美国国家公共电台 NPR--Facebook is making radical changes to keep up with TikTok

Facebook is making radical¹ changes to keep up with TikTok

Transcript²

Open Facebook or Instagram and you're going to see changes. Social apps that have been primarily defined by the friends and family you choose to connect with are being revamped to feature more posts, especially video, from influencers, celebrities³, and random⁴ strangers that go viral.

If that sounds familiar, it's no accident. Facebook is racing⁵ to keep up with TikTok, the wildly popular upstart redefining how social media works.

"Everyone's eyes are glued to TikTok and the way it works right now," said Michael Sayman, a software engineer who has worked at Facebook, Google and Twitter on efforts to win over teenagers.

The short video app owned by China's ByteDance has surged to one billion users in just a few short years, minting dance trends and absurd challenges and fueling megaviral music hits like Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road," and the revivals⁶ of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" and Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill."

Facebook is still by far the world's biggest social network, with almost 3 billion people logging on every month — and even more when you add in Instagram, also owned by Facebook parent Meta.

But under pressure from TikTok's success, the company that has been connecting people to their college classmates, friends, family, and others with shared interests for almost two decades is attempting to pivot⁷ to a new era of social media, where artificial intelligence-driven algorithms are increasingly shaping what users see.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described it as a "major shift" from a feed of posts determined⁸ by who you follow to one curated by new AI technology that he calls a "discovery engine."

Meta's quarterly earnings⁹ are likely to reveal a financial squeeze

Facebook parent Meta is facing existential threats. Its flagship social network lost daily users for the first time ever late last year. Its audience is aging. Younger people who used to flock to Instagram are now on TikTok. Sales growth is slowing and profits have dropped.

Meta plans to give its latest financial report on Wednesday. It's expected to show just how much competition, as well as global economic woes¹⁰ and the ongoing¹¹ overhang of Apple's privacy changes, are squeezing its ad business.

Zuckerberg has warned about the rise of TikTok for years. He explicitly¹² acknowledged the threat it poses in a call with investors¹³ in February, noting that "people have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly."

Two years ago, Facebook introduced TikTok-like short videos called Reels, and has been pushing them heavily into users' feeds. In April, Zuckerberg said Reels accounted for a fifth of the time people spent on Instagram. (Many users have noted¹⁴ the Reels they see are often reposted TikTok videos.)

Now the company is going even further: overhauling¹⁵ the Facebook app to look and work more like TikTok's main For You page, which shows whatever the app's algorithm thinks you might like, no matter who made it.

Software engineer Sayman says the company has little choice but to emulate¹⁶ what he calls TikTok's "massive talent show."

"TikTok comes along and it's like, 'Who cares who you follow!'" he said.

Changes spark complaints from celebrity¹⁷ users

Already, Instagram's transformation¹⁸ is sparking backlash.

This week, celebrities Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who both have huge Instagram followings, reposted a meme on the app demanding, "Make Instagram Instagram again. Stop trying to be TikTok."

Facebook says posts from friends and family are still going to be prominently featured in its apps.

In a new video responding to users' concerns on Tuesday, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the company isn't getting rid of what people love.

"But we're also gonna need to evolve, because the world is changing quickly, and we're gonna have to change along with it," he said.

I wanted to address a few things we’re working on to make Instagram a better experience.

Zuckerberg has been clear about his goal. He wants to squeeze as much money as he can from his company's existing apps, so it can build what he sees as the next big platform: the metaverse, where, he hopes, people will interact in virtual reality.

And making money means getting more people to spend more time on Facebook and Instagram, so they can sell more ads.

But not everyone is convinced this pivot will work.

"TikTok's got one fundamental thing that Facebook doesn't have," said Matt Navarra, a social media consultant¹⁹ and analyst²⁰. "TikTok is cool. And it's very hard to recreate cool."

Editor's note: Facebook parent Meta pays NPR to license²¹ NPR content.

1 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

5 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

6 revivals   

n.复活( revival的名词复数 )；再生；复兴；（老戏多年后）重新上演

参考例句：

• She adored parades, lectures, conventions, camp meetings, church revivals-in fact every kind of dissipation. 她最喜欢什么游行啦、演讲啦、开大会啦、营火会啦、福音布道会啦--实际上各种各样的娱乐。 来自辞典例句
• The history of art is the history of revivals. 艺术的历史就是复兴的历史。 来自互联网

7 pivot   

v.在枢轴上转动；装枢轴，枢轴；adj.枢轴的

参考例句：

• She is the central pivot of creation and represents the feminine aspect in all things.她是创造的中心枢轴，表现出万物的女性面貌。
• If a spring is present,the hand wheel will pivot on the spring.如果有弹簧，手轮的枢轴会装在弹簧上。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

10 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

11 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

12 explicitly   

ad.明确地，显然地

参考例句：

• The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
• SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条，清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 overhauling   

n.大修；拆修；卸修；翻修v.彻底检查( overhaul的现在分词 )；大修；赶上；超越

参考例句：

• I had no chance of overhauling him. 我没有赶上他的可能。 来自辞典例句
• Some sites need little alterations but some need total overhauling. 有些网站需要做出细微修改，而有些网站就需要整体改版。 来自互联网

16 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

17 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

18 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

19 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

20 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

21 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。