5: Chapter 5 Dress-up Video

Qin Mo didn't respond to this, instead continuing to look down at the data.

User source distribution.

Sixty-seven percent came from Jiang Youyou's livestream recommendations; this was the primary wave of traffic.

The remaining thirty-three percent came from organic traffic in the app store and word-of-mouth among users.

"Word-of-mouth?"

Zhao Lei paused, then took out his phone.

He opened Weibo.

He searched for "Douyin."

The first result that popped up was a trending Weibo post, with over two thousand retweets.

"My roommate downloaded an app called Douyin last night, laughed from twelve until three in the morning, and is still laughing in bed right now hahahaha. I can't take it, my abs hurt from laughing."

It was accompanied by a blurry photo of the roommate wrapped in a quilt, laughing uncontrollably.

The comments below had exploded.

"Hahahahaha, I went to download it immediately after seeing this Weibo post, and I've been laughing ever since."

"Is this app toxic or what? I only meant to watch for five minutes, but by the time I snapped out of it, it was almost dawn."

"The scariest part is that I swiped onto a video of a cat yawning, forgot to like it when I exited, and couldn't find it again when I refreshed. I spent over an hour scrolling through my history and just couldn't find it."

"You're not alone, the person above. These videos are so addictive; once you finish one, you want to watch the next."

"Am I the only one who thinks this is a waste of time? I have to go to work!"

"I have to work too, but I still can't stop."

Zhao Lei read the comments one by one. The smile on his face grew wider and wider, until his mouth was almost stretching to his ears.

"Boss, it looks like we've really made it."

"This is just the beginning."

Qin Mo's voice remained very calm. He leaned against the window, holding a half-finished soy milk in his hand.

"The current users are just here for the entertainment; they were attracted by the reposted funny videos."

He paused.

"But this isn't enough."

"Reposted content can attract people to watch, but it can't keep them."

"Why?"

Zhao Lei didn't quite understand.

"These videos are clearly very funny, and the users like them a lot."

"Because these videos weren't produced by Douyin."

Qin Mo set the soy milk on the table and looked at Zhao Lei, his tone unhurried.

"The funny videos users see on Douyin right now can also be seen on Weibo, on Bilibili, and anywhere else."

"Douyin is just a video player."

"If it stays like this, users will leave once the novelty wears off."

Lin Xiao took the unlit cigarette out of his mouth, looking thoughtful.

"Then... what do we do?"

"Let users produce the content themselves."

Qin Mo turned around and looked at the gray, hazy sky outside the window.

"I want the creators on Douyin to film things that aren't available on other platforms."

Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao exchanged a glance, neither of them fully understanding.

In their view, the current growth rate was already good enough to make someone wake up laughing in their sleep; was there really a need to keep pushing?

But Qin Mo knew.

The current data was just an appetizer.

In his previous life, Douyin's explosive growth didn't rely on reposted funny videos, but on its own content ecosystem.

It was the authentic, interesting, and creative videos filmed by ordinary people at home, on the streets, and in every corner using their phones.

And the first thing he had to do was replicate the first truly viral, mainstream breakthrough of Douyin from his previous life.

He still remembered.

What kind of video had caused Douyin to go viral in the first place.

Qin Mo tapped on his phone, and soon a video was sent to Zhao Lei's computer.

"Take a look at this video first."

The two didn't know what Qin Mo meant, but they still clicked on the video he sent.

The next moment.

The video opened. On screen was a male whose face couldn't be seen, dressed in extremely ordinary clothes: a black hoodie, a black baseball cap, and black sunglasses. Standing there, he looked just like a passerby.

Immediately after.

The beat-synced music started.

The male in the video raised his hand and pulled the black baseball cap down, covering most of his face.

Then he turned around, facing away from the camera.

One second.

Two seconds.

The music's tempo suddenly accelerated, and the drumbeats became intense.

He spun back around abruptly.

The hat was gone.

The sunglasses were gone.

In their place was a well-tailored black suit, a neat hairstyle, and a cold, sharp expression. His entire aura had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.

From a street passerby to a domineering CEO, it only took one second.

The video ended.

Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao's mouths were open wide enough to fit a fist.

"Holy crap?"

"Boss, is this you?"

"This... how did you do this?"

Zhao Lei looked at Qin Mo with total disbelief.

Before and after the turn in the video, it was completely two different people, yet it was clearly the same person.

The change in clothes, the shift in aura, the difference in the gaze—all completed in a mere second. Combined with the beat-synced music, the impact was ridiculously powerful.

Zhao Lei reacted the fastest, involuntarily crying out.

Qin Mo also coughed a few times, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Don't release my video. During this time, find street promotion teams at universities everywhere, invite bloggers from other platforms to join, and then have them film these transformation videos."

After saying this, Qin Mo lowered his head to operate his phone and sent the video to Jiang Youyou.

He attached a message.

"Youyou, film one like this and post it on Douyin."

After sending the message, Qin Mo placed his phone on the table and turned to pick up his soy milk.

Before he could bring the soy milk to his lips, his phone rang, vibrating so hard that the pen on the table rolled a bit.

Qin Mo picked it up.

Jiang Youyou's voice was extremely complex; it was hard to tell if it was shock or something else.

"Senior, is the man in this video you?"

"It's me."

There was silence on the other end of the line for several seconds.

"Teach me how to film it."

"Right now."

Jiang Youyou's actions were even faster than Qin Mo had anticipated.

Less than half an hour after the video was sent, she had finished filming the final product.

When Qin Mo clicked on the video, Zhao Lei and Lin Xiao both crowded over, one leaning on the left, the other on the right.

The video began with Jiang Youyou's profile.

She was wearing an oversized white T-shirt, her hair tied up casually, and wearing black-rimmed glasses—a homey look of someone who had just woken up and hadn't washed her face yet.

The background was her room, with the sunlight just right in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the curtains swaying slightly in the breeze.

Then the music started.

She reached out, took off her glasses, and tossed them aside casually.

She turned around.

The camera cut to the moment she turned back.

The black-rimmed glasses were gone.

The white T-shirt had been replaced by a wine-red backless dress, her long hair was let down, her makeup was exquisite, and her red lips were like flames.

That girl-next-door was gone.

Standing there was a queen on the red carpet.

At the end of the video, she curled the corners of her lips slightly at the camera, with a hint of a smile in her eyes, and a touch of provocation.

The video ended there.

Over ten seconds.

The office was silent for a full five seconds.

Zhao Lei spoke first, his voice husky.

"Boss."

"Yeah."

"I think this should go viral."

"Yeah."

"This will definitely go viral!"