Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Last week a friend shared some of his personal reflections with me: "I still believe it's best to focus on doing meaningful work on your own... Those who rush together for self-interest are just trying to ride the wave of trending topics (蹭流量,cèng liú liàng). A few days ago, hundreds of thousands of TikTok refugees suddenly flooded into Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), instantly gaining tens of thousands of followers. Both sides were thrilled. Some say their excitement comes from the possibility of striking it rich overnight. But how many followers do you need to start making money? It turns out it’s not about truth or falsehood—it's all about the algorithm. Some people spread rumors and nonsense just for business. I’ve learned that this is all about profit. I really admire your perseverance. It’s worth doing as long as you truly enjoy it."
Thanks for the compliment. It’s good to know I’ve been sticking to what I enjoy without trying to chase trends and “蹭流量.” China’s hyper-competitive digital landscape is an interesting story in itself, which I will dwell on more later.
This conversation made me think of Shaun Rein, an American author who wrote The Split: Finding the Opportunities in China's Economy in the New World. He shared an interesting perspective on USAID: “Frankly, the last 5 years have been a struggle for my consulting business. I visited cotton fields and factories in Xinjiang and didn’t find evidence of slave labor or genocide. I guess I could’ve lied and made money from USAID. The amount some NGOs receive is shocking—more than what for-profit consulting firms make per employee. I’m in the wrong business, but I’m on the right side of history. That’s good enough for me."
Speaking of being on the right side of history, Sam Altman who made tons of wealth with his closed OpenAI, discussing the post-DeepSeek OpenAI, said, "I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open-source strategy..."
We only live once. It’s better to remain poor with a clear conscience than to be wealthy with guilty one. It’s better to be on the right side of history, because history will eventually reveal the truth.
This brings to mind a Chinese saying: "大浪淘沙" (dà làng táo shā), which translates as "The great wave washes away the sand" or "Only the finest survive the test of time." In times of turbulence and challenge, it’s the most enduring qualities that remain, while everything else gets filtered out.