我們一直不曾改變 "即時滿足經濟"並非新鮮事

Today’s consumers want everything faster. Just like they always have.

如今的消費者什麼都想越快越好，從來沒變過。

“Why can’t you just wait for a baked potato?”

“你連烤馬鈴薯都不能等嗎？”

That was my grandmother speaking to my father, probably in 1984 or 1985. He had been trying to convince her to purchase (and use) a microwave oven. She wasn’t having it. Not so much because of radiation fears, but rather because a baked potato was supposed to take nearly one hour to cook in a conventional oven. She eventually relented. Got a remote control for the TV too.

這是我奶奶對我父親說的話，時間大概是在1984或1985年。父親一直想說服奶奶買一臺微波爐來用，但奶奶當時並沒有被說服，不是因爲害怕輻射，而是因爲她覺得烤馬鈴薯就應該在傳統烤箱中烤一小時。不過最終她還是讓步了，還給電視配了一個遙控器。

I was reminded of this today when reading Liz Gannes’ discussion of the instant gratification economy, otherwise known as the “Uber for X” phenomenon. The notion of ‘on-demand’ shifting from the virtual to the physical. She wonders if it’s just a Bay Area bubble, or if ordinary America is on the verge of a mobile-induced lifestyle change.

我想起這件事，是因爲今天讀到了利茲o加恩斯探討“即時滿足經濟”（又稱“Uber for X”現象）的文章。“隨叫隨到”的概念從虛擬變成了現實。加恩斯在想，到底這只是舊金山灣區的泡沫，還是普通美國人也正處在手機引發的生活方式變革的邊緣。

There also have been various stories over the past few months about how all of this is a reflection of our collective laziness. Or of short attention spans. Or of millennial self-indulgence.

過去數月發生的各種不同的故事，都折射出我們的集體惰性，或者是注意力難以持久，又或者是千禧世代的自我放縱。

But it doesn’t seem to me that today’s ‘instant gratification’ technologies are scratching any different itch than did that microwave oven or remote control. Let alone the airplane, automobile, dishwasher, gas grills, McDonald’s, word processing software or countless other innovations that have become part of almost everyone’s daily lives.

不過在我看來，今天的“即時滿足”技術和以前的微波爐或遙控器沒有什麼分別，更別提飛機、汽車、洗衣機、燃氣烤架、麥當勞、文字處理軟件，或者是其它無數的創新。這些創新已經成了幾乎所有人日常生活的一部分。

The most pervasive consumer tech advancements always have been about speed and efficiency. Nearly two decades before Fidelity Investments pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into Uber, the firm created black car service Boston Coach. Same pain point and founding rationale, just executed differently. Did people worry when Boston Coach launched that we were too lazy to wait for a taxi outside of the airport, or so isolated that no friends or family were willing to pick us up? And, if so, is there anyone today who still would decry call-ahead airport pickup services?

最有滲透力的的消費者技術進步總是與速度和效率有關。在富達投資（Fidelity Investments）向Uber注資數億美元之前約20年，Uber就創建了提供黑色轎車服務的波士頓轎車（Boston Coach）公司。出發點和創建的依據都一樣，只是實施方式不同。在波士頓轎車成立時，有人擔心過我們太懶，連在機場外等出租車都不願意，或者是我們太孤僻，沒有朋友或家人願意來接我們嗎？即便如此，現在還會有人譴責機場預約接機服務嗎？

As time becomes a more and more precious commodity — particularly with technology blurring many of our home/work lines of demarcation — it isn’t surprising that we continue to ask technology to take over some of our more mundane tasks (particularly if that technology creates new service jobs). Yes, there can be inherent value in doing things for yourself, but there also can be more value in spending 15 extra minutes in the office or playing with your kid or sleeping. Picking up your own dry-cleaning isn’t exactly the same as learning to fish.

隨着時間成爲越來越寶貴的商品——尤其是在技術已經將很多家庭和工作界線變得模糊不清時——不斷讓技術替我們承擔更多的日常事務（特別是在技術可以創造出新的服務崗位時），也就不足爲怪了。沒錯，自己親手做些事情可能有其內在價值，但是騰出額外15分鐘來工作、陪孩子玩耍或者睡覺，可能更有價值。去幹洗店取衣服和學習釣魚完全是兩碼事。

Which brings us back to my grandmother. Or actually my grandfather, in this case. When he was a first-generation American teenager in the 1930’s, he worked in his dad’s small grocery store. One of his jobs was to take telephone orders from customers, and then walk (or possibly bike) the orders to customer homes. Things are changing. But not quite so much as we might all think…

又回到我奶奶的例子，準確的說應該是我爺爺。在20世紀30年代，我爺爺是第一代在美國出生的青少年。他在他父親的小雜貨店工作，工作任務之一就是從客戶那裏接收電話訂單，然後走路（也可能是騎車）按訂單送貨上門。世事總在變化，但這變化並非總是像我們想象的那樣巨大……