《權(quán)力的游戲》IT公司版

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will return next month for the fifth season of epic battles, exhilarating wordplay, and surprisingly well-groomed stars. But beyond the show’s unmatched ability to balance high- and low-brow entertainment, what makes “Game of Thrones” and its source material “A Song of Ice and Fire,” so great is how accurately it reflects our own world (minus all the dragons).

《權(quán)力的游戲》第五季將于下月回歸熒屏。這部場面火爆、妙語連珠、明星大放異彩的美劇深受大家喜愛最大的原因，也許就是它如實(shí)的反映了世界的殘酷吧(當(dāng)然，那幾條龍不包括在內(nèi))。

So what about the tech world? Read on the piece written in 2013 to learn what the biggest tech companies tell us about “Game of Thrones,” what “Game of Thrones” tells us about the biggest tech companies.

那么科技界的情況如何呢?重讀這篇2013年的舊文，看看幾大科技公司與《權(quán)力的游戲》之間有什么相似之處。

Google / House Stark

谷歌 / 斯塔克家族

 

 

Google’s motto is “Don’t be evil,” and if there’s one family that at least claims to operate under non-evil principles, it’s House Stark.

Google的行事準(zhǔn)則就是：不為惡。劇中唯一能與這個(gè)準(zhǔn)則匹配的就是斯塔克家族。

But in Westeros as in Mountain View, reality doesn’t always match perception. And after the Lannister-led execution of the family’s patriarch Ned, his son Robb falls just short of the family ethos, breaking an oath to a crucial ally.

但是，無論在劇中的維斯特洛還是現(xiàn)實(shí)中谷歌總部所在地山景城，理想與現(xiàn)實(shí)總無法契合。在蘭尼斯特家族處死家族首領(lǐng)奈德后，其子羅勃未能繼承家族精神，對(duì)一位重要盟友失信。

Meanwhile, the last year hasn’t exactly been evil-free for Google. The company admitted its Street View project had violated unsuspecting users’ privacy.

同時(shí)Google在過去的一年也的確干了點(diǎn)壞事，比如，承認(rèn)谷歌街景侵犯了用戶的隱私。

In the coming months, both Robb and Google may be forced to deal with the consequences of their betrayal. But in the meantime, both families continue to make strides in key battlegrounds, as Robb keeps up his winning record on literal battlefields, and Google’s Android OS takes chunks out of Apple’s mobile market share .

接下來的一個(gè)月，Google和斯塔克家族的羅勃都要為自己違背諾言而付出代價(jià)。好消息是，正如斯塔克家族在戰(zhàn)場上節(jié)節(jié)進(jìn)取，谷歌的安卓系統(tǒng)也再度開始蠶食蘋果的移動(dòng)手機(jī)市場份額。

But just as the rulers in King’s Landing still pose an existential threat to the Starks, there’s one area where Google has failed to contend: Social.

不過，在斯塔克家族面臨來自君臨城實(shí)際威脅的同時(shí)，谷歌也有一個(gè)弱點(diǎn)：社交。

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Facebook / House Lannister

Facebook / 蘭尼斯特家族

 

 

Both Facebook and House Lannister are led by boy kings who are feared and mocked in equal measure. Both have a ton of cash, but also a ton of expenses (war isn’t cheap whether it’s fought with wildfire or lines of code). And while both ruling houses have a huge number of subjects, those subjects don’t always have a whole lot of trust in their overlords.

Facebook和蘭尼斯特家族有很多的相似點(diǎn)，比如說他們的統(tǒng)治者都很年輕，有人畏懼也有人嘲笑;他們都很有錢，花錢也非常大方(畢竟戰(zhàn)爭可不是花點(diǎn)小錢就能打贏的);同時(shí)家族的實(shí)力非常強(qiáng)大，有很多的用戶(居民)，然而這些人并不完全認(rèn)同他們的統(tǒng)治者。

Like the Lannisters, Facebook is arguably better at conquering than at ruling. It’s got all those users, sure, but Facebook needs to make sure its product is compelling enough that people keep coming back for more (not a simple proposition). “Power resides where men believe it resides,” says the eunuch Varys in the show’s second season. And if Facebook can’t make its billion users into true believers again, that 10-digit figure will be nothing more than a number.

正如蘭尼斯特家族一樣，F(xiàn)acebook也是更加善于征服而不是統(tǒng)治。雖然用戶很多，但是Facebook還應(yīng)該想多點(diǎn)辦法留住他們。正如閹人瓦里大人在第二季說的：“眾望所指，權(quán)力所棲。”如果Facebook不能贏回用戶的信任，那么巨大的用戶群只是一張空頭支票。

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Apple / Stannis Baratheon

蘋果 / 斯坦尼斯•拜拉席恩

 

 

When Tim Cook, successor to the throne of Steve Jobs, gave his first TV interview as Apple CEO in Grand Central Station, hardly anyone noticed him. Obviously, a recognizable face and a dose of charisma is hardly a prerequisite for being a good CEO. But the iconography of Steve Jobs was so tied to Apple’s identity, many felt that when Jobs died, a little piece of Apple died with him.

當(dāng)蘋果的新任總裁提姆•庫克出現(xiàn)在中央車站接受首個(gè)電視采訪時(shí)，沒幾個(gè)人能認(rèn)出他。雖然說領(lǐng)袖魅力并不是統(tǒng)治一個(gè)科技帝國的最重要因素，但是隨著蘋果標(biāo)志人物喬布斯的去世，蘋果的光輝也暗淡了一點(diǎn)。

This no-win situation for Cook is echoed perfectly in “Thrones.” After the death of the popular, charismatic Robert Baratheon, nobody could muster much excitement for his brother Stannis, nevermind that he was the rightful heir to his throne. Icons simply aren’t replaceable. So as Stannis suffered repeated indignities from those who would deny him the throne, Cook faced his own revolt from lordlings (read: shareholders). Then there was Apple’s disastrous Maps launch, and the company’s plummeting share price.

這種落敗的場景在劇中也有完美呼應(yīng)。在受人愛戴、頗具魅力的羅伯特•拜拉席恩死后，沒有人對(duì)斯坦尼斯•拜拉席恩的繼位表示欣喜，雖然他是合法的繼承者。標(biāo)志人物都是不可替代的。所以斯坦尼斯不斷受到反對(duì)他繼位者的侮辱，而庫克也因?yàn)樘O果發(fā)布了問題重重的蘋果地圖受到了股東的指責(zé)，股價(jià)一路下跌。

But don’t count either of them out yet. Just as Apple still has the best-selling smartphone in the world, Stannis still has that crazy witch lady who makes shadow monsters come out of her uterus.

但是不要對(duì)他們灰心喪氣，正如斯坦尼斯還有那個(gè)紅頭發(fā)巫師助他一臂之力，蘋果的手機(jī)仍然是世界上最受歡迎的。

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Amazon / Daenerys Targaryen

亞馬遜 / 丹尼莉絲•坦格里安

 

 

On first glance you may not see much in common between Jeff Bezos and Daenerys Targaryen. But take a closer look, and you’ll see that both belong to clans that have been around forever. Both are continually written off and yet keep finding unlikely ways to stay relevant. And they both use the same approach when dealing with rival merchants, which comes down to, “Join us, or I’ll vanquish you and your undying souls with dragonfire.” (Or in Amazon’s case, “Join us or you can’t use our API anymore.”)

也許一開始看不到Jeff Bezos和丹尼莉絲之間有什么相似點(diǎn)，不過細(xì)看之下，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)他們都屬于永遠(yuǎn)打不倒的。亞馬遜和塔格利安家族一樣總是在慘敗之后通過不可思議的方式存活下去。他們對(duì)付敵人的方法都差不多：加入我的陣營則生，反對(duì)我則死。(對(duì)于亞馬遜來說則是：加入我，不然你用不了我的API)

Just as the dragon mother rewards her subjects for their loyalty, Amazon makes its customers feel loved with streaming movies that rival Netflix, free shipping, and affordable tablets.

亞馬遜和丹尼莉絲都能讓他們的用戶(子民)感覺到溫馨，比如說便宜的閱讀器、海量的視頻、免費(fèi)的配送服務(wù)等等。

Yahoo / House Greyjoy

雅虎/ 葛雷喬伊家族

 

 

When Marissa Mayer took over as Yahoo’s CEO, it left many people scratching their heads. Why would a woman at the height of her career as a Google executive leave for such a maybe-doomed train-wreck?

很多人無法理解為什么Marissa Mayer選擇在職業(yè)高峰期離開Google投奔即將滅亡的雅虎。

That’s the same way readers of the “Song of Ice and Fire” series felt when Theon Greyjoy betrayed his adopted clan by joining up with the deluded, backwards-thinking jackasses of the Iron Islands. For Theon, the move ended in ridicule, accidental incest, and betrayal at the hands of his own men. Of course Mayer is much more clever than poor Theon Greyjoy. But if Yahoo’s prior history with CEOs is any indication, she could suffer a similar fate.

就如很多人無法理解，為什么希恩要叛變收養(yǎng)他的斯塔克家族，與落后孤立的鐵群島為伍。希恩的叛變是一個(gè)不明智的選擇，最終栽在自己部下的腳下;Marissa雖然聰明得多，但是鑒于雅虎之前CEO的命運(yùn)，Marissa也有可能面臨相同的命運(yùn)。

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Buzzfeed / Tyrion

Buzzfeed / 小惡魔提瑞昂

 

 

His whole life, people have underestimated him, laughed at him, called him names. And yet the dwarf son of Tywin Lannister has proven himself to be the most cunning of all of Westeros’ schemers. Meanwhile, Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti continues to fight conventional wisdom, proving that funny, viral listicles, and investigative journalism can coexist (and rack up millions of pageviews).

小惡魔一生都被人看低、被嘲笑、被辱罵，然而他最終卻證明自己是最精明的陰謀者。Buzzfeed的總裁Jonah Peretti也仍在走非常規(guī)路線吸引眼球，證明搞笑與嚴(yán)肅的調(diào)查新聞能共存(還能吸引數(shù)千萬瀏覽量)。

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Twitter / Ravens and crows

推特 / 信鴉

 

 

Exhibit A for why Westeros is way cooler than our universe: Here, we send short messages named after the sound birds make. In Westeros, they send actual birds.

維斯特洛各國傳遞消息的方式比我們酷多了。我們通過一個(gè)用鳥叫聲命名的平臺(tái)發(fā)送信息，人家用的是真鳥。

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The Paypal Mafia / Varys, Littlefinger, Pycelle

Paypal / 黑手黨、瓦里、小指頭、派賽爾

 

 

Despite everyone else’s fighting and scheming, these are the guys who really run the show.

其他人的謀劃、戰(zhàn)斗都算不了什么，這些人才是真正撐起這部劇的骨干。

Vocabulary:

epic: 史詩般的

unmatched: 難以匹敵的

patriarch: 首領(lǐng)

betrayal: 背叛

conquer: 征服

charisma: 魅力

underestimate: 低估

cunning: 狡猾的