“You didn’t ask for an interview in advance.”
Lee Hyun-woo’s fluent English was striking the ears of the reporters.
However, the problem was that, unlike his smiling face, the content was a rebuke.
Lee Hyun-woo was right.
If they had known through some channel that Lee Hyun-woo was visiting Silicon Valley, they should have politely contacted him in advance.
Still, reporters, whose shamelessness is their weapon, did not even say a word of apology and just looked at Lee Hyun-woo.
“It’s disconcerting to be asked for an interview suddenly. However, I think I can spare a little time.”
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-woo agreed to the interview.
But.
“I will only take three questions.”
As soon as this was decided, the gathered reporters looked around.
There weren’t that many, but there were more than enough to exceed the number of questions allowed.
At that moment, Lee Hyun-woo’s voice was heard.
“Raise your hands.”
Like a conditioned reflex test with Pavlov’s dogs, the reporters’ hands automatically went up.
Me! Me!
They didn’t shout it, but it seemed like they were pleading with their eyes to be chosen.
Still smiling, Lee Hyun-woo picked one.
It was a young male reporter with glasses and a hooked nose.
“Please introduce yourself first.”
“Ah, I’m Johnson Oh from the 【San Francisco Daily】.”
In his haste, he spoke too quickly, so it sounded like “Jon Snow” to Lee Hyun-woo.
“Yes, Jon. Nice to meet you.”
“Ah, it’s Johnson.”
“Yes, Johnson. Please ask your question.”
“…….”
Caught off guard by the ping-pong-like exchange, Johnson forgot what he wanted to ask.
At times like this, he remembered his senior reporter’s advice that speaking at length would eventually lead to a question.
“We are in the information age now. The pace of change is accelerating, there are many variables, and the risks are great. It’s almost impossible to make predictions. Despite this, 【Jungle】 is evaluated as quickly catching up with this pace. It’s been just over a year since its founding, but how did you manage to create such an innovative company that draws the world’s attention?”
The senior’s advice was correct.
Once he started speaking, it turned into a question.
By the way, the content he mentioned at the beginning was something he had read in a book, though he couldn’t remember which book it was.
But then.
“It’s because we know the pattern. The very core ‘principle’ that governs the market. It’s a pattern that cannot fail to succeed, no matter how the future changes. People already call it a platform, and it appears in various forms in our lives. Of course, I just applied the essence of the platform to online business.”
Johnson was stunned by Lee Hyun-woo’s answer.
Because the content was a continuation of the book Johnson had read.
It seemed that Lee Hyun-woo had read the same book.
‘Damn it.’
Since the question was abstract, the answer was also abstract.
And he answered with the content of the book.
Now, the only thing left was to package this well and edit it so that consumers who wanted this information could buy it.
The surprising thing was that the next reporter immediately picked up on Lee Hyun-woo’s answer and asked a brilliant question.
“I am Grey Joy from the 【San Francisco Times】. Could you tell us about one of the platforms you are planning for the future that you mentioned earlier?”
Johnson Oh felt envious.
A question should have a few qualities, one of which is to ‘embarrass’ the respondent.
If Lee Hyun-woo mentioned a future platform, it would be almost the same as saying that 【Jungle】 was preparing it, so he thought it would not be easy to answer.
Usually, at times like this, people gloss over it or say ‘no comment.’
But Lee Hyun-woo was different.
“Of course, there is. Personally, I want to create an SNS platform that connects the world as one.”
“SNS platform… Can you tell us what it is?”
“You don’t have the right to ask the third question…”
“Ah, yes…”
Should I say it was fortunate?
Grey Joy, who made Johnson Oh envious, also got a taste of his own medicine.
However, Johnson Oh was also very curious about what SNS was, so he hoped the next reporter would ask.
Grey Joy seemed to be curious as well, as he looked at the third reporter, whom Lee Hyun-woo had pointed out, with pleading eyes.
- Please ask about the definition of SNS.
Were their eyes desperate enough?
In fact, the third reporter was also very curious.
The reporter, who introduced himself as Brandon Stark, immediately asked Lee Hyun-woo to tell them what SNS was.
Then everyone focused on Lee Hyun-woo’s opening mouth.
“Social Networking Service. A platform to build relationships, socialize, and share news through the network. Furthermore, it will evolve into a platform that allows us to see the world through acquaintances.”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The reporters’ mouths were tightly shut.
Not out of shock but due to the limits of their imagination.
Seeing that, Lee Hyun-woo opened his mouth again with a meaningful smile.
“Although today’s session ends with three questions, I will take more questions tomorrow. You all heard, right? 【Jungle】 is entering the U.S. market through a business collaboration with 【AltaVist】?”
This time, everyone’s heads nodded.
In fact, 【Jungle】 is more famous abroad than in Korea.
Ironically, last year, after 【Yaho】’s record NASDAQ listing, the world’s attention turned to portal sites.
Now, 【Jungle】, often mentioned in the media as a rival to 【Yahoo】, was drawing all that attention.
Naturally, the reporters couldn’t understand what Lee Hyun-woo said with their imagination alone, so they had no choice but to attend the cooperation signing ceremony the next day to get more information.
“Then, see you tomorrow.”
The reporters could only watch as Lee Hyun-woo walked away with a polite but firm tone.
This time, however, a few unfamiliar individuals began to approach Lee Hyun-woo.
Some reporters recognized their faces.
‘They are from Wall Street!’
‘They want to invest!’
Recently, the value of 【Jungle】 has been a constant topic of debate.
It’s a bubble, or it’s undervalued!
The reason these two opinions were so noisy was that 【Jungle】 had taken a different path from other IT companies.
Although Lee Hyun-woo hadn’t officially declared that he wouldn’t accept investment inquiries, there were no stories of funds being injected into 【Jungle】.
The only example of external funding was their partnership with 【Software Bank】 for their expansion into Japan.
In other words, while they hadn’t accepted investments in Korea, it seemed they were open to it abroad.
So, it seemed quite a few investors had gathered today,
Swish!
The bodyguards from 【Guseong】 quickly blocked them and said.
“If you don’t have a prior appointment, you cannot meet him.”
The investors were taken aback.
They had heard that Lee Hyun-woo didn’t have a secretary or bodyguards, but suddenly, bodyguards had appeared.
And not just one or two.
With quite a few personnel deployed, it was impossible for the investors to approach.
‘Damn it.’
‘What should we do?’
‘The higher-ups are going to freak out.’
Watching Lee Hyun-woo disappear leisurely, they thought of their bosses’ faces.
In the car heading to the hotel, they rode in a car provided by the American branch of 【Guseong】.
Of course, Lee Hyun-woo and Kim Ah-young were in the car, and Park Min-sook was in the front seat.
Lee Hyun-woo spoke first, expressing his gratitude.
“It could have been a hassle, but I was saved because of the bodyguards. Thank you.”
“Don’t you think it’s time for you to hire secretaries and bodyguards?”
“Yeah, I think I should.”
The reason he hadn’t hired secretaries and bodyguards was not because of the cost but because they had been lower on the priority list.
After all, 【Jungle】 is a rapidly growing company with many gaps.
However, Lee Hyun-woo, armed with past experience, was managing well all by himself so far.
“Secretaries can be assigned to someone within the company, but I’ll need some recommendations for bodyguards.”
Now he was beginning to recognize areas he couldn’t handle alone.
“Recommendations?”
“Yes, could you help me with that?”
“Oh… Okay, I’ll look into it.”
Kim Ah-young felt pleased that Lee Hyun-woo was relying on her for something.
“Secretary Park, please look into it when we get back to Korea.”
“Yes, Director.”
Then she finally started asking Lee Hyun-woo about something she was curious about.
“By the way.”
“Yes?”
“Was it okay to tell the reporters all that about the business plans?”
“Oh, that? Do you think they understood what the business plan was?”
“…….”
Kim Ah-young widened her eyes.
“To be honest, I’m not quite sure what ‘SNS’ refers to. This is actually the first time I’ve come across it.”
“Like I said earlier, it’s about building connections online and expanding relationships through them.”
“Even with that, I still don’t quite get it.”
“Why not? It’s something we’re already doing.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, blogs. That’s SNS.”
“Oh…”
Listening to Lee Hyun-woo, Kim Ah-young finally understood the definition of SNS.
Indeed, blogs are spaces where people can see, read, and feel each other’s daily lives, thoughts, news, and chit-chat, and attach their opinions through comments.
In fact, to enhance blog functions, 【Jungle】 was operating an acquaintance system.
It was a system where blog operators could become acquaintances if they wanted to.
“Then it’s not something new, is it?”
“In the U.S., it is. And like I said earlier, it has to be made so that people all over the world can enjoy it. The development team will continue to enhance it as a kind of ongoing project.”
In the future, SNS will branch into various forms.
Like the conversation the two just had, there will be blog-style forms, open SNS like 【Face Note】 or 【In Stas Gram】 that emphasize community, and closed SNS like 【Twining】 or 【Sign World】 that work as personal media.
Whatever comes into the world, the original will now be 【Jungle】’s blog.
Or perhaps, this blog will evolve into new forms, and both open and closed SNS platforms may emerge from 【Jungle】.
‘Then, will Marco Zuckerberg, the founder of 【Face Note】, do something else?’
Recently, Lee Hyun-woo had been realizing the power of the butterfly effect.
The founders of 【Single】 are researching P2P, and the founder of 【Pineapple】 is interested in portal sites.
So, Marco Zuckerberg could create something other than an SNS platform.
If not, he might remain an ordinary person.
Whatever happens, now that Lee Hyun-woo has entered the U.S., the magnitude of the butterfly effect will be unimaginable.
Sensing this, Lee Hyun-woo smiled.
