金融时报:优步联手脸书用手机讯息叫车

所属教程:金融时报原文阅读

浏览:

2021年10月23日

手机版

扫描二维码方便学习和分享

优步联手脸书用手机讯息叫车

很多人都用Facebook Messenger来约朋友吃饭，这时他们就不用从手机再叫出另一个app，而是直接在Messenger对话中叫车。Facebook也能储存用户的付款资讯，供其他透过脸书进行的购物服务利用。于是，脸书独立的讯息服务扩张至不再只有单纯的沟通功能，Uber更一举成为拥有7亿社群网络用户支撑的服务软体。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

alliance联盟[ə'laɪəns]

disruptive破坏的[dɪs'rʌptɪv]

tie-up合作

concierge看门人[['kɒnsieəʒ]

coupo优惠券['ku:pɒnz]

integration一体化[ɪntɪ'greɪʃn]

mortgage抵押贷款['mɔ:gɪdʒ]

Facebook Messenger in transport move with Uber ride ordering deal （537 words）

By Leslie Hook and Hannah Kuchler in San Francisco

Uber has agreed an alliance with Facebook Messenger that will allow users to order a ride from within the Messenger chat app, in a coup for the disruptive ride-hailing company.

The tie-up gives Uber access to millions of potential new users and marks the first time that Messenger — for which Facebook has ambitions ranging from retail to concierge services — has ventured into transport.

Uber is the biggest ride-hailing company in the world in terms of funding, with about $12bn raised so far — even as lawsuits relating to its treatment of drivers and compliance with local laws work their way through courts in many countries.

The San Francisco-based company has been spending heavily to attract new users by providing them with generous coupons for joining and referring friends, and it will inaugurate the Messenger deal with a $20 coupon for new users.

Its Facebook Messenger service, initially released in 10 cities on Wednesday, will be rolled out across the US before Christmas, with the goal of expanding internationally in 2016. Uber would not disclose whether there was a revenue-sharing agreement with Facebook as part of the deal.

Uber has been working on extending the reach of its transportation service beyond its standalone app, and map apps from Google and Baidu, which is an investor in Uber, already have links that will steer a user to the Uber app.

Facebook's integration is unusual, though, because it works within Messenger, allowing a user to hail a car without ever leaving the chat app.

It forms part of a wider plan to turn Facebook Messenger into a chat platform, along the lines of China's WeChat or Japan's Line. These rival apps offer services such as hailing a cab, applying for a mortgage or even, in the case of Line, communicating with your smart fridge.

Facebook Messenger has more than doubled its userbase in the past year and a half since it was broken out from the main Facebook app. Its more than 700m monthly active users can send gifs and stickers, make voice calls and payments from within the app.

Facebook is also experimenting with a personal virtual assistant within Messenger, called M. It is powered by a combination of artificial intelligence and a team of humans, and can enable users to carry out tasks ranging from sending a friend flowers to cancelling a cable subscription.

Partnering with Uber could help Facebook Messenger persuade more users to hand over their payment details, which it could then store and use to encourage speedy purchases within the app. People who want to sign up for the service but do not already have an Uber account will store their credit card details in Messenger and have them sent securely to Uber to be charged.

The deal will also help differentiate Messenger in a crowd of chat apps, including Facebook-owned WhatsApp, which focuses on being a fast and simple text replacement service.

Seth Rosenberg, product manager for Messenger, said the agreement with Uber was the first it planned in the new category of transport. Messenger is also working with airline KLM to show boarding passes within the app but Mr Rosenberg would not say whether Facebook would strike deals with Uber's rivals such as Lyft.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.Where does Facebook want to try recently?

A.retail

B.transport

C.media

D.P2P

答案(1)

2.Who is the biggest ride-hailing company in terms of funding all over the world?

A.Ola

B.Grabtaxi

C.Lyft

D.Uber