TikTok：是熟悉的配方，熟悉的味道

近日，Facebook旗下社交媒体平台Instagram在全球50多个国家和地区推出了新的短视频功能“Reels”，换一句话就是山寨版TikTok。

TikTok官方转发了Instagram推文并回应称，“好吧…这看起来很熟悉。”(Well... this look familiar)

Instagram takes aim at TikTok with Reels l GMA

无注释原文：

Instagram Reels: Facebook’s history of ‘adapting’ competitors’ familiar features

The Guardian

Facebook-owned Instagram on Wednesday launched Reels, a feature within the photo and video sharing app that allows users to post short videos and songs. Rings a bell?

The launch drew a cheeky retweet from TikTok on Thursday, with the year’s hottest app saying Instagram’s feature looked “familiar”.

It’s not the first time Facebook has rolled out features that resemble those made popular by startups and rivals. It’s not even Facebook’s first attempt to make its own TikTok-type features. In 2018, Facebook quietly launched a short-form video app called Lasso, which it shut down in July. It launched the video app Collab, which allows users to take audio from others and record on top of it, in May 2020 on an invite-only basis.

Earlier this year, Facebook launched an app called Hobbi that had similar features and a similar design to Pinterest (Hobbi closed in June 2020.) It also introduced features that allow users to share past content on current feeds, like competitor TimeHopdoes. Perhaps most famously, Instagram introduced “stories”, short videos that disappear after a 24 hours, after Snapchat refused to be bought.

Embellishing and innovating on the features of competitors is part of the culture of Silicon Valley. A Facebook spokesperson said the company’s goal was to “add relevant features and experiences that meet our community where they are”.

“By responding to a demand, we’re offering more choices – which we believe is better for consumers,” Chris Sgro said.

But Facebook’s product launches have drawn the attention from US policymakers. In hearings in the US Congress on antitrust last week, the Washington representative Pramila Jayapal asked Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, if Facebook had ever “threatened to clone the products of another company while also attempting to acquire that company”.

“Mr Zuckerberg, do you copy your competitors?” she asked. “We’ve certainly adapted features,” Zuckerberg replied.

Facebook is within its rights to copy general ideas that are not legally protected – such as a video platform or a photo app, said Rebecca Allensworth, a professor of law and antitrust expert at Vanderbilt University.

Copying another company’s successful features can actually be good for competition, she said, as long as that company does not have a disproportionate share of the market as Facebook does. Now, Facebook can take ideas from competitors and effectively destroy them as it has such a large user base.

“This is bad for society, and bad for competition – but it’s not illegal,” she said.

Facebook’s size was among the top subjects of last week’s antitrust hearings. The House judiciary committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, argued Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram itself violated antitrust laws because emails obtained by the lawmakers and read out loud during the hearing suggested the acquisition was made to buy off a potential competitor. The FTC was in possession of those emails when it voted to approve the acquisition in 2012.

In other words, antitrust laws do not prohibit a company from copying a rival, but they may prohibit acquiring a rival.

Facebook is not breaking any laws by adapting features of its competitors, but its inability to come up with its own ideas does not bode well for the company’s future, said Wendy Johansson, an analyst at digital consultancy Publicis Spaient.

“It’s not a great sign for Facebook’s old ‘move fast and break things’ motto,” she said.

The launch of Reels comes as TikTok is embroiled in a geopolitical battle over data privacy. The Trump administration has threatened to ban the app, and Microsoft is reportedly engaged in talks to purchase the app. In light of the turmoil at TikTok, Instagram has clearly tried to make Reels attractive enough to pull users away from TikTok, said analyst Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal, – but it’s unclear how well that will work.

“Even if TikTok were to be banned in the US (which I think is unlikely to happen), users would find a way to keep using it,” she said. “They are incredibly loyal and protective of TikTok.”

- ◆ -

含注释全文：

Instagram Reels: Facebook’s history of ‘adapting’ competitors’ familiar features

The Guardian

Facebook-owned Instagram on Wednesday launched Reels, a feature within the photo and video sharing app that allows users to post short videos and songs. Rings a bell?

周三，Facebook在旗下的照片和视频分享应用Instagram内推出了发布短视频和歌曲的新功能“Reels”。

1）作名词，原意表示“特色；特征；特点”，英文解释为“something important, interesting or typical of a place or thing”，此处可以理解为“功能”，在iOS 14来了!文中就出现了多次的feature，介绍iOS 14各种新功能，新特点，举个🌰：

Which features do you look for when choosing a car?

你挑选轿车时要着重哪些特点？

2）feature作动词，表示“以…为特色；由…主演；以…为主要组成”，英文解释为“to include a particular person or thing as a special feature”，作动词则可以理解为“有...”（功能/特色），举个🌰：

Many of the hotels featured in the brochure offer special deals for weekend breaks.

小册子列举的多家旅馆都有周末假日特别优待。

The film features Cary Grant as a professor.

这部电影由卡里·格兰特饰演一位教授。

ring a bell/ring any bells表示“听起来耳熟，熟悉，让人想起某事”，英文解释为“to sound familiar”举个🌰：

The name rang a bell but I couldn't remember where I had heard it before.

这个名字听着很熟，但是我记不起来以前在哪儿听到过。

No, I'm sorry, that description doesn't ring any bells with me.

不！很遗憾，那个说法我听起来并不耳熟。

The launch drew a cheeky retweet from TikTok on Thursday, with the year's hottest app saying Instagram's feature looked “familiar”.

这一功能的发布在周四引来了年度最热门的应用TikTok的风趣转发，称Instagram的功能看起来“很熟悉”。

1）表示“厚脸皮的；鲁莽的；放肆的”，英文解释为“rude in an amusing or an annoying way”举个🌰：

She's got such a cheeky grin.

她还厚着脸皮咧嘴笑呢。

2）表示“很快做的；临时起意的；实不应该的”，英文解释为“used to describe something that you eat, drink, or do, especially when this is done quickly, without planning, or when you should not really do it”举个🌰：

We just went outside for a cheeky cigarette.

我们刚到外面很快地抽了一支烟。

It's not the first time Facebook has rolled out features that resemble those made popular by startups and rivals. It's not even Facebook's first attempt to make its own TikTok-type features. In 2018, Facebook quietly launched a short-form video app called Lasso, which it shut down in July. It launched the video app Collab, which allows users to take audio from others and record on top of it, in May 2020 on an invite-only basis.

这不是Facebook第一次推出类似于初创公司和竞争对手所做的广受欢迎的功能了。这甚至不是Facebook第一次尝试发布自己类似于TikTok的功能。2018年，Facebook悄然推出了一款名为Lasso的短视频应用，并在7月份关闭了该应用。它在2020年5月推出了视频应用Collab，允许用户从他人那里获取音频，并在上面进行录制，该应用只有邀请用户才能使用。

表示“推出（新产品或服务）”，英文解释为“If a company rolls out a new product or service, or if the product or service rolls out, it is made available to the public.”举个🌰：

Microsoft rolls out its new operating system.

微软推出了它的新操作系统。

此外，roll out还有另一个含义，表示“将…轧平”，英文解释为“to make sth flat by pushing sth over it”举个🌰：

Roll out the pastry.

将油酥面团擀平。

🎬电影《老爸上战场》（Dad's Army）中刚好有这个例句：Shall I roll out the pastry?  我要把面团轧平吗？

rollout作名词时，表示“首次提供（产品或服务）”，英文解释为“the act of making something, especially a product or service, available for the first time”举个🌰：

Since its rollout in 2011, Wechat has gained billions of members.

自从2011年首次提供使用以来，微信已经吸引了数以亿计的用户。

📍今年政府工作报告Part 12中就提到：We will support the rollout of e-commerce and express delivery services in rural areas to expand rural consumption. 支持电商、快递进农村，拓展农村消费。

表示“像；与…类似，与…相似”，英文解释为“to look like or be similar to someone or something”举个🌰：

It's amazing how closely Tom and Sam resemble each other.

汤姆和山姆真是惊人地相像。

Earlier this year, Facebook launched an app called Hobbi that had similar features and a similar design to Pinterest (Hobbi closed in June 2020.) It also introduced features that allow users to share past content on current feeds, like competitor TimeHopdoes. Perhaps most famously, Instagram introduced “stories”, short videos that disappear after a 24 hours, after Snapchat refused to be bought.

今年早些时候，Facebook推出了一款名为Hobbi的应用，其功能和设计与Pinterest类似（Hobbi于2020年6月关闭。）它还引入了允许用户在当前信息流上分享过去内容的功能，就像竞争对手TimeHopdoes的一样。也许最著名的是，在Snapchat拒绝被收购后，Instagram推出了“故事”，即24小时后消失的短视频。

feed一词，不知道你有没有听过“Feed流”或者“信息流”这样的说法，熟悉互联网行业的人可能会比较了解，指的就是持续向用户提供内容更新的信息流服务，比如朋友圈（Moments），微博，抖音的形式，你可以以时间线或者兴趣度一条一条地往下刷或者说阅读。可以看下Web feed或者News feed的英文解释：a data format used for providing users with frequently updated content.

Embellishing and innovating on the features of competitors is part of the culture of Silicon Valley. A Facebook spokesperson said the company's goal was to “add relevant features and experiences that meet our community where they are”.

对竞争对手的功能进行润色和创新是硅谷文化的一部分。Facebook发言人表示，该公司的目标是“增加相关功能和体验，满足我们社区的需求”。

表示“装饰，修饰；给…添枝加叶，渲染”，英文解释为“to make something more beautiful or interesting by adding something to it”举个🌰：

He couldn't resist embellishing the story of his accident a little.

在讲述他出的那起事故时，他忍不住添油加醋地渲染了一番。

“By responding to a demand, we're offering more choices – which we believe is better for consumers,” Chris Sgro said.

“通过响应需求，我们提供了更多的选择--我们相信这对消费者来说更好。”克里斯·斯格罗（Chris Sgro）说。

But Facebook's product launches have drawn the attention from US policymakers. In hearings in the US Congress on antitrust last week, the Washington representative Pramila Jayapal asked Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, if Facebook had ever “threatened to clone the products of another company while also attempting to acquire that company”.

但Facebook推出的产品已经引起了美国决策者的关注。在上周美国国会关于反垄断的听证会上，华盛顿代表普拉米拉·贾亚帕尔（Pramila Jayapal）问Facebook的CEO马克·扎克伯格，Facebook是否曾经“威胁要克隆另一家公司的产品，同时还试图收购这家公司”。

表示“听证会”，英文解释为“A hearing is an official meeting which is held in order to collect facts about an incident or problem.”

表示“反垄断的”，英文解释为“In the United States, antitrust laws are intended to stop big companies taking over their competitors, fixing prices with their competitors, or interfering with free competition in any way.”

“Mr Zuckerberg, do you copy your competitors?” she asked. “We've certainly adapted features,” Zuckerberg replied.

“扎克伯格先生，你是否抄袭你的竞争对手？”她问道。“我们当然改编过功能，”扎克伯格回答。

表示“使适应不同情况（或用途）；改动；改造；改装；改编”，英文解释为“to change something to suit different conditions or uses”举个🌰：

Many software companies have adapted popular programs to the new operating system.

许多软件公司已经改编了常用的程序以适应新的操作系统。

Facebook is within its rights to copy general ideas that are not legally protected – such as a video platform or a photo app, said Rebecca Allensworth, a professor of law and antitrust expert at Vanderbilt University.

范德堡大学法学教授、反垄断专家丽贝卡·阿伦斯沃斯（Rebecca Allensworth）表示，Facebook有权抄袭不受法律保护的通用创意--比如一个视频平台或照片应用。

Copying another company's successful features can actually be good for competition, she said, as long as that company does not have a disproportionate share of the market as Facebook does. Now, Facebook can take ideas from competitors and effectively destroy them as it has such a large user base.

她说，抄袭另一家公司的好功能其实对竞争是有好处的，只要这家公司没有像Facebook那样占据过多的市场份额。现在，Facebook可以从竞争对手那里获取创意，并有效地摧毁它们，因为它拥有如此庞大的用户群。

表示“不成比例的；不相称的；太大（或太小）的”，英文解释为“too large or too small when compared with sth else”举个🌰：

The area contains a disproportionate number of young middle-class families.

此地年轻的中产阶级家庭特别多。

“This is bad for society, and bad for competition – but it's not illegal,” she said.

她说：“这对社会不利，对竞争不利，但这不违法。”

Facebook's size was among the top subjects of last week's antitrust hearings. The House judiciary committee chairman, Jerry Nadler, argued Facebook's 2012 acquisition of Instagram itself violated antitrust laws because emails obtained by the lawmakers and read out loud during the hearing suggested the acquisition was made to buy off a potential competitor. The FTC was in possession of those emails when it voted to approve the acquisition in 2012.

Facebook的规模是上周反垄断听证会的首要议题之一。众议院司法委员会主席杰里·纳德勒（Jerry Nadler）认为，Facebook在2012年收购Instagram的行为本身就违反了反垄断法，因为立法者们获得的、并在听证会上大声宣读的电子邮件表明，这次收购是为了收买潜在的竞争对手。联邦贸易委员会在2012年投票批准这一收购时，就掌握了这些邮件。

FTC：联邦贸易委员会（Federal Trade Commission）

judiciary /dʒuːˈdɪʃɪərɪ/表示“（统称）审判人员；司法部；司法系统”，英文解释为“the judges of a country or a state, when they are considered as a group”。

acquisition名词，表示“收购”，英文解释为“If a company or business person makes an acquisition, they buy another company or part of a company.”举个🌰：

They have made acquisitions in several EU countries.

他们在几个欧盟国家购买了一些产业。

🎬电影《美国队长2：冬日战士》（Captain America: The Winter Soldier）中的台词提到：The prevailing theory was that the hijacking was a cover for the acquisition and sale of classified intelligence. 大部分人的看法是劫持事件只是在掩盖机密情报的交易。

表示“买通，贿赂”，英文解释为“to pay someone so that they do not cause you any trouble”举个🌰：

They tried to buy the guard at the bank off but he told the police.

那伙人试图买通银行的保安，但保安报了警。

In other words, antitrust laws do not prohibit a company from copying a rival, but they may prohibit acquiring a rival.

换句话说，反垄断法并不禁止公司抄袭竞争对手，但可能禁止公司收购竞争对手。

Facebook is not breaking any laws by adapting features of its competitors, but its inability to come up with its own ideas does not bode well for the company's future, said Wendy Johansson, an analyst at digital consultancy Publicis Spaient.

数字咨询公司Publicis Spaient的分析师温迪·约翰森（Wendy Johansson）表示，Facebook改编竞争对手的功能并没有违反任何法律，但它无法提出自己的创意，这对该公司的未来并不是一个好兆头。

表示“（对某人╱某事）是吉兆，是凶兆”，英文解释为“to be a good/bad sign for sb/sth”举个🌰：

These figures do not bode well for the company's future.

这些数据对于公司的前景不是个好兆头。

“It's not a great sign for Facebook's old ‘move fast and break things' motto,” she said.

move fast and break things

快速行动，破除陈规/打破局面

The launch of Reels comes as TikTok is embroiled in a geopolitical battle over data privacy. The Trump administration has threatened to ban the app, and Microsoft is reportedly engaged in talks to purchase the app. In light of the turmoil at TikTok, Instagram has clearly tried to make Reels attractive enough to pull users away from TikTok, said analyst Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal, – but it's unclear how well that will work.

在TikTok正陷入一场关于数据隐私的地缘政治之争时，Reels出现了。特朗普政府已经威胁要禁止这款应用，而据报道，微软正在参与收购这款应用的谈判。eMarketer分析师黛布拉·威廉姆森（Debra Aho Williamson）表示，鉴于TikTok的动荡，Instagram显然试图让Reels具有足够的吸引力，以将用户从TikTok上吸引走--但目前还不清楚效果如何。

表示“使卷入（纠纷）；使陷入（困境）；使纠缠于”，英文解释为“to involve sb/yourself in an argument or a difficult situation”举个🌰：

He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours.

他与邻居们发生了争执。

这个短语，出现了好多次还记得吗？上一次是在瑞幸咖啡停牌声明文中出现过。

in light of表示“考虑到；鉴于”，英文解释为“after considering sth”举个🌰：

He rewrote the book in (the) light of further research.

他根据进一步的研究重写了那部书。 

🎬电影《完美音调2》（Pitch Perfect 2）中的台词提到：In light of this embarrassing 鉴于这个让人尴尬的...

📺美剧《硅谷》（Silicon Valley）中的台词提到：Well, in light of recent activities, it appears that I could do a goddamn thing about it. 有鉴于最近的种种 看来我还是有办法的。

表示“动乱；混乱；焦虑”，英文解释为“a state of great anxiety and confusion”。

“Even if TikTok were to be banned in the US (which I think is unlikely to happen), users would find a way to keep using it,” she said. “They are incredibly loyal and protective of TikTok.”

“即使TikTok在美国被禁止（我认为这不太可能发生），用户也会想办法继续使用它，”她说。“他们对TikTok的忠诚度和保护度令人难以置信。”

注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

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