【中文标题】腾讯对用户说“要么与我同行，要么与我为敌”
【原文标题】Tencent Tells Users ‘You’re Either With Us, Or Against Us’
【登载媒体】福布斯
【原文作者】Robert Olsen
【原文链接】http://blogs.forbes.com/robertolsen/2010/11/04/tencent-tells-users-youre-either-with-us-or-against-us/
中国最大的互联网公司在星期四向它的用户发布了一个最后通牒，这个行为引发了网民的强烈不满。
腾讯宣布它的即时通讯软件QQ将不会在安装有它恨之入骨的竞争对手奇虎360的反病毒软件的电脑上运行。
腾讯的一封公开信上说，奇虎360的软件“绑架”了QQ的安全机制，使其无法正常运行。“我们无法保证您QQ账号的安全。我们还是决定不能让您的电脑桌面成为“战场”，而把选择软件的权利交给您。”
该公司的决定以及接下来的新闻发布会成为了腾讯的公关恶梦，一张公司高层管理人员声泪俱下的照片很快在网络上传播开。一些观察人士认为这种吸引同情的举措是完全失败的，是用它的支配地位来迫使用户抛弃奇虎360的安全软件。腾讯占有中国通讯软件市场80％的份额，和在线游戏市场20％的份额。
相关的新闻和不断升级的争论让腾讯股价下跌了3.1％，目前牌价是181.30港币（23.40美元）。
腾讯与奇虎360之间的纠纷揭示出，一些公司在网络上使用卑劣的手段来打击其竞争对手。随着中国互联网公司不断增加服务类型、强行进入其它公司的业务领域，它们之间的竞争越来越激烈。
尽管腾讯和奇虎360并未直接交火，但是它们的安全程序已经封锁的对方的软件。两家公司都在使用用户电脑弹出窗口的方式来谴责对方的欺骗行为。
奇虎360是中国最大的免费安全软件供应商，董事长兼CEO周鸿祎曾经创立3721网络公司，这是一家中国的关键词搜索引擎，在2003年被雅虎收购。之后，周成为雅虎中国的总裁，他的一句名言是：“我在中国的工作就是要痛打谷歌。”
近期，奇虎360谴责腾讯违反用户的安全协议，其产品可以扫描用户的硬盘，收集私人信息。它的一个产品叫做“360扣扣保镖”，专门阻挡QQ的扫描和信息弹出功能。
作为回应，腾讯把360告上法庭，起诉它散布虚假信息，破坏公司名誉。今年早些时候，腾讯开始推出一款软件“QQ医生”，它提供了与奇虎360软件相同的一些功能。
上周，腾讯的亿万富翁创立者成为奇虎360弹出窗口的攻击对象，质问为什么身家300亿人民币（44亿美元）的CEO马化腾还在领取住房补贴。
消息中提到，据报道，马一直在领取政府每月3100元人民币（463美元）的住房补贴。
尽管一系列的高层管理人员，包括腾讯、华为、中心和TCL，都被指出是深圳旨在吸引“高级人才”的补贴项目的受益者，但是马遭到了最强烈的攻击。
腾讯随后发表了一份声明，说这笔钱将被捐赠给一个慈善基金，马曾经把100万人民币（15万美元）的深圳市长奖金捐给这个基金会。但是经过了这几个难熬的星期，腾讯和它的创始人的名誉恐怕不会这么轻易地被挽回。
原文：
China’s largest Internet company provoked a sharp backlash from netizens on Thursday after issuing an ultimatum to its users.
Tencent announced that its instant messaging service QQ will no longer operate on computers installed with the anti-virus software run by its bitter rival, Qihoo 360.
An open letter from Tencent stated that Qihoo 360’s software “hijacks” the security measures in QQ causing it to lose its ability to function properly. “We can’t guarantee your QQ account is safe,” the company’s statement said.
“We don’t want to make your personal computer into a battleground and give you the option to choose them or us,” Tencent added.
The company’s decision and subsequent press conference turned into another public-relations gaffe for Tencent, as a photo of one of the company’s tearful executives quickly went viral afterward. Some observers saw it as an unconvincing attempt to elicit sympathy while using its dominant position to compel users to ditch Qihoo 360’s security software. Tencent has an overwhelming 80% share of China’s instant messaging market and 27% of the online games revenue.
News of the announcement and the swirling controversy pushed Tencent’s shares down 3.1% to 181.30 Hong Kong dollars ($23.40).
The dispute between Tencent and Qihoo 360 illustrates some of the unsavory practices used by many companies on the Web seeking to undermine their rivals. The competition between Chinese Internet companies is getting increasingly fierce as they add new services and muscle into each other’s territory.
Although Tencent and Qihoo 360 don’t compete directly with one another, their security programs have been blocking each other. Both companies recently began creating pop-up messages that appeared on users’ computers accusing each other of using deceitful practices.
Qihoo 360 is China’s largest provider of free security software in China. The company’s chairman and CEO, Zhou Hongyi, was the founder of 3721 Networks, a Chinese keyword search engine that was bought by Yahoo in 2003. After the acquisition, Zhou was the president of Yahoo China and was once famously quoted for stating, “My job in China is to kick Google’s ass.”
Recently, Qihoo 360 had accused Tencent of violating users’ privacy by scanning their hard-drives and collecting personal information. One of its products called 360 Koukou Guard was specifically intended to block QQ’s scans and pop-up messages.
In response, Tencent is reportedly suing 360 for spreading false information that damages its reputation. Earlier this year, Tencent began promoting a program called QQ Doctor that offered some of the same functions as Qihoo 360’s software.
Last week, Tencent’s billionaire founder was the target of a Qihoo 360 pop-up that appeared on users’ computers questioning why CEO Ma Huateng is worth nearly 30 billion yuan ($4.4 billion), yet still claims state housing allowances.
The message was prompted by reports that Ma was receiving a housing subsidy from the government of 3,100 yuan ($463) per month.
Although a number of senior executives from Tencent, Huawei, ZTE and TCL were also reportedly benefactors of the program that was designed to attract “high-level talent” to Shenzhen, Ma was the focus of the strongest criticism.
Tencent later released a statement that said the money would be donated to the same charity foundation that received Ma’s earlier award from the Mayor of Shenzhen of 1 million yuan ($150,000). But after a rough couple of weeks, the damage to Tencent’s reputation and that of its founder can’t be undone so easily. |
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发表于 2010-11-9 13:56
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发表于 2010-11-9 14:04
