The Social Dilemma · 2020 — 第 1 / 14 章 · 2'35" · C1

受訪者拆解注意力生意:rakes in money

幾位受訪者算了筆賬:谷歌、Facebook 不向我們收錢,是廣告商在付錢,所以 We're the thing being sold(我們才是被賣掉的那樣東西)。一句 rakes in money(大把撈錢)形容它怎麼賺錢,一句 competing for your attention(爭奪你的注意力)說清它們在搶什麼。想聊網際網路生意經,這幾句夠用。

發生了什麼

沒有人物衝突,是幾位受訪者輪流對著鏡頭拆解同一件事:矽谷最賺錢的公司賣的不是硬體軟體,而是使用者。有人先丟擲 rakes in money(大把撈錢),說這些公司靠一臺巨型計算機就財源滾滾;接著用 in the business of(本行就是做某事)點明最近十年它們的本行變成了賣使用者;隨後一句 competing for your attention(爭奪你的注意力)說明它們爭的到底是什麼。想跟人解釋免費軟體怎麼賺錢,或者寫東西評價平臺經濟,這幾個說法都能直接用。

表达 · 演讲动员解释劝说C1快速美音无脏话
IMDb ↗

這場戲看什麼

  • 注意他先講歷史再下結論的節奏
  • 留意那句對稱口號前後的停頓
  • 看主持人一句追問如何把話頭遞出

留意這幾個短語

rakes in moneyNice, simple businessin the business oftrite

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點一句台詞就從那裡放

本章短語

rakes in money

大把撈錢earns a lot of money quickly

有人把大公司說成一臺「巨型計算機」,語氣半開玩笑,緊接著用 rakes in money 點出它進賬又快又輕鬆;隨後話鋒一轉,追問這些錢到底從哪來。

That silly mobile game rakes in money on skins alone.那款看起來很傻的手遊光靠皮膚就大把撈錢。

本章還有

  • Nice, simple business

    挺不錯的簡單生意

  • in the business of

    本行就是做某事

  • trite

    說濫了的、老生常談的

  • competing for your attention

    爭奪你的注意力

  • a little too simplistic

    說得有點過於簡單了

本章全部批註

33 句台詞裡標了 22 處

短語 · B1the most successful something of all time

有史以來最…的

Companies like Google and Facebook are some of the wealthiest and most successful of all time.
發音rakes in

rakes 末尾的 s 直接滑進 in,快說時幾乎連成一個詞。

They just have this giant computer that rakes in money, right? Uh...
短語 · B2an investor in something

在某個領域的投資人

So, I've been an investor in technology for 35 years.
短語 · A2sell something to someone

把東西賣給客戶

The first 50 years of Silicon Valley, the industry made products-- hardware, software-- sold 'em to customers. Nice, simple business.
俚語 · B1'em

them 的口語說法——熟人之間隨口說,正式寫作要寫 them

The first 50 years of Silicon Valley, the industry made products-- hardware, software-- sold 'em to customers. Nice, simple business.
短語 · A2pay for something

為某樣東西掏錢

It's a little even trite to say now, but... because we don't pay for the products that we use, advertisers pay for the products that we use.
發音If you're not

you're 常弱化為 /jər/,輕輕滑過不停頓,重音留給後面的 not;if 與 you're 順著一口氣連起來。

The classic saying is: "If you're not paying for the product, then you are the product."
語法 · B2what they don't realize is

主語從句:what 引導的從句整體當主語,is 後面才是他們沒意識到的內容。

But what they don't realize is they're competing for your attention.
短語 · B1figure out how to do something

琢磨出、想明白怎麼做

Let's figure out how to get as much of this person's attention as we possibly can.
短語 · B2as much of something as we possibly can

儘可能地多拿到

Let's figure out how to get as much of this person's attention as we possibly can.
短語 · B2get someone to do something

讓你拿出(時間、錢)

How much time can we get you to spend?
發音get you to

get you to 三個詞擠成一拍,中間別停頓,重音留給 life 和 give。

How much of your life can we get you to give to us?
短語 · B1something makes sense

說得通、想得明白

When you think about how some of these companies work, it starts to make sense.
短語 · B2think of something as something

把某樣東西當成…

There are all these services on the Internet that we think of as
短語 · B2in exchange for something

作為…的交換、拿…換來

They pay in exchange for showing their ads to us.
發音a little too

重音壓在 too 上,little 輕輕帶過,才聽得出「過頭」的分量。

That's a little too simplistic.
短語 · B1a change in something

某個方面發生的變化

It's the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behavior and perception that is the product.
語法 · C1It's the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behavior and perception that is the product.

強調句:It's…that… 把那一長串名詞短語框住,強調的是「這點改變」,不是注意力。

It's the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behavior and perception that is the product.
語法 · B2nothing else on the table that could possibly be called

定語從句:that 從句修飾 nothing else,could be called 是被動,表示「能被稱作」。

There's nothing else on the table that could possibly be called the product.
短語 · B1make money from something

靠某樣東西賺錢

That's the only thing there is for them to make money from.
短語 · B2in the direction you want

朝著你想要的方向

If you can go to somebody and you say, "Give me $10 million, and I will change the world one percent in the direction you want it to change..."
短語 · B1be worth a lot of money

值一大筆錢

It's the world! That can be incredible, and that's worth a lot of money.

看懂「受訪者拆解注意力生意」

發音重點

  • rakes in — rakes 末尾的 s 直接滑進 in,快說時幾乎連成一個詞。
  • If you're not — you're 常弱化為 /jər/,輕輕滑過不停頓,重音留給後面的 not;if 與 you're 順著一口氣連起來。
  • get you to — get you to 三個詞擠成一拍,中間別停頓,重音留給 life 和 give。
  • a little too — 重音壓在 too 上,little 輕輕帶過,才聽得出「過頭」的分量。
For the last ten years, the biggest companies in Silicon Valley have been in the business of selling their users.

過去十年,矽谷最大的那些公司,做的生意就是把使用者賣掉。 把「賣使用者」說得像一樁普通行當,越平靜越刺人。

The classic saying is: "If you're not paying for the product, then you are the product."

有句經典的說法:如果你沒為產品付錢,那你就是產品。 前後半句對稱,一句話把免費平臺的賬翻了個面。

But what they don't realize is they're competing for your attention.

但人們沒意識到的是,它們爭的正是你的注意力。 用「沒意識到」輕輕一轉,刷手機就變成一場爭奪。

How much of your life can we get you to give to us?

我們能讓你把生命中的多少,交給我們? 把「使用時長」換成「你的人生」,一個問句就讓人後背發涼。

We're the product. Our attention is the product being sold to advertisers.

我們就是產品。我們的注意力,就是被賣給廣告商的那件產品。 兩句話把結論釘死:先說人,再說人被賣的那部分。

關於這一章的問題

rakes in money 是什麼意思?

就是「大把撈錢」。臺詞裡說這些公司只有一臺巨型計算機,卻能源源不斷地賺進大錢,這個片語形容的就是賺錢又多又快。

「本行就是做某事」英語怎麼說?

in the business of。臺詞裡說矽谷最大的公司最近十年 in the business of selling their users,意思就是它們的本行變成了賣使用者。

imperceptible 在臺詞裡指什麼?

指「察覺不到的、極細微的」。臺詞說的是你行為和認知上那種緩慢、細微到你自己都感覺不到的改變。

「說得有點過於簡單了」英語怎麼表達?

a little too simplistic。覺得某個解釋把問題講得太乾脆、省掉了關鍵部分,就可以用它回一句,意思是「說得有點過於簡單了」。

competing for your attention 怎麼理解?

就是「爭奪你的注意力」。臺詞說很多人只把谷歌當搜尋框、把 Facebook 當看朋友照片的地方,沒意識到這些公司搶的其實是你的注意力。

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