could come to an agreement. I’ll send it as soon as it’s ready. I’ll end the call here, then."
Click.
Zuckerberg hung up.
─ ….
Silence returned to the office.
He leaned back deep in his chair and stared blankly at Another Technology’s simple homepage on his monitor.
"Hmph…."
His stomach churned.
It wasn’t that he minded trying to buy a competitor with money.
If a company or service had promise, Zuckerberg thought buying it with money was the obvious thing to do.
Even so, what gnawed at his pride was the fact that he had been defeated in competition.
I’m the one on top, and yet…
Still.
At least I made the decision to move quickly.
Zuckerberg clenched his fist tightly.
Looking at it coldly, it had been the best possible judgment.
If he had let Moment keep growing unchecked even a little longer, it would have become so enormous that he might not even have dared to consider an acquisition later.
You had to crush a sprout while you still could.
Thinking that, Zuckerberg looked at the clock with a mixture of relief and impatience.
"…."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
With every passing second, Zuckerberg felt as if money were vanishing into thin air.
In reality, the costs of this latest high-definition update were already burning away an absurd amount of server money.
...I should hurry up and send Google the draft contract. Then we can move faster on acquiring Moment.
Time had never been on his side, and now it seemed even less so.
* * *
On the other side of the world, while two giant American IT companies were making such an arrangement.
In Korea—
* * *
"Uh… oof."
...That was a good sleep.
I woke up rolling around on the bed in my studio apartment.
It felt like the first time in forever I’d slept in late.
Today was May 5th, Children’s Day.
Even for college students, holidays were precious.
Long live Mr. Bang Jeong-hwan, seriously.
I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who paid close attention in class even when I went to school, but still, the simple fact that I didn’t have to go in made me happy.
I’d wanted to become a college student so badly, and now that I was one, it was somehow a hassle.
Humans really were the kind of animals who wanted to sit when standing, lie down when sitting, and sleep when lying down.
We were the sort of creatures who were different when entering the bathroom and when leaving it.
Even I couldn’t escape being one of those ordinary people.
While I was still half-asleep and lost in thought, a realization suddenly brushed past me.
Come to think of it, today’s the day the Apple phone comes into Korea.
As I wriggled under the blankets, Zero answered as if she’d been waiting for me.
["Good morning, Master. And yes, that is correct. The launch event has been underway at Jamsil Sports Complex since 9:00 a.m., and several thousand people have gathered, making it a major sales success."]
It’s that popular, huh…
A smile touched my lips.
Nice.
What had come into Korea now was the Apple phone—more precisely, the Apple Phone 1.
That meant it still wasn’t the model with my Search preinstalled.
So even if Apple phones were selling like crazy, it didn’t mean money was immediately flowing into my account.
But it’s very positive in the sense that it’s energizing the smartphone market itself.
As smartphone users increased, app users for mobile-based services like FreeChat and Moment would naturally explode too.
Indirectly, that meant enormous benefits for me.
It would be a headache for Sungsam Electronics, though.
Where’s my phone….
With my eyes still closed, I groped around the bed.
Found it—my smartphone.
Out of habit, I turned on the screen and checked the messages I’d received overnight.
Hmm… nothing important.
Korea still wasn’t a smartphone-first country, so my friends were still mostly contacting me by text message.
That would start changing in earnest from today on.
And once smartphones become mainstream… my little revenge will become possible too.
─ Bro, no classes today, day drinking at lunch? lol
─ Dohyun oppa. I’m going to Jamsil tomorrow to buy an Apple phone… and your place is in Jamsil, right? If you’re around, want to grab lunch together?
─ Oppa, could I maybe borrow some reference material for the Love and Philosophy assignment? T_T
─ Let’s play soccer, Dohyun!!!!! It’s Children’s Day, so it’s soccer time!!!!!!
As I checked the texts from last night and this morning and kept scrolling, one notification stood out.
It was a FreeChat notification.
And it was a long chat, too.
I set the smartphone down for a moment and sank into thought.
Zuckerberg reached out to Apple….
And Jobs had refused him.
Not only had he refused, he’d even let me know in a way that clearly carried the nuance of I respect you.
It’s Apple’s launch day in Korea and he’s probably busy, but he still made time to send me this message… Looks like Jobs really does want to get close to me.
["That appears to be the case."]
Zero added.
["Not only does he feel personal goodwill toward Master, but it also seems he has judged Another Technology to be a necessary element in Apple’s ecosystem going forward. His strategy is to secure you as a reliable ally rather than an enemy."]
Not bad.
It was a good thing that Jobs respected me.
And his advice was pretty realistic. For a normal startup, the moment a multi-trillion-won acquisition offer came in, the whole inside of the company would start splitting apart.
["In an ordinary company, investors would push for an exit, and employees with stock options would start dreaming of a windfall and pressure the CEO. The company could literally be torn apart."]
Not exactly my problem.
["Correct."]
I snorted with laughter.
After all, I hadn’t taken a single won of outside investment. I owned one hundred percent of the shares.
As for employees, all I had were FreeChat emoji artists and customer-complaint staff who had nothing to do with technology.
Even Vincent, who was closest to management, was only my proxy. He didn’t have decision-making power.
My company wasn’t built in a way that could be shaken by any outside pressure.
Still.
There is one thing bothering me. What Zuckerberg said about not backing down easily.
Jobs must have warned me for a reason.
Zuckerberg wasn’t the sort of man to quit just because Apple turned him down.
In that case, he’d try to partner with another company.
And the company most likely to do that would be….
Obvious.
The company that hated me almost as much as Facebook did right now.
Google.
Zero agreed with my thought.
["My analysis is the same. At present, Google regards Master as a threat no less serious than Facebook does, because of Search. If I were Zuckerberg, the odds are very high that I would have reached out to Google."]
Hmm.
I sat on the edge of the bed and thought it over.
An alliance between Google and Facebook.
Either way, I had no intention of selling the company, so it didn’t matter to me even if they offered ten trillion won.
Still though.
Maybe right now is… the perfect timing for me to seize the entire SNS market.
The fact that Facebook was desperate enough to reach out first to Apple and then even to Google was proof that its internal situation was about to blow.
They must’ve suddenly started supporting high-definition uploads, and server costs probably ballooned to the point they couldn’t handle them.
The longer I dragged things out while refusing the acquisition, the more blood would drain out of Facebook.
Traffic would keep bleeding to Moment second by second, and unbearable server fees would just keep piling up.
So all I need to do is let them collapse on their own.
Facebook, overreaching and imploding.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t really an overreach—it was them thrashing around desperately just to survive.
It’s just that they picked the wrong opponent.
When I thought about it that way, I did feel a little like the villain of the IT industry….
Well, anyway.
Facebook will fall apart on its own if I leave it alone… so it’d be nice if I could move on to the next stage at this timing.
Facebook and Moment were, at heart, SNS platforms built on text and photos.
Sure, later on short videos based on TikTok-like content—the so-called short-form format—would become the trend, but that wasn’t the time yet.
For now, I need to take over long-form video platforms first, not short-form.
Because if I didn’t do it now, the opportunity would be gone.
As of 2009, the video market was in a state of flux.
YouTube was still running away with the crown as the overwhelming number one, but it wasn’t yet an absolute ruler.
Steve Jobs: I was debating whether to bring this up, but I’m contacting you anyway. Yesterday, Zuckerberg from Facebook reached out to me and proposed that we jointly acquire Another Technology.
I naturally refused, but hearing his voice, I got the feeling he wasn’t going to back down easily, so I wanted to give you a heads-up.
You probably have no intention of selling your company, but if rumors start circulating about a huge acquisition offer, your employees or investors might pressure you, so prepare in advance.
Like I said, I refused.
Without even a second’s hesitation. I don’t want to make things even a little annoying or difficult for you.