These days, my friends' circle has been flooded again. The hot topic is a young man named Niko who wrote an article called "Never Underestimate the Youth," criticizing Youku and Momo. The gist of it is that this Niko guy, along with a few friends, planned an activity to film the Earth from a hot air balloon, and they succeeded. Then, a certain editor surnamed Wang from Youku contacted Niko for cooperation, but after learning about the children's planning and details, they postponed the filming for various reasons and instead had someone else shoot a creative short film. more
Niko provided emails, recordings, videos, and other materials to support his criticism. The story roughly aligns with Niko's description. This article has been shared over a hundred thousand times, sparking a wave of criticism against Youku/Momo from netizens.
Speaking objectively about this story, that editor surnamed Wang from Youku deserves condemnation. They deceived the children's trust under the guise of cooperation, obtained key information, and then kicked them out. Does this tactic sound familiar? Perhaps you have encountered a variation of this tactic: a certain product wants to transform, so they invite several design and creative companies to bid, listen to their creative ideas, and then cancel the bidding for various reasons. Then, they make revisions based on the creative proposals of these design companies; a certain venture capital invests in a product, but then seeks out several competitors of that product, listens to their ideas, and then relays them to the team they invested in...
Behind all of these, there is a common idea: copying ideas doesn't count as copying, which is bullshit. I have also experienced a few instances like this. I wanted to create a product, and the other party also wanted to create a similar product. They claimed they wanted to bring me on board, talked to me for a long time, understood many of my ideas, and then kicked me out with the reason that I wasn't suitable for their team. The resulting product was filled with my ideas everywhere. Fortunately, that product didn't gain much traction, otherwise, I might have been able to come forward and boast, and maybe it would have become popular.
I can't guarantee that this "balloon-chasing brat" incident isn't a publicity stunt. Looking at the internet, which is full of publicity stunts, any topic is inevitably suspected of being a publicity stunt. Niko clearly benefited from this incident, perhaps even more than the popularity gained from successfully cooperating with Youku. After all, in this world, there are still a majority of people who sympathize with the weak and have a sense of justice. Additionally, Momo, who seems to have been caught in the crossfire, also greatly benefited. They didn't spend much money but managed to generate a wave of shares and comments (spread), and they also gained sympathy from the public relations aspect. As for Youku, who is at the center of the incident, if they handle it properly, they can also benefit. Unfortunately... hehe.
As for the truth, outsiders can only guess, and only the parties involved know the truth best.