After meeting Billy Gates, Steven Jobs immediately planned a schedule for Korea.
“End of the year?”
About two months later seemed to be a good time.
It was because the day when the portal site of [Pineapple] he had been preparing would be launched was not far away.
As always, Steven Jobs’ ambition was very high.
He planned to enter the overseas market right after dominating the United States.
“I heard that Korea has excellent online infrastructure. I should go and experience it myself.”
It seemed reasonable to schedule a visit to Japan like Billy Gates on the way back from Korea.
Determined, Steven Jobs immersed himself again in the launch of the portal site.
Finally, two days later, the portal site of [Pineapple], ‘Ocean,’ was launched.
The first day’s response was quite good.
However, the number of connections did not meet Steven Jobs’ goal.
Wanting to review the users’ reactions, he quickly called for a meeting.
“I hear that users are satisfied with the design.”
“It seems our meticulous efforts paid off.”
“Above all, the loyal customers who loved [Pineapple] seem to trust us once again and visit the portal site.”
[Pineapple] had always had many loyal buyers.
It was because of the image of innovation that Steven Jobs had built.
Since he returned to the company, their expectations had naturally increased.
Of course, there was an explosive response on the first day.
But it was too early to be complacent.
“However, there is feedback that our search function does not match up to [Jungle]. Although it is not an objective evaluation, it reflects users’ feelings.”
“Our content is still lacking. Recently, [Jungle] has started online shopping and MP3 services. They are also launching new services soon.”
“New services? What are they launching?”
“An online friend-making content. It seems that it is an upgrade of [Jungle]’s blog.”
“Is it redundant content? Are they getting rid of the blog and revamping it?”
“No, their blog is doing well, so they wouldn’t get rid of it. This is planned to be launched as an independent site from [Jungle]’s content.”
“Hmm…”
Billy Gates and Steven Jobs had a common point: they were both quick-tempered.
Though it might seem contradictory in expression, they could be called cold-tempered.
It was the same now.
As the discussion on the evaluation of their portal site ‘Ocean’ flowed toward listing only the competitor’s strengths, Steven Jobs became excited.
“So, what should we do to beat [Jungle]? Is it the search engine? Or the content?”
“……”
“……”
“Both, right?”
Though there was no answer, the executives’ eyes said yes.
Steven Jobs could read that.
He continued speaking, his voice filled with passion.
“Then we have our answer. Those in charge of the search engine, please catch up to [Jungle]’s accuracy in a short time. We are already working with [Macro Soft], so the upgrade speed will be much faster. And those in charge of content, don’t just follow what [Jungle] is doing. Find something new. The world is vast, and there’s a lot for people to enjoy.”
Steven Jobs was not one to end the meeting with just these words.
He assigned clear tasks to those responsible for content, unlike the relatively clear development goal of the search engine.
“From now on, have a content meeting every morning. I will be attending.”
Their eyes wavered.
From today, the responsible executives would have to rack their brains.
However, Steven Jobs himself did not intend to rest.
First, he listened to the opinion of Jordan Live, who was in charge of the portal site’s design.
“The pros and cons are clear. We have an edge in design, but we are completely behind in the search engine and content.”
“We expected that.”
“We did. But facing it directly makes me boil inside.”
“I knew you would feel that way.”
“What should we do?”
“Steven, I am just a designer. Asking me about technology and content is not right.”
“I’m frustrated. And your creativity is sparkling.”
“I appreciate the acknowledgment, but I can’t create technology and content out of thin air. My creativity doesn’t lie in those areas.”
Jordan Live was in charge of [Pineapple]’s design.
However, when Steven Jobs left, it seemed that [Pineapple] was neglecting design, and Jordan had considered leaving the company.
It was Steven Jobs who convinced him to stay.
After his return, Steven Jobs persuaded Jordan Live with these words.
- When technology and content become similar, it will be the design that catches people’s eyes.
Eventually, Jordan Live couldn’t leave [Pineapple] and stayed to research the design of the portal site, which was Steven Jobs’ ambitious project.
Finally, the previous day, his masterpiece was unveiled, and the design, which was eye-catching to anyone, received positive responses.
However, there was widespread concern that they might be hindered by the search engine and content.
“My personal opinion is that new technology doesn’t appear out of nowhere.”
“So?”
“How about persuading those geniuses we visited last time?”
“The ones we visited last time? Ah, Ray Buren? Mikhail Fase?”
“Yes, it seems they also created a P2P site. The name is…”
“Give and Take, the company is also called [Give and Take].”
“Yes, that’s right. [Give and Take]. Though I’m not familiar with technology, doesn’t [Give and Take] also rely on the search engine to operate? To execute uploads and downloads within it?”
“That’s right. Especially when downloading, the search engine is essential. You have to find what you want to download… Ah, are you suggesting that we integrate their search engine?”
“Steven, if you acknowledge it, isn’t their search engine technically the best?”
“That’s right. At that time, it was the best. If I could have brought them in initially, a different version of ‘Ocean’ might have been born. It’s very regrettable.”
“It’s too early to regret. Isn’t there a saying that regret is quick when you think it’s late?”
“Are you saying to bring them in now?”
“Or suggest a collaboration. We have already started developing a search engine jointly with [Macro Soft].”
“Three companies joining hands? That’s not a bad idea.”
Steven Jobs nodded.
“You’re right. It’s not too late yet. Okay, this time you come with me.”
“Me?”
“Yes, just stand by my side. There are people whose mere presence gives strength. That’s you, Jordan.”
“Haha…”
Jordan laughed awkwardly but nodded at Steven’s request.
Steven Jobs, who was more emotional than anyone else.
He seemed to draw strength from those around him in ways that others might not think of.
In that case, he might genuinely be able to give strength by being by his side.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
On the way, Steven contacted them by phone, and they welcomed his visit. He headed straight to the office of [Give and Take] with Jordan Live.
As expected, the company was not large in scale.
However, the interior and equipment of the building did not seem lacking in funds.
‘They said they received investment from Wall Street, and they indeed look better than before.’
Could they have literally gained weight?
It meant their expressions were more confident and their eyes more assertive.
Ray Buren.
Mikhail Fase.
Steven wanted [Pineapple] to absorb these two somehow.
But if they were so confident, wouldn’t it become more difficult?
He glanced at Jordan Live standing next to him.
Jordan nodded and smiled.
This gave him the strength to change his mind.
‘No. Their P2P site hasn’t turned a profit yet. There are also legal issues remaining, so it might be okay.’
Steven had failed once.
Therefore, after his return, he believed that he must succeed again.
He was always cautious and tried not to be overbearing.
The reason he brought Jordan Live was to encourage and restrain him.
The intention was spot on.
Now Steven began to bring up the topic confidently, just as much as they were.
“Yesterday, our [Pineapple] portal site ‘Ocean’ launched. Did you guys see it?”
“Yes, we saw it.”
“We did.”
“How was it?”
“Not bad.”
“The design was clean. It was the best homepage design I’ve seen recently, and it made me curious about other pages.”
They seemed intent on talking only about the strengths.
So Steven honestly opened up.
“The reason I’m here is to get an objective evaluation from you guys.”
Getting such an evaluation here?
Both the speaker and the listeners knew it was not the right place, but the two young men smiled and spoke, as if they had no choice.
“The search engine…”
“Yes, focusing a bit more on that would be good.”
They seemed to be trying to speak less critically.
They surely knew about the lack of content, but they didn’t seem to want to mention it.
Steven Jobs nodded, acknowledging it.
“Right, right. I’ll be honest, our search engine is worse than your ‘Give and Take’ site. Isn’t that so?”
“That’s a different issue.”
“Yes, we’re a site specialized in uploads and downloads, so it’s not hard for the search engine to find those.”
“No, no. It’s precisely because your search engine is only used on your site that it’s not properly evaluated. If your search engine were applied to a portal site? I would say it has accuracy comparable to [Jungle].”
“That’s not the case.”
“You’re overestimating our search engine.”
The two were humble.
There was a reason.
After receiving investment from Wall Street, they prided themselves on opening a new world in the world of information and communication.
It was natural because there had never been a site that implemented the idea of exchanging content with each other.
However, after the site was launched, similar sites to [Give and Take] sprang up everywhere, and the search engines they used included [Jungle]’s search engine.
Naturally, they could compare, and they had to admit that their search engine did not match up to [Jungle]’s.
But Steven knew this well.
So he said the following.
