《紐約時報》將短信直播里約奧運

The New York Times has embarked on a new form of storytelling to enhance its coverage of the Summer Olympics: Two-way text-messaging.

《紐約時報》爲吸引讀者獨闢蹊徑，推出新型新聞產品——以雙向短信形式直擊夏季奧運現場。

For two weeks, deputy sports editor Sam Manchester will be sending text messages from the Olympic Games in Rio to readers who sign up for the service.

在爲期兩週的奧運會中，體育版面副主編山姆•曼徹斯特將於里約現場向訂閱了該項服務的讀者發送實時短信。

Unlike email alerts or push notifications, these texts will give readers an informal, behind-the-scenes look at the Games, almost as if they had a friend texting them directly. Readers can also write back to Manchester. And while he won't be able to reply to each message, the responses can be used to personalize each reader's experience.

與電子郵件和消息推送的形式不同，短信新聞能以輕鬆隨意的方式向用戶講述奧運幕後的故事，就像是一個朋友給自己直接發送消息。與此同時，讀者也可回覆曼徹斯特的短信。儘管記者無法逐條回覆，他的迴應也能爲部分讀者帶來個性化的體驗。

The innovation is an effort to reach readers on the platforms that are central to their lives, Andrew Phelps, the Times' Director of Personalization, told CNNMoney.

該項創舉旨在貼近依賴短信平臺的讀者羣，《紐約時報》個性策劃總監安德魯•菲爾普斯告訴CNN財經欄目的記者。

"For a lot of users, messaging apps are the new homescreen," said Phelps, who came up with the idea. "We've spent a lot of time thinking about how we might tell stories through that lens and bring readers closer to the journalism and to the journalists."

“通訊應用已經成爲許多手機用戶的核心消費產品，”菲爾普斯解釋道，他是這項創意的獻計者。“我們花了很多精力研究如何利用這些應用報導新聞，拉近新聞記者和讀者間的距離。”

"People have asked, 'Couldn't you just do this on Twitter,'" Phelps continued. "We could, except this is a much more personal relationship. We can show up in the same place as your friend, your mom and your work colleague."

“人們問‘你們難道不能通過推特報導新聞嗎，’”菲爾普斯補充道。“並非不可，只是短信報導能夠與讀者建立起更親密的關係。我們的實況新聞可以和讀者的朋友、媽媽和同事的短信出現在同樣的消息對話欄裏。”

Readers who sign up for the service receive a text that reads, "Hey. Sam here from the NYT sports desk. I'll be your personal guide to the Rio Olympics (so you don't have to go)...." (Manchester also makes liberal use of emojis.)

訂閱了該項服務的讀者會收到一條這樣的短信，“嘿，我是《紐約時報》體育欄目的山姆。我將成爲替你遊覽里約奧運的私人嚮導（所以你不用親自去啦）...”（曼徹斯特還會在短信中使用可愛風趣的表情符號）

For now, Manchester said he plans to send three to four texts a day. Along with texts, he'll send photos, GIFs, motion graphics and videos, he said.

曼徹斯特目前表示，他計劃每天發送三到四條短信。除了文字信息，他還會附上照片，GIF動圖，現場動畫以及相關錄像。

There will also be texts that prompt readers to respond with a choice. For instance, "What question should I ask this athlete?" or "Which team do you think will win this competition?" Readers' responses will be placed into groups by a team in New York, and Manchester can then write tailored responses to each group.

他還會發送短信與讀者互動，鼓勵他們參與投票。例如，“你認爲我應該向這位運動員問什麼？”又或者“你認爲哪支隊伍能夠贏得這場比賽？”紐約的新聞團隊將根據回覆的消息將讀者分組，這樣曼徹斯特就可以分組定製回覆了。

If it works, Manchester said he could envision the service being used for other major events, like the Republican and Democratic conventions and The Super Bowl.

如果這真能受到讀者歡迎，曼徹斯特說他能預見，此類服務往後在其他重大場合中也會大放異彩，比如共和黨和民主黨的大會，又或是超級碗（美國國家美式足球聯盟年度冠軍賽）。

"Obviously this is foreign territory for me and for us, so we're feeling it out as we go along," he said. "But it feels like a cool way to interact with our people, and to make the Times feel a little more user-friendly."

“毋庸置疑，對於我和絕大部分讀者來說，巴西都是神祕異域，所以以這種方式傳遞新聞能讓讀者感覺我們在共同遊歷，體驗奧運，”他表示，“這種與讀者交流的形式很酷，也能提高《紐約時報》的用戶友好度。”