Does Alibaba run their services on the WordPress, certainly not, but connection is somehow present. I don’t actually remember when I first watched Crocodile in the Yangtze since I watched it few times. It is documentary about Jack Ma as he battles US giant eBay on the way to building China’s first global internet company, Alibaba Group (link below).

“eBay is a shark in the ocean. We are a crocodile in the Yangtze River. If we fight in the ocean, we will lose. But if we fight in the river, we will win,” – Jack Ma

It is very thoughtful and inspiring, with many old pictures and camera recordings from that time in which I personally enjoy, and everything started with a single idea, to connect the people and their goods to the rest of the world.

One moment in the documentary is really important, it is the moment when eBay representatives responds with an email that “FREE isn’t a business model”. Actually it is maybe the best business model of all. Today we see it everywhere, but it is most obvious with WordPress. Founder’s benefits for sure, but also wast number of agencies, plugin/themes creators, freelancers, publishers, writers, and common people which want to bring their presence to the web. In numbers, more than 43% of the websites on the internet today run on WordPress, and at its core it is totally free.

In a time where most of us want to create fast turnaround on investment, it is good time to ask ourselves, can we actually put great effort to create something that will be free so everyone can benefit from it, and later, explore different variations of income? Tough question but it is not fair to say no untill you have tried.

Find some time, it is great material to watch: Crocodile in the Yangtze Full – Story of Alibaba & Jack Ma Full Documentary.