经济学人下载:克隆入侵网络公司

Internet companies
互联网企业

Attack of the clones
克隆来袭

American web firms are battling foreign hordes that look remarkably similar
美国互联网企业正在抵抗大量海外相似企业来袭

Aug 6th 2011 | BERLIN AND SAN FRANCISCO | from the print edition

ON AUGUST 1st Airbnb, an online marketplace that helps people rent rooms, admitted that it had mishandled a complaint from someone whose apartment was ransacked by one of its renters. Brian Chesky, the firm’s boss, begged forgiveness and announced that from August 15th Airbnb would cover up to $50,000-worth of damage caused by its customers, subject to certain (as yet unannounced) conditions.  Soon afterwards 9flats, a rival based in Berlin, said it, too, would offer insurance.

8月1日，Airbnb，一家在线房屋租赁公司，承认他们错误的处理了一起客户投诉，这位客户的公寓被其中一名租客洗劫一空。公司的老板Brian Chesky恳求客户的原谅，并宣布从当月15日起，客户所遭受的损失，只要符合一定的条件（具体是哪些条件还未公布），Airbnb将会为他们买单，承担高达5万美元的费用。随即，一家总部在柏林的竞争对手9flats也宣布他们将为客户提供保险。

An Airbnb executive gripe s that such behaviour is typical of 9flats, which he says copies much of what Airbnb does. (9flats admits to being “inspired” by American e-commerce, but insists that its website and pricing model differ from Airbnb’s.) Other American web superstars, such as Groupon, a discount firm, and Kickstarter, which crowdsources funding for arts and technology projects, have also been attacked by “clones” (services set up in foreign markets that are almost identical to the American originals). As the cost of computing power plummet s and the prices of hot start-ups soar—Airbnb was recently valued at an eye-watering $1.3 billion—the clone wars will get bloody.

Airbnb一位高层抱怨称这是9flats的一贯手法，对方已经抄袭了Airbnb的很多做法。（9flats承认确实受到了美国电子商务的“启发”，但坚持自己的网站和定价模式与Airbnb不同。）其它的美国互联网明星企业，像Groupon（一个团购网站）和Kickstarter（一家为艺术和技术项目提供公众集资平台的网站），也同样受到了“克隆企业”（那些在海外市场成立，却与美国本土企业几乎一样的公司。）的困扰。由于计算机计算成本锐减和热门创业企业受到的热捧——Airbnb最近就被估计市值高达13亿美元，这场反克隆的战争将会愈加血腥。