"Yeah!"
In less than 24 hours, Facebook users surpassed 1 million, and the entire floor instantly erupted into a frenzy.
Months of hard work had paid off, and many were already crying tears of joy.
A few tech guys ran to the corner, brought out several large boxes, and pulled out pre-prepared streamers and horns, tooting them loudly.
Inspired by the fervent atmosphere, Eric stepped onto a table, pointed a finger to the sky, "Give me 'We Are the Champions'!"
Instantly, the rousing music from Queen echoed throughout the floor, and everyone cheered wildly, embracing each other.
The commotion was so great that it quickly attracted the people working overtime on the two upper floors at Lionheart Network and YouTube.
Upon hearing that Facebook's new user registrations had exceeded one million, they also happily joined the celebration.
This was extremely good news; Facebook's users would eventually be funneled to Lionheart Network and YouTube, and the stronger Facebook became, the better foundation it would lay for the other two.
Fitz Heisenburg handed a bottle of champagne to Eric, "Boss, honestly, no one expected this bottle of champagne to be used on the very first day."
Eric smiled as he took it, shaking it vigorously.
Bang!
With a crisp pop, the cork flew off to who knows where, and the foam sprayed a white line into the air.
Looking at the boisterous crowd, Eric decided to give them another boost.
He announced loudly, "Every Facebook team member will receive a bonus of 10,000 US dollars, to be paid with next month's salary!"
"Long live the boss!"
"Yes!"
"Long live the boss!"
"Long live!"
Nothing is more encouraging than a direct cash reward; the cheers and roars almost blew the roof off the floor, and Uncle Ya's sexy voice couldn't even be heard.
The revelry continued until midnight, and under Fitz Heisenburg's control, everyone remained restrained and did not drink alcohol.
As the clock struck 12, the screen data settled at 1.13 million.
If this data—over a million users in one natural day—were announced, even internet giants like Microsoft, Apple, and Yahoo would surely be astonished.
An entertainment company running social media, a combination that seemed bizarre to everyone, turned out to be surprisingly easy to achieve.
Most of the success was due to MGM's powerful star resources; with stars leading and fans following, the public readily embraced it. Who could blame them?
If it were an ordinary company, even a tech company with stronger technical capabilities, it absolutely could not have achieved this.
How many people know your technicians? How many people know your management? How many people know your CEO? Unless it's a big shot like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs who has already made a name for himself.
But can one Bill Gates compare to hundreds of Hollywood stars?
That would also be questionable.
The next day, early in the morning, people started arriving at work before the official start time. Eric, Fitz, and a few tech guys had stayed there all night.
He yawned and got up from the sofa.
As usual, he first checked the backend data. The number of users had increased from 1.13 million to 1.35 million. Such a fierce increase after midnight was terrifying.
Not long after, Fitz Heisenburg walked up to Eric, carrying a stack of magazines. "Boss, all the music magazines from nearby stores have been bought."
Eric read through them while eating breakfast.
After his call with Jackson yesterday, he had become interested in music reviews and wondered how people were evaluating him.
Looking at the magazines laid out before him, such as 'Blender,' 'Revolver,' 'Paper,' and 'Pop Star,' Eric shook his head, realizing he didn't recognize any of them.
He flipped through and found music reviews for Jackson's new song, but he still didn't recognize any of the music critics.
Robert Christgau: "'Rolling in the Deep' is a song with significant fluctuations, with a singing difficulty of three and a half stars. From this song, I can hear Michael Jackson telling his own story."
"His voice combines ethereal quality with explosive power. If you are a Jackson fan, you will understand the meaning of this song. If you are not his fan, you will become his fan."
"What surprises me even more is that I hear change in this song. Jackson is altering his musical style. 'Rolling in the Deep' clearly contains elements of modern pop music, which I believe is very beneficial for young listeners."
"So far, 'Rolling in the Deep' is the best song I've heard this year. It will certainly be nominated for a Grammy next year, and may even win Song of the Year. Recommendation rating A+."
This music critic's review took up a full page and seemed very important. After reading it carefully, Eric looked around and asked, "Robert Christgau, do you know who this guy is?"
Everyone looked at each other, and after a moment, a girl raised her hand, "Uh, if it's about music, I know him."
"Tell me, is he famous in the music world?"
The girl's eyes widened, "Boss, you can't say 'very famous,' it should be 'extremely famous.' To draw an analogy from the film industry, you can think of him as the Hitchcock of directors or the Charlie Chaplin of actors."
"That powerful!" Eric was a bit surprised.
The girl nodded with great certainty, "In the eyes of ordinary listeners, he is the most authoritative music critic in the United States. An excellent review can help an album increase sales by hundreds of thousands, but if it's a bad review—"
"What do you mean by 'ordinary listeners'?"
"It refers to the broadest audience, those who like music but haven't delved deeply into professional study and don't understand how to distinguish between various types of music, something like that."
Eric clapped his hands, "That's enough! The voice of the people is the professional voice. The voice of the people can make money; what's the use of a professional voice that can't sell?!"
Saying that, he walked over and handed the magazine to the girl, "Help me see, what level is an A+ recommendation?"
"OMG! A+ is the highest recommendation Robert gives! Let me see whose song got an A+."
After carefully reading the review, the girl was a bit surprised, "Michael Jackson, it's him! This is truly unimaginable. I remember his previous album received an A-. The strength of an old-school king truly cannot be underestimated."
Eric looked at Heisenberg.
Fitz awkwardly shook his head, "Sorry, Boss, Phil didn't know Jackson is your good friend. Everyone has been very busy lately, and after returning from MGM last time, we haven't had any rest, so we're not aware of the changes outside these past few days."
Eric shrugged, "Alright, is there a big difference between A+ and A-?"
The girl named Phil nodded emphatically, "A very big difference. If an album receives an A+, it means every single song in it is a masterpiece. Note: every single one. Robert limits his A+ album selections to three per year, and sometimes he doesn't even select one in a whole year."
"Quality over quantity, many authoritative film festivals are like that too." Eric expressed his approval.
"Yes, if Robert gives an A+ rating, then an album that includes this song, as long as it's of superior quality, will generally also receive an A+."
"However, the number of A- albums is much higher, around 60 per year, and they are allowed to have a few bad or mediocre songs within the album."
"In short, even though it's only a difference of two grades, it actually represents a huge disparity in quality."
Phil continued to flip through the magazine, "Boss, I think I saw your name. It says your lyrics and composition greatly enhanced 'Rolling in the Deep,' and that you are the foundation of this song, praising you as a genius."
"No, is the Eric Cooper written here you?"
Stared at so intently by the girl, Eric felt a bit embarrassed, but still reluctantly admitted it.
"What! So, you're not just a rich second-generation, but also a director and screenwriter, and a genius lyricist and composer?!" The woman's eyes widened even further.
"Phil, your voice is a bit too loud, and there's no need to jump up excitedly."
Noticing everyone's gazes converging on him, even with Eric's thick skin, his face couldn't help but flush slightly.
"Oh my goodness, Boss, I truly admire you! These people probably don't know you're also an internet prodigy."
Noticing that her gaze was a bit off, seeming overly fervent, Eric cleared his throat a few times and said loudly, "Everyone listen carefully, the relationship between Facebook, myself, and MGM is temporarily classified as confidential. Strict prohibition on external disclosure."
"Oh, and our user numbers must also be kept strictly confidential. I don't care about media speculation, but if I find out it was leaked by an insider, then I'm sorry, have you all remembered?"
He scanned the room, and everyone nodded solemnly.
If it were a small team, let alone a million users a day, even if there were only 100,000, they would quickly publicize it.
The purpose is, first, to attract new users, and more importantly, to attract the attention of large companies or investment funds.
The former could lead to a high-priced acquisition, instantly making them billionaires.
The latter would bring financing, allowing the team to grow larger and stronger.
However, these two points are precisely what Eric is trying to avoid right now.
He lacks money, but not the money to develop Facebook. He would rather make fewer movies than not get Facebook off the ground.
He worries about acquisitions by large companies, and even more so, if an acquisition fails, he fears strong competitors or even technological blockades.
After all, Facebook and AK Films are companies of completely different natures.
Eric wouldn't care if he started 10 more AK Films, because those big film companies already have several subsidiaries, some for producing and distributing art films, some specializing in independent films. At most, it would only attract envy from other film companies.
Facebook's influence and potential are far greater. Those who come sniffing around won't be small fries; they could be internet powerhouses or new giants like Microsoft or Yahoo.
Don't look down on Yahoo. Although it was severely hit by the internet bubble, and its market value plummeted by 90%, it still exceeded ten billion US dollars.
Two years of development have allowed it to recover, and its market value is now picking up again.
So, the news should be kept under wraps for as long as possible. Even if Facebook loses money, requiring one or two hundred million US dollars in investment each year, it must be endured. Endure for as long as possible.
Only when it can no longer be sustained will it be time to consider going public and embracing capital. This way, he can at least secure greater say for himself.
To be honest, Eric really doesn't want to go public, because once a company goes public, it will inevitably be constrained by Wall Street, and the short-sightedness of those vampires is world-renowned.
Even though Eric used to be in the entertainment industry, he still knew a few things.
Too many companies have been ruthlessly abandoned simply because their annual profits did not meet Wall Street's expectations.
He remembered an online shopping platform that, because its quarterly profit was 2 cents per share less than Wall Street's expectation, had its rating downgraded by rating agencies as soon as the results were released, and its stock price instantly plummeted by more than half.
It was later disclosed that the company's stock had been maliciously short-sold by hedge funds, with the number of shares sold being more than ten times its actual holdings!
Although it was invalidated due to the inability to settle on time, the company's stock had already plummeted, and it was ruined just like that!
Dealing with these people on Wall Street is no different from making a deal with the devil.
Shaking his head, Eric thought that this matter must be carefully considered to find a better path. He estimated that by next year at the latest, he would definitely be targeted.
Pulling his thoughts back, Eric said, "Check Michael Jackson's account, see if he's opened one yet?"
Soon, the tech guy locked onto the target, "Boss, found it. 180,000 followers. The account was registered after 9 PM last night. Even with such a late registration time, he still gained so many followers!"
"Tell me the ID."
Eric then searched for Jackson's Facebook, clicked into his homepage, and saw a few photos and two posts.
The first post featured several classic stage moves: "My fans, it's great to meet you on Facebook. Thank you so much for your continuous support. Without you, there would be no Michael Jackson. I hope I can accompany you all the way."
The second was to promote the new song, and it included the Billboard chart, where it was currently at number 98.
This data did not include any sales figures, only the radio play data from the past few days, which accounts for a relatively small portion in the Billboard algorithm.
However, just based on radio data alone, it was able to break into the top hundred, which already indicated the popularity of 'Rolling in the Deep.'
The comments below had already exceeded a thousand, and Eric couldn't help but feel a bit strange. Currently, Facebook should be primarily populated by young people, who shouldn't be the main demographic of Jackson's fans.
He scrolled down and, damn it, found that there were quite a few haters causing trouble, and both sides were in a heated argument.
Fitz leaned over to look, and without waiting for Eric to speak, offered a suggestion.
"Boss, there are quite a lot of people this time. To ban their accounts, we need a reasonable excuse. I have a suggestion."
"Speak."
"First, have Jackson post an update to rein in his fans."
"Then, we officially remind everyone to speak constructively. At this point, most people will be more restrained."
"Then, have the tech team create a few dummy accounts to stir things up, provoking these haters' anger. As long as they utter half a dirty word, they'll be permanently banned!"
Eric turned sharply and scrutinized Fitz Heisenburg.
"I wouldn't have guessed, Fitz. You really can't judge a book by its cover."
Fitz chuckled and scratched his head, "Actually, besides tinkering with technology, I have another hobby."
"What is it?"
"Fishing!"