Surveying China’s livestreaming economy
審視中國的直播經(jīng)濟(jì)
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What was once a niche subculture has evolved into a $5bn business in China. In 2016 nearly half the country’s Internet users watched a livestream. “People’s Republic of Desire”, a documentary directed by Hao Wu, reveals the strange machinations of an online world where people can fulfil their most basic social needs.
曾經(jīng)的利基型次文化，如今已在中國發(fā)展成價(jià)值 50 億美金的行業(yè)。2016 年，這個(gè)國家大約半數(shù)網(wǎng)民都看過網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播?！短撃闳松愤@部由吳皓導(dǎo)演的紀(jì)錄片，揭示了網(wǎng)絡(luò)世界中不尋常的套路，人們?cè)谶@里得以滿足他們最基本的社交需求。
The livestreamers themselves are usually poorly educated and unemployed: they perform online in hope of quick fame and fortune. Big Li migrated from Hubei to Beijing to work as a security guard, before striking it rich livestreaming full-time.
主播們自身通常沒受過什么教育，也沒有工作。他們?cè)诰W(wǎng)上表演，以期一夜成名和賺筆快錢。老李從湖北來到北京當(dāng)保安，之后全職當(dāng)主播發(fā)了橫財(cái)。
At the heart of the film, then, is a familiar story. Livestreaming started off full of creative, entrepreneurial and democratic potential but has since taken on a dystopian feel. Everybody can participate in the competition for clicks, views and tips in China’s attention economy, but the platform dictates the rules of the game. “I was fascinated by how a single platform could profit from rich and poor alike,” Mr Hao tells The Economist. Before pursuing film-making, Mr Hao worked at Alibaba and Yahoo, two internet companies, and he says he is sensitive to the ways in which users can be manipulated for profit.
另外，這部紀(jì)錄片的核心，則是一個(gè)常見的故事。直播最開始充滿了創(chuàng)造的、進(jìn)取的、民主的潛質(zhì)，但隨后卻染上了一層反烏托邦的色彩。在中國的注意力經(jīng)濟(jì)下，每個(gè)人都能參與競爭，追求點(diǎn)擊量、瀏覽量和小禮物，但直播平臺(tái)支配著游戲規(guī)則?！肮鈶{一個(gè)平臺(tái)就能既賺富人的錢又賺窮人的錢，這一點(diǎn)令我著迷?！别┫壬嬖V《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》。投身電影行業(yè)之前，皓先生在阿里巴巴和雅虎兩家互聯(lián)網(wǎng)公司工作過，并且表示他對(duì)操縱用戶進(jìn)而牟利的手段是很敏感的。
His thought-provoking film reveals a bitter irony not limited to livestreaming: that the connection that technology was meant to provide has isolated people, too. Big Li’s family begins to fall apart. “I miss my son,” he confesses in one scene, breaking down in tears in front of millions of his fans. He turns away, as if finally realising that the faceless, flickering icons on his computer screen will not give him what he longs for.
他這部發(fā)人深省的紀(jì)錄片揭示了一種苦澀的諷刺，而且不局限于直播業(yè)：技術(shù)本應(yīng)為人們提供的聯(lián)結(jié)，卻同時(shí)孤立了人們。老李的家庭開始分崩離析?！拔蚁肽钗业膬鹤印！彼谝荒恢辈ギ嬅嬷刑拱渍f，當(dāng)著數(shù)百萬粉絲的面感情失控，流下了眼淚。他轉(zhuǎn)過臉去，仿佛終于意識(shí)到電腦屏幕上那些沒有面容、閃閃發(fā)光的圖標(biāo)，無法給予他，他真正渴望的東西。
—————? 文章來源 / 經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人
重點(diǎn)詞匯
survey/?s??rve?, s?r?ve?/
v. 審視
niche/n?t?/
n. 利基（市場）
machination/?m????ne??n/
n. 陰謀策劃
e.g.
machinations against other board members
fulfil/f?l?f?l/
v. 完成；實(shí)現(xiàn)
e.g.
fulfil one's ambition
fulfil oneself
fame and fortune
名和利
e.g.
risk and reward
friends and foes
migrate/?ma?ɡre?t/
v. 移居
dictate/?d?kte?t/
v. 支配；規(guī)定
manipulate/m??n?pjule?t/
v. 操縱
e.g.
manipulate the public
isolate/?a?s?le?t/
v. 使孤立，使隔離
e.g.
a country which is isolated from the rest of the world
fall apart
解體；崩潰
e.g.
marriages fall apart
fall apart to pieces
confess/k?n?fes/
v. 認(rèn)罪；勉強(qiáng)承認(rèn)
break down
（感情）失控；（健康）垮掉
flicker/?fl?k?r/
v. 閃爍
long/l???/
v. 渴望
e.g.
long for knowledge
long to see some old friends
拓展內(nèi)容
中國網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播行業(yè)
2017 年我國網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播市場營收達(dá)到 304.5 億元，相比 2016 年的 218.5 億元，同比增長 39%。在經(jīng)歷過 2016 年的融資大戰(zhàn)后，直播行業(yè)進(jìn)行了一輪大洗牌并進(jìn)入深度調(diào)整期，部分平臺(tái)或遭到淘汰或嘗試轉(zhuǎn)型。中娛智庫數(shù)據(jù)顯示，截止 2017 年末，全國共有 200 多家公司開展或從事網(wǎng)絡(luò)直播業(yè)務(wù)，較 2016 年減少近百家。
此后，面對(duì)激烈的市場競爭，眾多直播平臺(tái)為了免遭淘汰，展開差異化布局。網(wǎng)絡(luò)游戲直播平臺(tái)如斗魚直播、虎牙直播、熊貓直播、龍珠直播、全民直播等，借助電競賽事鞏固內(nèi)容優(yōu)勢；泛娛樂直播平臺(tái)如映客、花椒直播、一直播、秀色娛樂、騰訊 NOW 直播等，在生活、戶外等內(nèi)容的布局逐步加深；秀場直播平臺(tái)如六間房、YY 等，著重在網(wǎng)紅選秀和才藝表演方面投入資源，聯(lián)合制作娛樂節(jié)目。
2018 年觀看在線直播的用戶仍在平穩(wěn)增長，據(jù) iiMedia Research（艾媒咨詢）數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2017 年在線直播用戶規(guī)模達(dá)到 3.98 億人，增長率為28.4%，預(yù)計(jì) 2018 年在線直播用戶規(guī)模達(dá) 4.60 億人，2019 年達(dá) 5.07 億人。但是，有半數(shù)以上用戶表示無打賞意愿，有明確打賞意愿的用戶只占 12% 左右，其中超過半數(shù)打賞金額不超過 100 元。有觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為，中國在線直播平臺(tái)的用戶紅利逐漸消失，頭部平臺(tái)已經(jīng)形成穩(wěn)定的用戶規(guī)模和運(yùn)營模式，同時(shí)明星主播資源基本被頭部平臺(tái)壟斷，新入局者很難對(duì)頭部平臺(tái)造成強(qiáng)沖擊。而頭部平臺(tái)間的競爭未來或?qū)⑼町惢Ｊ桨l(fā)展、商業(yè)變現(xiàn)等方面轉(zhuǎn)變。
