As a product manager, I want to talk about Netdisk products and Baidu objectively. I will only talk about facts and logic, and only talk about my own thinking. I won’t be slanderous or boastful, just for my own entertainment.
Baidu has not been a hot topic for a long time, but it has been listed twice recently on Netdisk.
Once because. He can actually achieve full speed under the nose of Baidu, which has a per capita download speed of 200 k/s. This is intolerable, so report it.
Then there’s the referral program. Netdisk has launched an incentive plan. Users can earn points by becoming a server. The points can be exchanged for download time. It is a wonderful product plan. But OPPO charges for 5 minutes and can talk for two hours. Baidu Netdisk can be uploaded on-hook for one month, downloading takes 5 minutes, and it only takes more than ten years to change a mobile phone.
It can be said that Baidu Netdisk has given Baidu a bad reputation, but Baidu Netdisk is now Baidu's most famous product. Do you remember or use Baidu’s other products? It's better to have a bad reputation than to be forgotten.
When the Baidu Netdisk incentive plan was hotly discussed the day before yesterday, a technical guy said that Baidu Netdisk is the most disgusting product he has ever used, bar none.
But I feel he is biased. He may not have used Baidu Netdisk, but just based on hearsay about the speed limit, and then was led by the news of the incentive plan, and then he posted that emotion.
But this reflects the public's impression of Baidu's products. The last time it was hotly discussed was Baidu Tieba, but now Tieba seems to have been forgotten. Now it is Baidu Netdisk’s turn to be hotly discussed. Will Netdisk be replaced or forgotten in the future? There are no answers but there are always answers.
As a product manager, I want to talk about Netdisk products and Baidu objectively. I will only talk about facts and logic, and only talk about my own thinking. I won’t be slanderous or boastful, just for my own entertainment.
So from a product perspective, how should a network disk product be made and how should it be commercialized? I think there are three things to do:
Considering the nature of user downloads, a plan must be given. Either solve it properly, or transfer the download demands to other products, such as Xunlei. Netdisk must return to the core of tool products. The core is in the cloud, which means it can be used anytime and anywhere, and there is no scene switching. Commercialization starts from the attributes of the tool and pursues long-term and stable value payment and word-of-mouth payment. It does not lie in speed enforcement or resource sales.1. Why users want to download
Why do users download? Under what circumstances will it be downloaded? Is the core function of the network disk downloading? The above issues are very critical. I wonder if the product manager of Baidu Netdisk has thought about it seriously.
But are the above the mainstream groups for downloading? It seems not. They don't have scenarios where they need to download (large) files frequently, so where is the need for downloading?
The problem is that Baidu Netdisk has been passed on by traditional download needs.
Before we had traditional platforms such as Huajun Software Park, we had Thunder and QQ Tornado. But now, we all use Baidu Netdisk to download. A single person with resources can open a public account to manage the download site, and providing a sharing link can perfectly solve the transmission problem.
The reason is that we are forced to download by Baidu Netdisk.
Non-members are restricted from watching videos at double speed. In the 2.0x speed environment, users can only choose to download. Anyway, it's okay, that is, 200k downloads hang overnight. I don’t know if the pros and cons were weighed when speed limiting was implemented, and whether it would cause widespread downloads.
Regardless of whether the user downloads or not, the cost of storage has been incurred and remains unchanged. According to Baidu's response to the speed limit, downloading behavior will also increase costs, but the costs here are forced out by Baidu itself. But speed limiting can never solve the problem of downloading, it can only alleviate the problem, and it will be scolded by users all the time.
So what is a better solution?
One is to target restrictions based on download scenarios, rather than targeting all users.
Just like the game's targeted crackdown on studios, crackdowns have little impact on ordinary users. The purpose of the platform is also to balance the game, and users will definitely support it.
The biggest scenario for downloading comes from sharing. The shared resources need to be used locally by other users, which results in downloading behavior. This is also the main scenario where downloading needs are passed on.
At this time, Baidu Netdisk became Thunder, and the links shared were the previous Thunder seeds. Although Baidu Netdisk demonstrated the difference between storage and dissemination when winning the lawsuit, users now regard Baidu Netdisk as a tool for dissemination.
Look at it this way, rather than restricting downloads, it is better to restrict sharing. The basic operations of sharing small file data are retained, and there is resistance only for large files. That is to say, it is indifferent to ordinary users and limits the spread of resources. This is to solve the problem from the source.
Second, what if you consider not downloading yourself? Is it possible to embed Thunder in Baidu Netdisk? Is it good?
Xunlei is already severely lacking in traffic. Returning download tasks to Xunlei can be regarded as a support. Users' demands for download speed are handled by Xunlei, and Xunlei is criticized for its slow speed and members. In this way, we distance ourselves from each other.
Xunlei is in the midst of internal strife, and it may be a good time to acquire or support it.
From a long-term perspective, downloading is a temporary pain. In the 5G era, everything is online. The internet speed is so fast that there is no need to download at all. If Baidu adopts an infrastructure mentality and persists until the times come, the situation may change.
Therefore, Baidu Netdisk may need to forget about downloading before it can usher in a better existence.
2. The core value of Netdisk
Back to the original intention, what is the core value of Netdisk? The core value of Baidu Netdisk lies in the cloud.
Baidu Cloud Disk was formerly called Baidu Cloud Disk. After Baidu Cloud debuted, it was changed to Baidu Cloud Disk. What is the core of Cloud Disk:
Is sharing the core? Whether it is to C or to B, in my opinion it is neither.
Sharing to C is like sharing NetEase photo albums before Pure Silver. The product boundaries are there and there is no way. What about sharing within the company doing to B? The internal emphasis is on collaboration and online documents, which is not the current function of Baidu Skydisk.
360 has just acquired Yifangyun and entered the online office market. Will Baidu enter the market with a network disk? Maybe Baidu Netdisk really needs to consider to B services, which may be the main source of commercialization.
Therefore, returning to the core of the product, Baidu Netdisk should meet the needs of users to manage files online, which is more convenient and efficient than local management, and can be shared smoothly within the team.
Let tools return to tools, and let ease of use become the label of the network disk. But in the iteration of Baidu Netdisk, catkins are flying all over the sky, and the flowers are eye-catching.
Netdisk has actually become a resource sharing platform, allowing people to open stores and sell resources. Aren’t users downloading resources? Then don't go looking for it, I have it right here.
I don’t know where the ghosts and snake gods came from to open a store on Baidu Netdisk to sell resources, and whether the resources are genuine. Also, what you may not believe is that you can actually listen to novels on Baidu Netdisk, how magical it is.
What resources need to be downloaded from Baidu Netdisk? And what about payment? If it is data download, what is the difference from Baidu Library? If it's listening to books, you can only rely on Sansu's curiosity to attract traffic.
Baidu Netdisk extends from the resource sharing scene to building a resource library platform, and then to the paid download operation. It makes me want to make an analogy: it is like a fish pond. Everyone plays mahjong because they can’t catch fish, and then the fish Tang has expanded its paid mahjong room business and also supports beautiful dealers in dealing cards.
On the basis of the core functions that should be done well, Baidu Netdisk has increasingly deviated from the normal route. For the sake of commercialization, searching for edge requirements destroys the value experience of the tool.
Under the premise that the core value has been seriously damaged, will users come to the network disk for added value? the answer is negative.
Baidu Netdisk is a typical example of deviation and completely deviating from the core value of the product.
3. Commercialization of network disk
The commercialization of tool products essentially revolves around value-added services. Although the vast majority are free users, the payment of a small number of people can support the overall business profitability. 96% of users of foreign star network disks are free users (data from Baidu Encyclopedia).
However, Baidu Netdisk’s membership system failed, and no one paid for value-added services.
In the past network disk war, Baidu Network Disk killed a thousand enemies with the moves obtained for free in 2T space, but now it has finally revealed its self-inflicted self-inflicted side. For most users, 2T space is enough, and users will not pay because of insufficient space. This is yet another evidence of Netdisk’s short-sightedness.
Space payment should be the core of network disk charging. The 2T space shrinkage plan currently implemented by Baidu Netdisk is evidence of this. Without space, how can we provide value-added services?
So we took action on basic rights and interests. The rights and interests of ordinary users are the castrated version, with limited download speed, unable to play at double speed, video freezes, etc. As a result, a user's dignity as a user is gone.
If no one buys memberships, a one-time payment model will be launched. This is charging for the sake of charging, not around value to the user. Under this payment method, users will definitely leave as soon as they are finished, and will never come back unless necessary.
Coupled with the construction of a resource platform, resources can be exchanged and disseminated for a fee. The profit in this area can be calculated using the formula: daily activity * function usage rate * payment rate * customer unit price. I can't get the data for this money, but it's a small amount of money for blind guessing. As a big company, Baidu, why bother?
The commercialization of tool products must focus on core values. The core of network disk is space and online.
The space has ushered in an opportunity, the speed of the 5G era, and the network disk of the 5G era.
Baidu Netdisk can create a new 5G space and enjoy more advanced space services. This space does not have the old debt of the 2T era, and the mainstream method of space charging has returned. At the same time, we will return the services that are currently neutered to ordinary users to the public, allowing them to experience what they should have in the 4G era and gain reputation.
Online is a way of life, a way of life that requires constant education.
Domestic users do not have the usage habits of foreign countries, so Netdisk must make great efforts in education and promote a better life. Just like the classic soft article "Smart People Use Square Notebooks" in grid notebooks, or "Evernote·Space for You" from Evernote. Baidu Netdisk should also have its own publicity media to continuously guide the use of the core functions of Netdisk, so that users can yearn for beauty and change towards beauty.
WeChat is a lifestyle, and multiple lifestyles coexist. Online is a way of life and replaces the original. Although the road is difficult, the general trend is here and it is definitely worth trying.
We are not against commercialization, but over-commercialization. Therefore, the value of Baidu Netdisk lies in its long-term value. Be patient in the long run, and it will definitely pay off in the long run.
Open Baidu's Baidu Encyclopedia, which lists Baidu's detailed product lines.
Except for the AI system, other products feel like a photo studio of the times.
Baidu's peak product is in the PC era. This entire product system is for a better search experience, complementing each other and achieving mutual success with search engines. Including Zhiba, Tieba, Encyclopedia, Popularity List, etc., the combat effectiveness is very strong when taken alone.
Similarly, Baidu promotion really makes too much money too fast. But speed and quantity have affected Baidu's mentality towards other businesses. It has no patience and only looks at the present. Baidu, which operates Youah e-commerce and Baidu Takeout, lacks long-term patience and cannot see the real breaking point. They only focus on the immediate war and use rich tactics to cover up strategic mistakes.
Therefore, Baidu is a story of a child who had a smooth sailing but fell down and failed to recover. It is also a story of a core business being replaced in the new era.
Baidu is less than 40 billion US dollars. I wish everything is well and that I will no longer be limited by myself.
#Columnist#
Wang Hai, public account: Product Manager Class 7, everyone is a product manager columnist. A veteran of Internet products, he has in-depth research on product growth and business models, and is currently starting a business.
