经济学人08:数字广告总是防不胜防

 　　Business.

　　商业。

　　Advertising² on mobile phones.

　　手机广告。

　　Attack of the covert³ commercials.

　　广告的偷袭。

　　Digital ads are popping up in irritating places.

　　数字广告总是防不胜防。

　　EVERYONE hates digital ads. Yet the ads pay for the free apps that people love to download. Small wonder that crafty⁴ firms are slipping them into unexpected places. And that is why, on July 12th, America's Department of Commerce will hold a public meeting in Washington, DC, to discuss this and other aspects of mobile privacy.

　　没人喜欢数字广告，但为人们喜欢下载的那些免费软件买单的却是数字广告。狡猾的公司将广告植入在意料之外的地方已经不足为奇了。所以这就是美国商务部将于7月12日在华盛顿特区召开公开会议，商讨移动设备在这些等方面的隐私问题的原因了。

　　As smartphones and tablets capture ever more eyeballs, digital-ad firms such as AdMob, for which Google paid $750m in 2010, are hot. Not all have flourished: on July 2nd Microsoft took a $6.2 billion accounting⁵ charge, most of which reflected a writedown of the value of aQuantive, which it bought in 2007 for $6.3 billion. But the sector⁶ is now prominent enough to attract scrutiny⁷.

　　智能手机和平板电脑吸引了越来越多公众的眼球，这时像是谷歌在2010年花了7.5亿收购的移动广告（AdMob）就很受欢迎。但并不是所有的（广告公司）都有所收获：在7月2日，微软有一笔62亿的财务支出，其中大部分反映了aQuantive公司的贬值，而该公司则是微软在2007年用63亿收购的。但该行业突显的市场规模足以到了吸引监管的地步。

　　Lookout⁸, a mobile-security company, has analysed Google's Android ecosystem⁹ and spotlighted¹⁰ ten ad providers, including Moolah Media (which did not respond to requests for comment) and LeadBolt, that use one or more monetisation strategies it considers "aggressive". These include making ads appear outside apps (for instance, in the notification bar usually reserved for a person's text messages); altering mobile desktops¹¹ and browsers¹² so that, among other things, new icons¹³ appear that display ads when they are clicked on; and gaining access to personal information without giving a clear warning.

　　Lookout，一个移动设备安全性检验的公司，分析了谷歌安卓的生态系统并特别报道了十家卓越的广告供应商，包括Moolah Media（但其并未对此作出回应）和LeadBolt在内，声称他们运用了不止一种被认为"具有侵略性的"盈利策略。这些策略包括在室外应用服务（例如在保留私人信件的通知栏上）上打广告；改变手机桌面的浏览器——这样当使用者点击其他程序的时候，新图标就会出现；不提供明确警示的情况下获取个人信息。

　　Such practices can confuse and unnerve phone owners, says John Hering, Lookout's boss. The firm reckons apps using the networks on its list have already been downloaded at least 80m times in the Google Play app marketplace alone. They are common in apps that let people customise their phones with digital wallpaper and other stuff, and in simple games (see chart).

　　约翰·海林，Lookout的总裁说，这些策略会让手机用户困惑并在失去了使用手机的勇气。这家公司表明，在这个分析列表上，运用网络的应用仅仅在安卓电子市场就被下载了八千万次。人们根据自己对手机壁纸、应用和小游戏的不同需求对手机量体裁衣，这种现象已经非常普遍了

　　Richard Harris, the boss of Moonbeam Development, an American firm with about 200 published apps, says his company started using LeadBolt about a year ago. At first it went well, but when ads were pushed into people's notification bars and onto phones' desktops, users grew angry. Mr Harris says the company even received death threats.

　　理查德·哈里斯，Moonbeam Development，一家发行了大约两百种不同应用的美国公司的总裁声称，他们公司在一年前就已经开始接受LeadBolt了。一开始进展还很顺利，但当广告被植入公告栏和手机桌面后，用户就很生气。哈里斯先生说他的公司甚至收到过死亡恐吓信。

　　Dale Carr, the boss of LeadBolt, which is headquartered in Australia, says his company takes privacy seriously, and that it does not dictate¹⁴ to developers which ad units to choose from the range it offers. He also says LeadBolt lets people opt¹⁵ out of receiving ads sent to notification bars and desktops, though they need to go to its website to do so.

　　戴尔·凯尔，LeadBolt的总裁。他的公司总部设在澳大利亚，他说公司对于隐私问题是严肃对待的，他们不会唆使开发者针对不同的用户开发不同广告。他同时表明LeadBolt给予用户是否接收发往公告栏或桌面广告的权利，尽管用户需要到公司的官网上进行选择。

　　LeadBolt is working with academics and officials in Australia to define a self-regulatory framework for mobile advertising. But next week's discussions in America are crucial to any firm with a global reach. These will be a test of the Obama administration's commitment to protecting privacy, says Jeff Chester of the Centre for Digital Democracy. He speculates that the government is counting on Google and Apple to twist arms in the ad world. Apple already has a reputation for cracking down on apps that use controversial ad formats¹⁶, so it could be a willing ally.

　　LeadBolt与澳大利亚的学者和官员联姻，来制定一种自我约束的移动设备广告的规章制度。但是下周美国的公开讨论对全球范围内任一家广告公司都非常重要。这将是对奥巴马管理集团在保护个人隐私方面的考验，数字民主中心的杰夫·切斯特表明。他推测，政府将指望谷歌和苹果在世界范围内扭转乾坤。苹果在处理使用受争议的广告的格式方面颇负盛名，所以它将是政府的好盟友。

　　"Mobile is the wild West," says Ran Avidan, the co-founder of Startapp, a mobile-ad network based in Israel that is also on Lookout's list. Startapp is striving to make its own policies clearer, but Mr Avidan is worried that governments may end up dictating¹⁷ rules for the industry.

　　Ran Avida，Startapp的联合创始人表明，"移动设备就像是西大荒（蛮荒的美国西部）"，基于以色列网络的移动广告同样也在Lookout的名单上。Startapp正致力于让自己公司内部政策更加清楚，Avidan先生担心的是政府可能最终将垄断这个行业的行规制定权。

　　To avoid that, mobile-ad firms will have to act fast. App privacy policies should spell out what information ad networks are collecting and why. Firms should adopt an opt-in approach to the collection of personal data, such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses. And they should avoid collecting things such as unique phone identification numbers in ways that can be traced back to specific individuals. If they can stick to such principles, it would be a great advert¹ for self-regulation.

　　为了避免这样的事情发生，移动广告公司将加快行动。应用服务隐私政策需要讲清楚的是网络需要收集哪些广告信息和为什么要收集。公司要采取双向确认的方式收集用户的个人信息，例如手机号码和电子邮件地址等等。并且这些公司需要避免收集那些像是特殊的可以用某些方法追溯回明确个人的身份证号码之类的信息。如果这些公司可以坚持这些原则，那么他们的行为就是自我约束最好的招牌。

1 advert   

vi.注意，留意，言及；n.广告

参考例句：

• The advert featured a dolphin swimming around a goldfish bowl.该广告的內容为一条在金鱼缸里游动的海豚。
• Please advert to the contents below.I believe you won't be disappointed.敬请留意后面的内容。相信您一定不会失望的。

2 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

3 covert   

adj.隐藏的；暗地里的

参考例句：

• We should learn to fight with enemy in an overt and covert way.我们应学会同敌人做公开和隐蔽的斗争。
• The army carried out covert surveillance of the building for several months.军队对这座建筑物进行了数月的秘密监视。

4 crafty   

adj.狡猾的，诡诈的

参考例句：

• He admired the old man for his crafty plan.他敬佩老者的神机妙算。
• He was an accomplished politician and a crafty autocrat.他是个有造诣的政治家，也是个狡黠的独裁者。

5 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

6 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

7 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

8 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

9 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

10 spotlighted   

v.聚光照明( spotlight的过去式和过去分词 )；使公众注意，使突出醒目

参考例句：

• The report has spotlighted real deprivation in the inner cities. 这篇报道披露了旧城区的贫困真相。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The paintings were spotlighted from below. 这些画用下面的聚光灯来照明。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 desktops   

桌面( desktop的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You switch between these virtual desktops by clicking on the one you want to make active. 只需单击你所希望激活的桌面就可以在这些虚拟桌面之间进行切换。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Laptops outsell desktops for the first time in the United States. 膝上型电脑首次在美国销售量胜过桌上型电脑。

12 browsers   

浏览器

参考例句：

• Three-layer architecture is a model made up of browser, web server and background database server. 这种体系结构是由Browser、Web Server、Database Server组成的浏览器／Web服务器／后台数据库服务器三层模型。 来自互联网
• Another excellent approach is to abandon the browser entirely and, instead, create a non-browser-based, Internet-enabled application. 另一个非常好的方法是干脆放弃浏览器，取而代之，创建一个不基于浏览器，但却是基于互联网的应用。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 icons   

n.偶像( icon的名词复数 )；（计算机屏幕上表示命令、程序的）符号，图像

参考例句：

• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons. 用图标来区分重要的文本项。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Daemonic icons should only be employed persistently if they provide continuous, useful status information. 只有会连续地提供有用状态信息的情况下，后台应用程序才应该一直使用图标。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

14 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

15 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

16 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

17 dictating   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的现在分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• The manager was dictating a letter to the secretary. 经理在向秘书口授信稿。 来自辞典例句
• Her face is impassive as she listens to Miller dictating the warrant for her arrest. 她毫无表情地在听米勒口述拘留她的证书。 来自辞典例句