经济学人:脸书的未来:下一个雅虎？(1)

"Big tobacco" is what the bosses of several large technology firms have started calling Facebook in private and in public. 几家大型科技公司的老板们已经开始在私底下和公开场合称脸书是“烟草大公司”。

The company has spent the past year fending¹ off critics who claim it is addictive², bad for democracy and overdue³ for a regulatory reckoning. 这家公司在过去一年的时间里都在躲避那些批评声，他们称脸书让人上瘾，不利于民主，监管部门监管不到位。

Being compared to the tobacco giants is one of the business world's more toxic⁴ insults, but it is not the only unflattering analogy circulating. 将一家公司与烟草巨头相比较，这在商业界中是最为恶毒的侮辱，但这并不是针对脸书的唯一个耿直的类比。

A lower blow is the suggestion that Facebook may become like Yahoo, the once high-flying internet firm that plunged⁵. 更low的一击是暗示脸书可能成为下一个雅虎，一家曾经非常成功而现在却没落的互联网公。

Even a year ago the idea would have been unthinkable. 即便是在一年前，这种想法还是无法想象的。

The social-networking giant, which runs Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as well as its own core service, was thriving. 当时，这家运营着Instagram、WhatsApp、Facebook Messenger和公司自身核心服务的社交网络巨头还在蓬勃发展。

But since January it has become mired⁶ in a series of controversies⁷, misjudgments and missteps. 但自一月以来，这家公司陷入了一系列争议、误判和失误的泥潭之中。

It became clear that it had done too little to stop Russian interference in America's election in 2016. 很明显这家公司在阻止俄罗斯干涉2016年美国选举中几乎无所作为。

It had to admit that it had shared the personal data of 90m users with outside firms without permission. It later suffered a data breach⁸ affecting 50m users. 它不得不承认，公司在未经用户的许可下和其他外部公司共享了九千万用户的个人数据。之后它又碰上了涉及五千万用户的数据外泄。

The past week has brought more bad news. 过去一周的坏消息更多。

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, has been forced onto the airwaves to defend his second-in-command, Sheryl Sandberg, 脸书CEO马克·扎克伯格被迫接受电视采访为公司的副主管雪莉·桑德伯格辩护，

after the New York Times on November 14th published a report 此前11月14日《纽约时报》曾发表一篇报道

alleging⁹ that they had tried to downplay the extent of Russian electoral interference to the firm's board of directors, 宣称他们曾试图向公司董事会弱化俄罗斯干涉选举的程度，

and hired lobbyists and the kind of "opposition-research" firms commonly used in political campaigns, to deflect¹⁰ blame onto other firms and to tarnish¹¹ critics. 并聘请说客以及那些政治运动中普遍使用的“反向研究”将责任推给其他公司并抹黑那些评论人士。

The revelations have cemented the idea that Facebook is "grossly mismanaged", says an advertising¹² executive. Its shares have fallen by 27% since the start of the year. 一位广告经理表示，这些披露更让人们认为脸书的“管理极其不善”。自今年年初，公司股价下跌27%。

The comparison to Yahoo is imperfect. Even at its peak Yahoo never boasted a business as large and profitable as Facebook's. 把脸书比作雅虎并不恰当。即便是在巅峰时期，雅虎的规模和利润均无法于脸书相匹敌。

And the competitive landscape was different. One of the main reasons Yahoo declined is because it lost out to a powerful rival, Google, in online search; 两家的竞争格局也不一样。雅虎衰败的主要原因之一是因为它在在线搜索领域输给了强大竞争对手谷歌；

Marissa Mayer, its boss from 2012 until its sale to Verizon last year, was unable to restore advertisers' or employees' confidence as users left. 自2012年到去年威瑞森收购该公司，CEO玛丽莎·梅耶尔都没能挽回广告商或员工们因客户流失而失去的信心。

Today there is no company that truly competes with Facebook's suite¹³ of apps, 如今没有一家公司真的可以与脸书的app相竞争，

partly because it has hoovered up competitors such as Instagram, the wildly successful photo app that is at the centre of its future plans. 部分原因是因为脸书收购了它的竞争对手，如Instagram，这个非常成功的拍照app是脸书未来计划的核心。

But people who watched Yahoo's collapse¹⁴ see ominous¹⁵ similarities. 但是目睹了雅虎崩塌的人们看到了不祥的相似性。

 

1 fending   

v.独立生活，照料自己( fend的现在分词 )；挡开，避开

参考例句：

• He is always spending his time fending with the neighbors. 他总是与邻里们吵架。 来自互联网
• Fifth, it is to build safeguarding system and enhance the competence in fending off the risk. 五是建立政策保障体系，提高防范和抵御风险的能力。 来自互联网

2 addictive   

adj.(吸毒等)使成瘾的，成为习惯的

参考例句：

• The problem with video game is that they're addictive.电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。
• Cigarettes are highly addictive.香烟很容易使人上瘾。

3 overdue   

adj.过期的，到期未付的；早该有的，迟到的

参考例句：

• The plane is overdue and has been delayed by the bad weather.飞机晚点了，被坏天气耽搁了。
• The landlady is angry because the rent is overdue.女房东生气了，因为房租过期未付。

4 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

5 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

6 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

8 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

9 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

10 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。

11 tarnish   

n.晦暗，污点；vt.使失去光泽；玷污

参考例句：

• The affair could tarnish the reputation of the prime minister.这一事件可能有损首相的名誉。
• Stainless steel products won't tarnish.不锈钢产品不会失去光泽。

12 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。

13 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

14 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

15 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。