原文标题：
Internet culture
Famous Birthdays wants to be the Wikipedia for Gen Z
From mega to micro stars, this is a validation that cannot be paid for
网络文化
“名人生日”网站想成为 Z 世代的维基百科
从超级巨星到小明星，这都是无法用金钱买到的认可
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IT WAS ENVISAGED as “Wikipedia for mobile”.
网站的愿景是成为 "移动版维基百科"。
In 2012, five years after the launch of the iPhone, Evan Britton surmised that most idle browsing would soon be done on small screens.
2012年，也就是iPhone发布5年后，埃文·布里顿预见到，大部分休闲浏览将很快转移到小屏幕上。
The American entrepreneur also reckoned there was a gap in the market for a simple website that could supply salient facts about celebrities.
这位美国企业家还认为，市场上需要一个能提供名人重要信息的简洁网站。
Mr Britton began writing biographies for megastars such as Tom Hanks under the domain FamousBirthdays.com.
布里顿先生开始在FamousBirthdays.com域名下给汤姆·汉克斯等巨星写传记。
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Users, however, were also searching for unfamiliar names: people not on IMDb, a movie database, or Wikipedia.
然而，用户也在搜索一些他们不熟悉的名字：即那些在电影数据库IMDb或维基百科上没有词条的人。
Instead, they had large followings on Instagram, Twitter (now X) or Vine (a defunct short-form video platform).
相反，这些人在Instagram、Twitter（现为X）或Vine（一个已停用的短视频平台）上拥有大量粉丝。
Mr Britton started adding these internet figures to the site, as well as other “missed searches”.As a result, the website’s role shifted.
布里顿开始将这些网红以及其他“遗漏搜索”添加到网站上。因此，网站的角色发生了变化。
Famous Birthdays became an evolving, reactive map of the people who matter to Gen Z.
“名人生日”网站变成了一个不断发展的、反应灵敏的 、Z世代重点关注的人物地图。
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The website is an observatory for rising stars.
该网站是一个新星观测站。
The first interview Charli D’Amelio, a TikTok personality (pictured), gave was at the Famous Birthdays office in Santa Monica, California, in 2019.
2019年，TikTok网红查莉·达梅里奥（如图）在加利福尼亚州圣莫尼卡的“名人生日”办公室接受了第一次采访。
Now she has 154m followers on that platform and promotes brands including Dunkin’ Donuts.
如今，她在TikTok上的粉丝数达到了1.54亿，也给“当肯甜甜圈”等品牌做推广宣传。
Being featured on Famous Birthdays is a kind of validation—the sort which, unlike a blue tick on X, cannot be paid for.
被“名人生日”网站收录是一种认可——这种认可不同于X上的蓝V，无法通过金钱购买。
A few hopefuls try to lobby administrators for a page, but many are turned down.
虽然有些渴望成名的人试图游说管理员为他们开设一个页面，但很多人都被拒绝了。
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Famous Birthdays demonstrates the splintered nature of fame in the digital era.
“名人生日”网站展示了数字时代名声的分裂性质。
Gamers and models you may never have heard of can top the “trending” league table.
你可能从未听闻过的游戏玩家和模特也能跻身“热门”排行榜前列。
In a capricious age, it is fascinating to watch a star’s stock rise and fall.
在这个瞬息万变的时代，观察一个名人声望起起落落是一件非常有趣的事情。
Yet the site takes an egalitarian approach, as all entries are roughly the same length. (Inevitably some biographies are more interesting than others.)
然而，该网站采取了一种平等主义的方法，因为所有词条的长度都大致相同。（不可避免地，有些传记比其他传记更引人入胜。）
Brad Pitt is treated with no more reverence than Salish Matter, a 14-year-old YouTuber.
布拉德·皮特和14岁的油管博主萨利什·马特的受尊重程度不相上下。
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For businesses seeking to conquer the teen market, the site is a handy cheat sheet.
对于希望占领青少年市场的企业来说，这个网站是一份可以抄的作业。
Ben Relles, who spent six years commissioning videos for YouTube Originals, used Famous Birthdays as a “go-to source” when scoutingfor content creators.
本·雷尔斯曾在YouTube Originals工作6年，负责定制视频，他在寻找内容创作者时，将“名人生日”网站视为“首选资源”。
Famous Birthdays has monetised its service with Famous Birthdays Pro, which offers real-time reports on which social-media stars are generating buzz and allows talent agencies to contact them.
“名人生日”网站通过“名人生日专业版”实现了服务变现，该服务提供网红引起轰动的实时报告，并帮助人才机构与网红取得联系。
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Mr Britton says he is not interested in making money beyond what is needed to keep the company’s lights on.
布里顿说，他并不热衷于赚钱，只要能够维持公司运营即可。
Yet his ambitions are grand: he hopes Famous Birthdays will join Wikipedia as a “pillar of the internet”.
然而，他的志向远大：他希望“名人生日”网站能与维基百科一起成为“互联网的支柱”。
That is some way off: Wikipedia receives about 4.3bn unique visitors a month, compared with Famous Birthdays’ 20m.
但这还有很长的路要走：维基百科每月的独立访客数量约为43亿，而“名人生日”网站的独立访客数仅为2000万。
This guide to the internet’s budding stars is still an up-and-comer itself.
这个互联网新星指南网站本身也是一颗冉冉升起的新星。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇量488左右）
原文出自：2024年6月15日《The Economist》Culture版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【重点句子】（3个）
Famous Birthdays became an evolving, reactive map of the people who matter to Gen Z. “名人生日”网站变成了一个不断发展的、反应灵敏的 、Z世代重点关注的人物地图。
In a capricious age, it is fascinating to watch a star’s stock rise and fall.
在这个瞬息万变的时代，观察一个名人声望起起落落是一件非常有趣的事情。
Yet his ambitions are grand: he hopes Famous Birthdays will join Wikipedia as a “pillar of the internet”.
然而，他的志向远大：他希望“名人生日”网站能与维基百科一起成为“互联网的支柱”。
自由英语之路
