科技行業及“科技業中心”都飽受攻擊,而且并非事出無因。 大型科技公司為各地消費者帶來了太多的興奮、價值和用處,但現在卻變得不受歡迎。Facebook助長了毀滅民主制度的行為。推特攪亂了輿論環境。蘋果則導致男女老少用戶沉迷于手機。 至于舊金山,游客總以為這座城市迷人、特別而又美麗,但它最近魅力不再。流浪漢在人行道上隨地大小便。富裕且享受特權的科技業者躲在高檔社區和無聊的摩天大樓里。交通混亂不堪,雖然舊金山的自然環境很美,但卻很難讓人欣賞。 全世界都注意到了。《紐約時報》刊發報道,描述了一名在馬克·扎克伯格的垃圾桶里“尋寶”的男子。《華盛頓郵報》指責稱,舊金山傷透了美國人的心。財經評論網站Breakingviews則提出了實際建議,希望科技公司設立獎金鼓勵員工參與公民會議,以此推動員工承擔公民責任。(一線希望:一家喜劇俱樂部稱在谷歌租下場地后不得不搬走,但谷歌稱將對其提供援助。) 不過,這也不是什么新鮮事。嬉皮士毀了舊金山的時候,我沒有親眼目睹。但我經歷了科技行業前輩們、男性程序員們,還有上世紀末讀MBA的人們毀掉舊金山。之后那些人都失業了。不過舊金山的有趣之處在于,盡管街上彌漫著尿味,卻總能自我恢復。 這次舊金山也一樣能恢復。(財富中文網) 譯者:Charlie 審校:夏林 |
It is open season on the technology industry and its capital city. And not without reason. The behemoth tech companies that created so much excitement, value, and utility for consumers everywhere have worn out their welcome for the time being. Facebook abetted the ruination of democracy. Twitter has helped foul the national discourse. Apple has made tech addicts of its users, young and old. As for the city tourists love to think is charming, quirky, and beautiful, it isn’t much of any of those things lately. Homeless people litter its feces-strewn sidewalks. Rich and entitled techies hide in its nicer neighborhoods and sterile skyscrapers. Traffic is so snarled that it’s difficult to get to the gorgeous nature that surrounds the city. The world has noticed. The New York Times profiled a man who hunts for treasure in Mark Zuckerberg’s trash. The Washington Post accuses San Francisco of breaking America’s heart. Breakingviews helpfully suggests tech companies pay an employee bounty to attend civic meetings in the hopes of making citizens out of workers. (A glimmer of hope: Google says it wants to help save a comedy club after it was revealed to be the next tenant of the club’s space.) Then again, this is nothing new. I wasn’t here when the Hippies ruined San Francisco. But I was when the precursors to brogrammers, late 1990s MBAs, spoiled the neighborhood. That was before they all lost their jobs. What’s quaint about San Francisco, despite the smell of urine in the streets, is the city’s ability to reinvent itself. It will happen again. |