When internet professionals wake up, it seems the sky has 'fallen' once again. Just as they've become proficient with Midjourney, GPT-4 makes its debut; no sooner have they grasped Gemini than Claude Code emerges; and before they've fully mastered Claude Code, the nation is swept up in the frenzy of 'raising crayfish'—the OpenClaw deployment craze.

Compared to previous tech trends, the current wave of enthusiasm for open-source AI agents, known as OpenClaw, is even more intense. On one hand, numerous major companies have jumped on the bandwagon. According to incomplete statistics, as of now, 13 domestic internet giants, including ByteDance, Tencent, Huawei, Moonshot AI, and 360, have embraced OpenClaw. On the other hand, internet tycoons have personally endorsed OpenClaw, with figures like Zhou Hongyi and Fu Sheng voicing their support. Even Pony Ma commented, "I didn't expect raising crayfish to become such a sensation." His casual remark only fueled the craze further, as the fact that even someone of his stature is paying attention makes ordinary people wonder if they should join in too.

Accompanying the OpenClaw craze is the inevitable OpenClaw business model, specifically offline OpenClaw installation services. The topic "Someone earned 260,000 yuan by installing OpenClaw" trended on social media. According to observations from Guo Jing's Internet Circle, on a second-hand trading platform, the 'OpenClaw deployment offline' service is extremely popular. One merchant offering a full OpenClaw (crayfish) deployment package for 1,000 yuan has sold over 30 units, while another offering a 200-yuan OpenClaw agency deployment service has sold over 50 units.

On online platforms, one merchant offering a 100-yuan OpenClaw installation service has sold over 600 units, while the second-highest seller, priced at 299 yuan, has over 500 confirmed receipts.

On one hand, the 'crayfish' craze has fueled industry anxiety, with constant fears of obsolescence, replacement, and the notion that only certain professions will survive in the future. On the other hand, those selling OpenClaw courses and offline installation services are 'reaping the rewards.' Anxiety, the allure of high technology, and envy make it hard for internet practitioners to remain passive.

However, if we set aside the emotional factors brought about by the nationwide craze for raising crayfish, the 'true colors' of the domestic internet industry are laid bare.

1. The Bandwagon Phenomenon

Looking back at the over 20-year history of the domestic internet industry, a very common phenomenon is the 'bandwagon effect.' Whenever any potentially 'hot' project emerges, a large number of practitioners inevitably jump on the bandwagon, such as job boards, video sites, personal cloud storage, group-buying sites, smart hardware, shared bicycles, fresh e-commerce, and online office tools...

Every time a new trend arises, practitioners follow suit, and even internet giants participate personally. Although these internet giants weren't as big back then, the 'follow-the-leader' mentality was prevalent.

The bandwagon phenomenon in the internet industry at that time was influenced by several factors:

Firstly, the industry seemed full of opportunities. The internet landscape was far less stable than today, with even BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) not yet at the level of 'internet giants.' This presented opportunities for any internet company, as entering any field could potentially lead to profitability.

Secondly, the cost of entrepreneurship was low. Whether for internet giants or small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs, creating a similar website could lead to success. The cost of entrepreneurship was low, unlike now, where while creating a product is easy, making it popular requires purchasing traffic from channels like Douyin or WeChat. Back then, traffic costs weren't as high.

Thirdly, fear of falling behind. The mindset behind the bandwagon effect was also driven by the fear of falling behind. For example, if one major company launched a video site or job board, another major company might fear being left behind and thus follow suit with a similar product. In fact, many internet giants have dabbled in e-commerce, smartphones, job boards, classified information sites, forums, blogs, etc., out of this fear.

Fourthly, venture capital. At that time, the opportunities for major companies and small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs were similar, and venture capital was bullish on the internet industry. The influx of venture capital propelled the industry forward rapidly.

This OpenClaw 'crayfish' craze is no different from previous bandwagon phenomena in the internet industry.

2. Differing Logics

If it's 2026 and an entrepreneur tells you, "I'm going to disrupt Tencent today" or "I'm going to create an app hotter than Douyin tomorrow," you'd probably think they're crazy. However, entrepreneurs with similar ideas weren't uncommon a decade ago. After rounds of industry shakeouts, entrepreneurs have finally become more realistic.

From past experiences, the logics of internet giants and small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs differ significantly.

For internet giants like ByteDance, Tencent, and Baidu, any AI-related direction represents the future. In the face of betting on the future, they must first 'secure their spot.' With the OpenClaw craze, internet giants are unwilling to miss out.

Secondly, the allure of efficiency revolution is greater for internet giants. Tencent's Q3 2025 financial report shows that as of September 30, 2025, the company had 115,076 employees. Alibaba's Q3 2025 financial report shows 126,661 employees as of the same date.

For massive organizations like Tencent and Alibaba, if OpenClaw can truly deliver on its promise of 'computers automatically doing work for people,' the efficiency revolution it brings could result in significant cost savings within the organization. OpenClaw represents both a technological experiment and an organizational efficiency revolution attempt.

However, OpenClaw holds a completely different meaning for small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs and so-called 'one-person companies.' For internet giants, it's just an experiment and attempt; failure doesn't matter much. But for small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs and 'one-person companies,' the consequences of failure are heavier.

At internet giants like Tencent, they help employees set up OpenClaw deployments for free, while 'one-person companies' and entrepreneurs bear the full setup costs themselves, including higher-performance computers and Mac minis. The biggest cost is Token consumption. If you truly want OpenClaw to work for you, the Token costs incurred must be paid by you.

I've seen practitioners spend hundreds of yuan on courses, then lightly test deploying OpenClaw, only to find it useless. Too many people longing for an overnight comeback and think that suddenly possessing a cool high-tech tool will make them rich. However, reality doesn't work that way.

Essentially, for the same OpenClaw, the logics of internet giants and small-to-medium-sized entrepreneurs are completely different. The logic of making money differs, as does the logic of saving money. That said, domestic internet giants are often logically sound, but they're not always right. Even internet giants can go astray in the 'right' direction.

3. Excessive Information Noise

The consequence of the rampant bandwagon phenomenon is the abundance of information noise online. Everyone has their own opinion, and the most widely spread are always the leading 'jokesters.' For example, during this 'crayfish' craze, some 'jokesters' compared a group of people attending OpenClaw events to the qigong craze of the 1980s, suggesting that these lecture attendees are no different from those who participated in the qigong craze back then.

Undoubtedly, OpenClaw has nothing to do with qigong. The speaker's exaggerated claim that "in 2026, humanity will be divided not by gender but by creators and bystanders. Mastering OpenClaw is the ticket to the Web4.0 era" may be hyperbolic, but such 'viewpoints' are merely the speaker's own rhetoric. Other attendees are just participating in the event.

To many, these people sitting in lectures might seem foolish, but those who think others are foolish might be the real fools.

Firstly, any mature technology relies on 'collective wisdom,' not just a single genius working alone at home or in a lab. Participating in events itself involves 'colliding' thoughts with others.

Secondly, the development of new technologies inevitably involves bubbles. Avoiding or mocking them might make you the 'clown' in the end.

Thirdly, people's own judgment matters. Attendees won't suddenly rise to prominence just by hearing a sensational remark. Whether something is useful requires personal judgment.

Nowadays, online voices are highly polarized. Some are obsessed with new technologies, 'impressed' by them daily, while others think there's too much online泡沫 (bubble) and question how much money these technologies have made. These two groups don't really argue, thanks to personalized algorithm recommendations that prioritize content matching users' views, while almost hiding opposing perspectives. People comfortably stay in their own 'information cocoons.'

If we were to summarize the 'true colors' of the domestic internet industry, it would be this: success is king. As long as you make money in the end, whatever you say is right. The same applies to OpenClaw. Whether this internet giant or that 'unicorn' joins in, success determines correctness, and vice versa.

In my opinion, practitioners should avoid being 'overly reactive' at first glance.

By Guo Jing, WeChat Public Account: Guo Jing's Internet Circle