25: Chapter 25 Program Popularity

Meanwhile, at Inspur Technology.

Qin Mo pulled up the backend analytics page for Douyin and took a few looks.

He opened the full episode of the first installment of "The Rap of China" on the video website. This content had already been released on the video platform, but due to limited promotion, not many people knew about it.

"Call the operations team over for a quick meeting."

Ten minutes later, Zhao Lei brought several members of the content operations team to sit before Qin Mo.

The screen displayed screenshots of several clips from the first episode of "The Rap of China."

"Have the editing team make Short Video clips under thirty seconds from these segments, cutting out the most exciting parts of the auditions."

"Highlight the conflicts, emphasize the rivalry between contestants, and edit the competition format to be more exciting."

"Leave a hook at the end of each clip to make people want to watch the full version."

The operations team members exchanged glances.

When they were previously reassigned to take over the promotion for "The Rap of China," they didn't have much confidence.

The discussion level for this program online was simply too low; no matter how one looked at it, it didn't seem to have the potential to be a hit.

But since the boss had spoken personally, there was nothing to hesitate about.

"How many clips should we edit?" asked Zhao Lei.

"The more, the better. Starting today, release them in batches daily. Use the Recommendation Algorithm to push them precisely to users who have lingered on or interacted with music-related content."

Qin Mo closed the screenshots and added another sentence.

He remembered very clearly that in his past life, the first time "The Rap of China" truly broke out of its niche was because of some audition clips that made people involuntarily mimic them.

Some iconic stage moments were also edited into Short Video clips and went viral across major platforms.

Those iconic slogans were, in themselves, natural material for viral spread.

"Edit some of the exciting clips and dialogues to be more memorable, turning them into memes that can be imitated and spread."

A young man from the operations team said quietly.

Qin Mo glanced at him.

"Just handle it as you see fit. Prioritize pushing the clips and lines you think will go viral."

"We don't need to spend extra money to buy promotional slots; we just need to push the content to the people most likely to be interested."

That afternoon, Douyin's Recommendation Algorithm began quietly increasing the exposure weight for those exciting audition clips.

...

In the evening, at a coffee shop in the Futian District of Shenzhen.

Old Zhou was a loyal fan of "Singer."

Starting a few years ago, he had followed every season to the end, and he could recite the name of every grand champion.

Today was Saturday, the day the third episode of "Singer" aired. He had taken time off in the afternoon and arranged to meet an old friend at the coffee shop.

"Let me tell you, there's a female Singer performing my idol's song on the third episode of 'Singer' tonight. I've been waiting for a week."

"This program is simply the best singing show."

"I don't think any other singing show will compare to it even in ten years."

Old Zhou held his iced Americano and chatted enthusiastically with his friend opposite him.

The friend smiled.

People of their age had long since lost their enthusiasm for variety shows, but Old Zhou was an exception; his mindset was similar to many young people.

As the two were chatting, two young men who looked like college students sat at the table next to them. One of them was scrolling through something on his phone while saying something, and the other followed up with a line.

"I eat hot pot, you eat hot pot base..."

Old Zhou frowned and turned his head to glance at the two young men.

What hot pot base? Are young people today really talking this strangely? He shook his head and didn't take it to heart.

The coffee shop clerk behind the counter was wiping the coffee machine. Hearing this line, he looked up and smiled.

"Are you guys also watching 'The Rap of China'?"

"Yeah, it's hilarious. Do you have freestyle?"

The two young men laughed at the same time.

The clerk also laughed.

"Yes, yes, yes. That show is really good; it's completely different from other talent shows."

Old Zhou listened from the side and found it funny.

What Rap of China, what no rap? A bunch of young people shouting and yelling, thinking they're rappers just by reciting a couple of doggerel poems? If you want to watch a show, you have to watch "Singer"; that's what a real music program is called.

Thinking this to himself, he picked up his iced Americano and took a sip, not joining the conversation at the table next to him.

Nine o'clock in the evening.

Old Zhou returned home, threw his coat onto the sofa, and turned on his computer, preparing to watch the replays of the first two episodes of "Singer."

His takeout wouldn't arrive for another twenty minutes, so he habitually pulled out his phone and opened Douyin, wanting to scroll for a few minutes to kill time.

The screen lit up.

The first video was a young man standing on stage, wearing a baggy hoodie with his hat pulled very low, holding a microphone and saying to the judges word by word: "I don't need your approval. My songs are written for people who understand them."

The judge's expression changed.

Old Zhou's finger, which had been about to swipe up, didn't move.

The next video was the same program: a boy wearing a gold chain was saying a long string of rhyming sentences into the camera at an extremely fast speed, with dense rhyme points marked on the side with special effects text.

He swiped again. Another contestant on stage shoved the person next to him; the smell of gunpowder was so thick it could almost spill out of the screen.

He swiped again. A judge said with a straight face.

"Do you have freestyle?"

The camera cut to the contestant's face, and the contestant held it in for a long time before blurting out a sentence.

"I forgot to prepare that."

Old Zhou laughed out loud.

He had completely forgotten that he opened Douyin while waiting for his takeout. His finger swiped up mechanically, watching one after another, and without realizing it, he had already been scrolling for over twenty minutes.

The doorbell rang; the takeout had arrived.

Old Zhou carried his takeout to the computer and opened the playback page for "Singer."

The image on the screen was exquisite, the stage lights were brilliant, and the female Singer stood under the spotlight, singing an old song with deep emotion. Every note was as precise as if measured with a ruler.

But he hadn't watched for ten minutes before his mind was still filled with the face of the contestant from earlier who held it in for a long time before saying, "I forgot to prepare that."

He couldn't help but pick up his phone again.

He searched for "The Rap of China" on Douyin, and dozens of related Short Video clips popped up, each one funnier than what he had just seen.

He paused "Singer" and clicked on the full version of the first episode of "The Rap of China."

...

Three hours later.

Old Zhou had finished watching the first two episodes.

He leaned back on the sofa, staring at the "Episode 3, Please Subscribe" button on the screen, tapping his fingers on the armrest several times.

There were still six and a half days until the third episode updated. How was he supposed to wait?

He picked up his phone and sent a message to the friend he had coffee with at noon.

"Stop just watching 'Singer.' Go watch 'The Rap of China.' 'Singer' is nothing!"

"This show is so interesting!"

Meanwhile, in the backend of Weikan's user data, the curve for average usage time was still hugging the bottom, motionless.

And on the rankings in the app store next door, Douyin's download volume had jumped up another notch.

Although the third episode of the program hadn't aired yet.

But as numerous memes broke out of their niche.

The popularity of "The Rap of China" began to rise rapidly.