【about facebook】
facebook是近段時間關(guān)注的web 2.0公司，隨著ipo的可能性日益增加，facebook也很可能成為商業(yè)上最成功的web 2.0公司。我相信，如果facebook真的成功上市，它對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)行業(yè)的長期影響將不在google之下。
今年5月，facebook平臺正式推出，立即贏得滿堂彩，不到兩個月時間，這個平臺上已經(jīng)匯集了將近2000個應用，facebook的號召力，或者說facebook能給其他互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司帶來的好處可見一斑。不少人認為，facebook正在成為互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的windows。
【section one】article
why microsoft overpaid for facebook
at first blush, it may seem like microsoft got the short end of the deal when it paid $240 million on wednesday for a puny 1.6% stake in the social-networking site facebook. while facebook is probably the most talked about destination on the web today, the company will be lucky to clear $30 million in profit (on an estimated $140 million in revenues) this year. so what exactly was microsoft buying, other than a lot of hope and, quite possibly, a lot of hype(
n.<美俚> 皮下注射, 騙局,大肆宣傳,大做廣告,癮君子?)
with $23 billion in cash reserves(現(xiàn)金儲蓄[準備], 準備金 現(xiàn)金余額), the redmond, wash.–based software giant can afford to part with a little cash — even if it never earns a penny of it back. and facebook could use the money — to hire more employees and build out the site, whose traffic is currently growing at over 100% per year, according to comscore media metrix, which tracks internet-user demographics(adj.人口統(tǒng)計學的). but what microsoft chief steve ballmer and company desperately need these days is cachet(n.公務印章, 私人印戳, 標記, 威望, 紀念郵戳) in the burgeoning(n.嫩芽v.萌芽) internet economy. and that is exactly what their investment just bought them.
"microsoft has not had a lot of success with their online plays," notes shahid khan, a business strategy consultant at ibb consulting in princeton, n.j. their search engine, windows live, is a distant third to google and yahoo, in both ad revenue and users. they've lost out to google on key strategic deals to buy both youtube and online ad company doubleclick. and while sales of the new operating system, windows vista, have been brisk, reviews have been decidedly mixed.
all that glum news has translated into low morale(n.士氣, 民心) for a company that was once an undisputed titan(n.[希神]提坦, 太陽神, 巨人) of the consumer software business. "microsoft was this monopoly, but now there has been this humbling. they have been cast as the underdog," says greg sterling, an internet analyst at sterling market intelligence.
microsoft's partnership with facebook, which also buys it the rights to broker all international ads, puts the company back in a game that it was struggling to keep up with. by partnering with facebook, it has also kept key competitors at bay. "the investment microsoft made was in keeping google out," says analyst rob enderle. not only will microsoft garner more revenues by serving up ads for facebook (the exact revenue split has not been disclosed, but is probably about 20% going to microsoft) but it also has a great shot at getting its search engine built into facebook.
and while facebook's shiny new $15 billion valuation (up from $10 billion just a month ago) may seem out of this world, it pays to keep in mind that it's still just "monopoly(n.壟斷, 壟斷者, 專利權(quán), 專利事業(yè)) money," notes khan. with hardly any profits to date, the company's actual valuation is all just speculation at the moment. that should become much clearer, once facebook goes public sometime in the next year or so. one thing's for sure, however: the dotcom bubble just got bigger than ever. get ready for another wild ride.
【section three】homework
1. please translate the blue part into chinese.
2. what is the main idear of this article?
3. do you know more about facebook, try to find and share them.
參考答案:
1. “微軟網(wǎng)絡(luò)產(chǎn)品的表現(xiàn)并不出色”，ibb咨詢公司經(jīng)營戰(zhàn)略咨詢家sk說。他們的搜索引擎，windows live,在收入和用戶量都遠落后于google和yahoo，在關(guān)鍵戰(zhàn)略即收購youtube和在線廣告公司doubleclick，微軟輸給了(lose out to)google，在新的操作系統(tǒng)vista已經(jīng)活躍之時，回顧斷然進行。
2. no standard answer.
3. no standard answer.
facebook是近段時間關(guān)注的web 2.0公司，隨著ipo的可能性日益增加，facebook也很可能成為商業(yè)上最成功的web 2.0公司。我相信，如果facebook真的成功上市，它對互聯(lián)網(wǎng)行業(yè)的長期影響將不在google之下。
今年5月，facebook平臺正式推出，立即贏得滿堂彩，不到兩個月時間，這個平臺上已經(jīng)匯集了將近2000個應用，facebook的號召力，或者說facebook能給其他互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司帶來的好處可見一斑。不少人認為，facebook正在成為互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上的windows。
【section one】article
why microsoft overpaid for facebook
at first blush, it may seem like microsoft got the short end of the deal when it paid $240 million on wednesday for a puny 1.6% stake in the social-networking site facebook. while facebook is probably the most talked about destination on the web today, the company will be lucky to clear $30 million in profit (on an estimated $140 million in revenues) this year. so what exactly was microsoft buying, other than a lot of hope and, quite possibly, a lot of hype(
n.<美俚> 皮下注射, 騙局,大肆宣傳,大做廣告,癮君子?)
with $23 billion in cash reserves(現(xiàn)金儲蓄[準備], 準備金 現(xiàn)金余額), the redmond, wash.–based software giant can afford to part with a little cash — even if it never earns a penny of it back. and facebook could use the money — to hire more employees and build out the site, whose traffic is currently growing at over 100% per year, according to comscore media metrix, which tracks internet-user demographics(adj.人口統(tǒng)計學的). but what microsoft chief steve ballmer and company desperately need these days is cachet(n.公務印章, 私人印戳, 標記, 威望, 紀念郵戳) in the burgeoning(n.嫩芽v.萌芽) internet economy. and that is exactly what their investment just bought them.
"microsoft has not had a lot of success with their online plays," notes shahid khan, a business strategy consultant at ibb consulting in princeton, n.j. their search engine, windows live, is a distant third to google and yahoo, in both ad revenue and users. they've lost out to google on key strategic deals to buy both youtube and online ad company doubleclick. and while sales of the new operating system, windows vista, have been brisk, reviews have been decidedly mixed.
all that glum news has translated into low morale(n.士氣, 民心) for a company that was once an undisputed titan(n.[希神]提坦, 太陽神, 巨人) of the consumer software business. "microsoft was this monopoly, but now there has been this humbling. they have been cast as the underdog," says greg sterling, an internet analyst at sterling market intelligence.
microsoft's partnership with facebook, which also buys it the rights to broker all international ads, puts the company back in a game that it was struggling to keep up with. by partnering with facebook, it has also kept key competitors at bay. "the investment microsoft made was in keeping google out," says analyst rob enderle. not only will microsoft garner more revenues by serving up ads for facebook (the exact revenue split has not been disclosed, but is probably about 20% going to microsoft) but it also has a great shot at getting its search engine built into facebook.
and while facebook's shiny new $15 billion valuation (up from $10 billion just a month ago) may seem out of this world, it pays to keep in mind that it's still just "monopoly(n.壟斷, 壟斷者, 專利權(quán), 專利事業(yè)) money," notes khan. with hardly any profits to date, the company's actual valuation is all just speculation at the moment. that should become much clearer, once facebook goes public sometime in the next year or so. one thing's for sure, however: the dotcom bubble just got bigger than ever. get ready for another wild ride.
【section three】homework
1. please translate the blue part into chinese.
2. what is the main idear of this article?
3. do you know more about facebook, try to find and share them.
參考答案:
1. “微軟網(wǎng)絡(luò)產(chǎn)品的表現(xiàn)并不出色”，ibb咨詢公司經(jīng)營戰(zhàn)略咨詢家sk說。他們的搜索引擎，windows live,在收入和用戶量都遠落后于google和yahoo，在關(guān)鍵戰(zhàn)略即收購youtube和在線廣告公司doubleclick，微軟輸給了(lose out to)google，在新的操作系統(tǒng)vista已經(jīng)活躍之時，回顧斷然進行。
2. no standard answer.
3. no standard answer.