搞怪视频应用遇到病毒式传播

搞怪视频应用遇到病毒式传播

“原版小咖秀”Dubsmash在2014年11月上架后，只过了七天时间，下载量便登上国内 App Store 应用榜榜首，证明了搞怪对嘴表演视频模式在病毒传播方面的威力。随后迅速席卷英、法、荷等29国，直到现在依旧在各国的娱乐和视频类排行榜中位居前列。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

millennials 千禧一代

prominent 著名的

unleashing 释放

demonstrate 证明

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Dubsmash aiming to spread viral app’s appeal and generate revenue （604words）

By Murad Ahmed, European Technology Correspondent

* * *

It is the latest viral sensation since the last viral sensation, popularised by celebrities and millennials to create the perfect package for the selfie age.

Dubsmash is a free app that allows people to use their smartphone to take short videos of themselves lip-syncing lyrics from songs or miming lines from a movie, and then post these clips online instantly.

Since launching in November 2014, it has been downloaded more than 75m times, and topped the app charts in 78 countries, making it one of the fastest growing new social media platforms yet.

Millions have viewed online clips by teenagers and celebrities on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. Actresses Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara can be seen lip-syncing to Taylor Swift’s hit song I Knew You Were Trouble. Model Cara Delevingne has used it to recreate a scene from the animated film Chicken Run.

The clips are usually funny, but can Dubsmash become more than a good laugh?

On Monday, the company raised $5.5m from a group leading tech investors. The funding round was led by Index Ventures, the venture capital firm, and included Chris Sacca, the prominent US venture capitalist who previously backed Facebook, Instagram and Uber, Riccardo Zacconi, chief executive of King Digital, makers of game Candy Crush Saga, and Sunstone Capital, the Copenhagen-based venture capital firm.

The Berlin-based Dubsmash believes it can become the next “communications platform”.

“We found something that people love and we’re unleashing something they haven’t done before,” says Roland Grenke, co-founder.

Mr Grenke, 27, co-founded Dubsmash with Daniel Taschik, 27, and Jonas Drüppel, 25. The group has 15 employees and expects to double its staff in the next six months.

The company says its app has become popular with three types of people: children and teenagers; high-profile individuals who want to reach large fanbases; and parents who use it to engage with their kids.

Dubsmash hopes to draw revenues from marketers that want to reach audiences that are abandoning magazines and television sets for smartphones and tablets.

The company has agreements with media companies, including NBCUniversal, Disney and Paramount Pictures, which have used the app to promote upcoming shows and movies. It declines to disclose financial terms behind those deals.

In March, pop star Rihanna used Dubsmash to debut her latest single B**** Better Have My Money, uploading audio clips from the track and encouraging fans to lip-sync along to them.

Danny Rimer, a partner at Index Ventures, admits that Dubsmash has yet to prove that it can become a social media phenomenon in the manner of WhatsApp or Snapchat, saying that the company must show the capacity to draw users back so that people regularly use the app.

“If you look at the size of the funding round, they’re not claiming ‘we are Snapchat’ or ‘we are Twitter’ . . . The financial side becomes worthy if the team can demonstrate long-term usage of the platform,” he says.

But Mr Grenke says he and his partners are trying to create a multibillion-dollar business. “I think we’ve found something in nine months that is working in different parts of the world, in different regions and cultures, so I think there is a large market for this type of communication,” he says.

Another challenge may lie ahead: Dubsmash users have uploaded about 10m audio clips, including unlicensed tracks from television shows, songs and films opening up the possibility of future legal battles over copyright.

The company has begun working with media companies to resolve rights issues, with plans to create a “take-down notice” model, similar to that created by YouTube, whereby the company removes clips when asked to by license holders.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1. How can users imitate the lyrics by Dubsmash?

a. sing a song

b. lip-syncing

c. make up

d. read lines

2. Which of the following platform is not mentioned to view the online clips?

a. YouTube

b. Twitter

c. MSN

d. Instagram

3. Which country invented the Dubsmash?

a. America

b. Britain

c. China

d. Germany k

4. What is the purpose of parents using the app?

a. to engage with their kids

b. to reach large fanbases

c. enjoy themselves

d. make young friends

[1] 答案b. lip-syncing

解释：文章第二段，通过同步口型模仿歌曲或影视片段。

[2] 答案c. MSN

解释：文章第四段。

[3] 答案d. Germany k

解释：“柏林制造”的Dubsmash相信，它会成为下一个社交平台。

[4] 答案a. to engage with their kids

解释：Dubsmash的用户群主要分三类，其中家长是为了更好的与孩子交流。