Deeply involved in the "knowledge + social" model, Sohu breaks through the traffic involution with a sense of real people.

On May 17th, Sohu's annual technology forum was held as scheduled.

Recalling the first technology forum held in 2019, the organizer, Sohu, set the forum date on May 17th - World Telecommunication and Information Society Day. It has been eight years since then. The technology trends have evolved from 5G communication and artificial intelligence to large models, intelligent agents, and the "shrimp farming boom". The hot topics keep changing, but the necessity of attaching importance to basic science and insisting on knowledge dissemination has never changed.

This year's Sohu annual technology forum can be regarded as a "hardcore and down - to - earth" technology event. Top scientists such as Sun Changpu and Zhang Yitang gathered together. From the forefront of quantum physics to breakthroughs in number theory, every session was full of valuable content. At the same time, many speech topics were also close to the public's interests. Topics like "Will lab - grown diamonds replace natural diamonds?" sparked heated discussions among netizens.

Beyond the scientific topics, this high - level forum also brought the industry's attention back to Sohu, which has been deeply involved in content socialization for many years.

In recent years, from technology forums, fashion galas, Follow Feed conferences, Sohu News Marathons to "Zhang Zhaoyang's Physics Class", Sohu has always activated the social atmosphere through a series of differentiated activities. It seems to spare no expense in investing resources to consolidate its content influence.

However, by focusing on the "Follow Feed" and deeply cultivating content and strengthening social interaction, Sohu is building a unique platform ecosystem.

01

The technology forum topics go viral, and the scientific spirit reaches the public

This year's Sohu technology forum was a hardcore feast with an extremely high concentration of science. Dozens of top scholars, including Sun Changpu and Zhang Yitang, gathered at the scene. The topics covered quantum physics, the forefront of number theory, space exploration, AI ethics, etc. The whole event was packed with valuable information and filled with continuous intellectual exchanges.

The core value of the forum lies in building a top - level communication platform for global cutting - edge science. For example, theoretical physicist and academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Sun Changpu focused on the century - long evolution of quantum mechanics and analyzed the breakthroughs and challenges from the 1.0 to 3.0 eras of quantum computing; internationally renowned mathematician Zhang Yitang shared the latest progress on twin primes and the zero - point conjecture, and provided a sophisticated mathematical approach to solve century - old problems; theoretical physicist Li Miao and other scholars dissected the profound mysteries of the universe and civilization from black hole gravitational waves to lunar development.

The top scholars had on - stage dialogues, presenting cutting - edge research results and hardcore scientific thinking to the public. At the same time, this forum was not just about hardcore academic sharing but also became a public dissemination station for the scientific spirit.

For example, many forum topics combined professional depth with public interest. There were advanced physics courses like "Understanding the Equivalence Principle from Rindler Space - Time" and discussions close to new consumption trends like "Can Lab - Grown Diamonds Replace Natural Diamonds?". From the search for extraterrestrial civilizations to the analysis of extreme climates, experts and scholars used popular expressions to break down profound theories, making basic science accessible and understandable outside the academic circle.

Therefore, the Sohu technology forum is not only a place for top scholars to exchange ideas but also a public science popularization class for the whole nation. Through academic interpretations and cross - border dialogues, it promotes the visibility of cutting - edge science and the dissemination of the scientific spirit, allowing the power of rational truth - seeking to penetrate the thinking mode of the audience.

From the perspective of Sohu's own business development, the annual technology forum is not an isolated event but a key part of Sohu's content ecosystem. It is linked with Sohu News, Sohu Video and other businesses to amplify cutting - edge views through multiple channels. The concept of attaching importance to basic science and insisting on knowledge dissemination advocated by the forum has always been a label for Sohu to create content IPs, becoming a distinct characteristic that differentiates it from its peers.

02

Activate social interaction offline and retain users online

If grand events like the technology forum are the "intellectual high - ground", then a series of offline activities throughout the year in Sohu's business development are its "ecological matrix" for differentiated development. These offline aggregations not only consolidate Sohu's position as a mainstream media but also continuously contribute to creating an active social atmosphere for Sohu.

In March this year, the 18th season of the Sohu News Marathon in Hong Kong just concluded. This IP event combining sports, public welfare, and social interaction has traveled across the country for many years, attracting stars, entrepreneurs, and the general public to participate. This time, going to Hong Kong not only demonstrated the city's vitality but also expanded Sohu's influence in the Greater Bay Area.

After the marathon, Sohu CEO Zhang Zhaoyang went to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to give another session of "Zhang Zhaoyang's Physics Class". This highlighted Sohu's platform attribute of "knowledge + social interaction" once again.

In fact, observing Sohu's development path in recent years, from the Sohu News Marathon, technology forum, to the Sohu Video Follow Feed Conference and offline physics class sharing, its offline activities have clear characteristics: differentiation, verticalization, and IP - based, covering fields such as technology, sports, knowledge, and social interaction, combining professional depth with public participation.

These offline activities seem independent but are actually deeply linked, all serving Sohu's content strategy - gathering resources, stimulating social interaction, and strengthening the brand offline, and feeding back to the product ecosystem online, continuously injecting core impetus into Sohu Video.

Specifically, a continuous stream of high - quality creative forces is gathered. Diverse groups such as forum experts, knowledge broadcasters, and marathon enthusiasts can all be transformed into platform creators, continuously outputting differentiated high - quality content.

On this basis, the real - world interaction atmosphere offline naturally extends to the online "Follow Feed", driving users to actively forward, comment, and follow, keeping the online social field full of real - life feeling and activity.

At the same time, the high - quality content of offline activities forms a complete communication chain through live - streaming, editing, and secondary creation, achieving a closed - loop from offline traffic attraction, online retention to full - scale diffusion. This not only enriches the platform's content but also further amplifies the brand influence.

Take the Sohu Video Follow Feed Conferences in spring and autumn each year as an example. This year's spring conference with the theme of "Spin to unlock a new social event with a real - life feeling" continued to gather high - quality creators and industry partners, focusing on content trends and social value. On the one hand, it provided an emotional interaction field for content creators; on the other hand, it became a support for content production and "real - life feeling" interaction on the "Follow Feed" platform.

Previously, Zhang Zhaoyang mentioned in public that social interaction is a belief. From "Huyou" to the "Follow Feed", the core is always to value and connect people. The "Follow Feed" not only focuses on content but also on the value of the creators behind it; forwarding and commenting turn content into a social bond.

In the era of AI, this logic is unique. Putting people at the center of the ecosystem forms two different models from the mainstream algorithm - based platforms in the industry.

03

Focus on social interaction, with a more "real - life feeling"

Relying on offline empowerment, Sohu Video has built a content ecosystem that is "interesting, useful, and good - looking": short videos are full of fun, knowledge content is rich, and Chinese - style dance is eye - catching.

At the same time, Sohu has also been insisting on the long - form content layout with its past advantages in recent years. Currently, it is making efforts in both short and long dramas and American dramas. Self - produced dramas like "Love at First Light" often gain good word - of - mouth; American dramas focus on both classic and new shows, creating a differentiated matrix to meet diverse viewing needs.

Previously, the competition in the video industry was extremely fierce, and algorithmic recommendation was in full swing. The most prominent feature of Sohu Video is that it goes against the algorithm and emphasizes social interaction. In the current situation where algorithm - driven platforms push homogeneous content, users are trapped in information cocoons, and individual values are submerged, this path shows its scarce value.

Sohu Video's "Follow Feed" gives priority to social distribution, advocating that "following is the foundation, forwarding is the key, and commenting is a must", emphasizing a real - life feeling and real interaction.

Users actively follow creators they are interested in. Forwarding represents value recognition, and commenting is in - depth communication. Such forwarding is no longer just sharing content but also transmitting values and establishing connections. This model centered on people and using social interaction as a bond makes Sohu Video a real video social field, forming a high - stickiness barrier rather than just a content consumption platform.

In terms of commercial value, Sohu Video has developed a high - conversion and sustainable business model.

Relying on the diversified content layout in knowledge, entertainment, dramas, and science popularization, the platform has retained a user group with high stickiness, high activity, and high awareness, accurately matching the needs of various advertisers. At the same time, it links with offline activities to amplify the brand voice, providing advertisers with an integrated online - offline marketing solution.

In the content creation process, Sohu Video cultivates a stable and high - quality creator team through traffic support, interaction incentives, and business connections, forming a positive cycle where the platform empowers creators and creators feed back to the platform.

In the differentiated tracks such as American dramas and knowledge live - streaming, Sohu Video has been deeply involved for a long time. It has not only accumulated a large amount of classic content and loyal users but also continuously output high - quality science popularization content through IPs like "Zhang Zhaoyang's Physics Class", attracting high - value users and gradually building a high - threshold competitive advantage.

In addition, from the perspective of social value, it may be easier to understand Sohu's confidence in adhering to the combination of "knowledge + social interaction", which does not have the potential for short - term explosion. The platform takes on the content responsibility, resists vulgar and homogeneous content, supports science popularization, traditional culture, and public welfare content, makes profound science understandable, helps inherit excellent culture, and continuously improves the scientific and cultural literacy of the whole nation.

While adhering to the content quality threshold, Sohu Video continuously lowers the sharing threshold, encourages ordinary people to share their lives and express their opinions, providing a stage for the public to show themselves. It also attaches great importance to the protection of creators' rights and interests, helps creators grow, and truly practices the value - oriented development concept.

04

Conclusion

From online forwarding and sharing, to offline social aggregation, and then back to the "real - life feeling" interaction in the "Follow Feed", Sohu's path is clear and firm - focusing on social interaction and deeply cultivating content.

Instead of chasing short - term trends, Sohu calms down to do two things: on the one hand, it builds a solid content foundation with hardcore knowledge, traditional and popular culture, making the platform rich and valuable; on the other hand, it activates the connection between people through real social interaction, making the platform warm and full of vitality. This may be the core logic that differentiates Sohu from algorithm - driven platforms and the key to its ability to retain high - value users and form a differentiated barrier.

In the current situation of the AI wave and traffic involution, the "real - life feeling" is becoming a scarce commodity. If a platform is still willing to invest resources in returning to real social interaction, transmitting knowledge value, and cultivating scientific literacy, then the past costs will eventually be transformed into continuous vitality, enabling it to draw a growth curve full of warmth, value, and vitality in the industry's changing situation.

*Disclaimer:

The content of this article only represents the author's views.

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