美国国家公共电台 NPR--Is a cost-free digital community a thing of the past?

Is a cost-free digital community a thing of the past?

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Dan Ives, tech analyst² at Wedbush Securities, about fees social media platform Reddit imposed on third-party app developers. Protests blacked out parts of the site.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Right now, thousands of pages known as subreddits on the social media platform Reddit are dark because today is the last day of a blackout protest against plans by the company to make developers, whose apps make Reddit easier to navigate³, pay for access to the company's data starting July 1. If you're not familiar with Reddit, it's a place where people create chat groups, really communities, around common interests - sports, politics, music, reality TV. And Reddit says despite the protests, they're going forward with plans to start charging developers who use their data because they're done giving away something so valuable to other companies for free, they say. Dan Ives is a tech analyst at Wedbush Securities, and he's here to discuss.

Good morning.

DAN IVES: Great to be here.

FADEL: So if you could just explain first what Reddit is actually charging for. This isn't going to impact regular users, right?

IVES: It's really the developers in terms of the APIs. But when you really look at the ripple⁴ effect, something that was free is now going to be something charged for. And it's something we're seeing across social media. The clock has really struck midnight when it comes to free content. That's what we're seeing happen from Reddit to Twitter to Facebook and others.

FADEL: So why are they starting to charge now?

IVES: It all comes down to the dollar. I mean, you know, advertising⁵ continues to really be something that has been a headwind for a lot of these companies. And when you look at Reddit, you build it, they come. The more developers, the more consumers that are on Reddit - now they can monetize. And that - ultimately what this is all about, we're seeing this trend across social media. It's not just Reddit. It really started with Twitter - Zuckerberg and Facebook obviously following. And I think this is a trend that's not slowing down.

FADEL: So you see this as a path for regular users to get charged because Facebook, Instagram, Twitter - they're charging for verification, but those are all still free. Reddit is still free for users. So is it only a matter of time until the regular people online are going to be paying for this?

IVES: Well, I think for Reddit, it would be more freemium. Of course, there's going to be a free service, but ultimately it's all about premium⁶ content. That's where this is all eventually heading. If users find it valuable, they'll pay. But that is a very tough climb to charge for something, just like we're seeing today for APIs, that were free.

FADEL: And for the layman⁷, if you could explain an API.

IVES: And what that's really about is developers now need to pay in terms of access to Reddit and really developing on top of the platform. That's really the issue.

FADEL: Now developers are protesting because they say that the amount they're going to be charged will break their companies, put them out of business. Christian⁸ Selig developed one of the most popular third-party Reddit apps, called Apollo. Here's what he told NPR.

CHRISTIAN SELIG: For virtually all apps, the pricing is so high that things would either have to drastically change or things would have to shut down.

FADEL: Now, you said, you know, people will pay if they want this access. Will they pay if it's going to break their business?

IVES: It's a risky⁹ proposal, really - what Reddit's doing. It's a calculated risk. For developers, I mean, this is a gut¹⁰ punch. It's something that they were not expecting. And, you know, I believe this is all a game of poker¹¹ between developers and Reddit. And, you know, I still think the chapter is going to be written in terms of how successful this is going to be.

FADEL: So how do you see this playing out in the days ahead? It sounds like Reddit plans to go forward.

IVES: I think they're going to go forward, but I do believe that there could be some negotiation¹² that ultimately happens here because developers are the lifeblood when you look at Reddit, when you look at all these platforms. And that's why I think this is something where the last thing you want to do is really, you know, suffocate¹³ what's been the core hearts and lungs of your base, the reason it's known around the world.

FADEL: So it sounds like this could actually backfire.

IVES: It definitely could backfire. I mean, this is essentially¹⁴ a "Game Of Thrones" going on between developers and Reddit. And it's not just Reddit. I mean, we're seeing backlash on Twitter, eventually on Facebook and on some of these other premium platforms where these platforms are trying to get more and more monetization. But it's easier said than done as we're seeing, especially if things that are free now getting paid for.

FADEL: Yeah, I mean, people don't like to pay for things that they used to have for free, do they?

IVES: I mean, it comes down to, you've been at the restaurant. Bread's for free. Now you're going to pay four dollars. You're not going to be happy. And that's what developers are now going through with Reddit. But this is an old Western standoff that's going on, and I think there's still more to be written.

FADEL: Dan Ives is a managing director and senior equity¹⁵ research analyst covering the tech sector¹⁶ at Wedbush Securities.

Thank you.

IVES: Thank you.

1 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。

2 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。

3 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

4 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

5 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。

6 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

7 layman   

n.俗人，门外汉，凡人

参考例句：

• These technical terms are difficult for the layman to understand.这些专门术语是外行人难以理解的。
• He is a layman in politics.他对政治是个门外汉。

8 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

9 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

10 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

11 poker   

n.扑克；vt.烙制

参考例句：

• He was cleared out in the poker game.他打扑克牌，把钱都输光了。
• I'm old enough to play poker and do something with it.我打扑克是老手了，可以玩些花样。

12 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。

13 suffocate   

vt.使窒息，使缺氧，阻碍；vi.窒息，窒息而亡，阻碍发展

参考例句：

• If you shut all the windows,I will suffocate.如果你把窗户全部关起来，我就会闷死。
• The stale air made us suffocate.浑浊的空气使我们感到窒息。

14 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

15 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

16 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。