In his letter, he included the address of his Blog.
Normally, such a move would have been met with ridicule from other users, who would have accused him of "trying to recruit members." But this time, the comments section was filled with nothing but "Followed."
Meanwhile, Frank had also recruited a group of freelance writers who had previously contributed to various newspapers.
These writers had once struggled to make a living from meager article fees, and after their work was published, they rarely heard from readers beyond editorial feedback.
Silicon Valley Online also awarded them Blue V verification.
"Just upload your previously published or rejected articles here," Frank told them over the phone. "Here, no one will delete your work, and the whole world can see it."
The arrival of these professional writers rapidly elevated the quality of content on the Blog.
Compared to the fragmented rants on the Bulletin Board System, the lengthy, in-depth essays on the Blog resembled the thoughtful columns of a high-quality magazine.
To fan the flames of this fire, Silicon Valley Online launched a violent, cross-platform marketing campaign.
Webdir's pages were transformed.
The neatly organized categories on the first row were forcibly crammed with a new section called "Records & Sharing." The eye-catching red "NEW" icon blinked on the screen, as if urging users to click it immediately.
And WeBlog's name ranked first in this category.
ICQ was also busy.
The new version of the client added a prominent "Blog" field to the user information section.
When users chatted, they could simply click the blue icon next to another user's avatar to jump directly to their personal page.
This seamless integration drew many users, who had originally only wanted to chat, into the text-based worlds of others without realizing it.
Offline efforts were equally frenzied.
Green promotional posters were plastered on every bulletin board at Stanford University and Berkeley.
In San Jose's computer markets, every geek who left after making a purchase was handed a flyer.
The flyer's message was blunt and direct: "Want your name on the front page of the Internet? WeBlog—a stage for everyone."
This precise strike at vanity proved surprisingly effective.
On its first day online, WeBlog had already attracted over 2,000 registered users.
Frank reviewed the financial reports. Though bandwidth costs continued to rise, his composure remained rock-solid.
"Zhongshan was right—this thing is addictive," Frank said, pointing to a newly registered user. "This guy refreshed his page fifty times in an hour, just to see if anyone had given him a thumbs-up."
The combined strategy of Silicon Valley Online proved even more explosive than Frank had anticipated.
In the first three days after WeBlog's launch, every line of data scrolling through the backend refreshed Frank's understanding of the term "Internet."
160,000 unique visitors, including 30,000 mere onlookers who hadn't even registered an account.
If Webdir was a signpost—users would look up the address and close their browsers—then WeBlog was a massive quagmire. Once you stepped in, your soles would be stuck with pounds of dopamine.
In just three days, the total number of clicks had surpassed three million.
Frank sat at his computer, the ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts.
He stared at the steadily climbing comment count on the screen, then turned to Tom and said, "Webdir just makes it easier for users to leave us and go to other sites. But the Blog—this thing locks them all in our site."
"That's what Takuya meant by 'content is king'," Tom replied, flipping through several freshly printed copies of blog posts from the site's most popular accounts.
One blogger, "Hardware Maniac," had posted a performance review of the Intel Pentium processor on the first day, and it had already garnered over 500 comments.
The thumbs-up icon had become the busiest component on Silicon Valley Online these past few days.
"These users are crazy," Frank said, pointing to a highly active ID in the backend. "This guy, 'Seattle Sleepless,' has refreshed the page forty times in an hour. He checks every few minutes for new likes or someone trashing his post."
Tom put down the paper documents and leaned back on the sofa. "Vanity is the fuel that costs nothing. Give them a number, and they'll work day and night to drive traffic to Silicon Valley Online."
By now, WeBlog had evolved far beyond a simple text-based platform.
Users who had grown accustomed to lurking in Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) found their ambitions ignited when they saw "role model bloggers" being adored by tens of thousands.
This illusion that "ordinary people can become famous" spurred a massive influx of users to try writing their first blog posts.
They were no longer content to merely observe the lives of others.
Some began sharing photos of their pets, others vented about their bosses, and some even started serializing science fiction novels.
"This search and discovery mechanism is lethal," Tom said, pointing to the "Bloggers You Might Like" section on the sidebar. "I just wanted to look up a game guide, but I ended up clicking through links for half an hour and ended up reading about California food recommendations."
Frank rubbed his bloodshot eyes, a smug smile spreading across his face. "This is exactly what we wanted. Webdir is responsible for pulling in all the American netizens, and Blog is responsible for making them feel at home. The user stickiness is incredible. Who would abandon their hard-won territory for a new platform?"
The office phone rang again—it was the tech department.
"Boss, the servers are hitting their red line again. Those bloggers are spamming every mailing list with their Blog links to get votes. The traffic requests are like a tsunami."
Frank snatched the receiver, no longer wincing at the cost, but instead with a near-pathological excitement. "Then order more servers! Negotiate for more bandwidth! Don't report server load to me—I only want user numbers and traffic volume!"
After hanging up, Frank turned to Tom, his voice hardening.
"Tell those GG Merchants who are still on the fence that their current offers are void. If they want to get their ads next to these popular bloggers' pages, they'll need to come up with more serious figures."
The [ Wall Street Journal ]'s tech column was notoriously sharp, but this time, its front-page headline was particularly intriguing: "Silicon Valley Online: The Digital Gatekeeper of the Information Age?"
The article detailed Webdir's performance in its first week online, writing in an almost cautionary tone: "When one-tenth of American netizens are searching for an exit through a single page, this company has already grasped the throat of the Internet."
Before its rivals could fully digest the impact of Webdir, [ Wired ] magazine released a special supplement featuring an in-depth report on WeBlog.
"If Webdir is the map, then WeBlog is the destination. Silicon Valley Online is redefining how humanity records its life."
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