以下是将原文翻译成中文： 这期名为“Acquired”的播客节目深入探讨了Facebook收购Instagram的事件，这是科技行业的一个关键时刻，它开启了独角兽时代，并重塑了社交媒体格局。 Ben Gilbert 和 David Rosenthal 解剖了这次收购，对其进行了分类、分析了潜在的替代方案、识别了关键的科技主题，并最终对这笔交易进行了评分。 两位主持人首先回顾了收购的基本事实。 Facebook 于 2012 年 4 月以 10 亿美元的价格收购了 Instagram。当时，Instagram 仅有 13 名员工、没有收入，以及 3000 万用户。鉴于当时十亿美元的估值非常罕见，这个估值令人震惊。在收购之前，Instagram 刚刚完成了一轮B轮融资，对公司的估值达到数亿美元，这突显了最终收购价格的令人惊讶之处。值得注意的是，当时 Instagram 每位员工拥有 230 万用户，这说明了其高效的可扩展性。截至 2015 年，该平台每位员工拥有约 260 万用户，总用户数为 4 亿。 该播客随后探讨了为什么这次收购对 Facebook 至关重要。虽然 Facebook 在桌面社交网络领域占据主导地位，但它在移动转型方面步履维艰，其移动应用程序也是一个糟糕的 HTML5 混合物。该公司意识到，它正在变成一个工具，而不是一个让用户，尤其是年轻人群体，感到有趣的地方。像 Instagram 和后来的 WhatsApp 这样的应用程序凭借其用户参与度吸引了用户，而这正是 Facebook 需要抓住的，以继续推动广告收入。与 Facebook 杂乱的桌面界面相比，Instagram 提供了一种简单、移动优先的体验，包含沉浸式的全屏照片。 在分析收购的分类时，Ben 认为这次收购属于产品类别，因为 Facebook 决定让 Instagram 独立发展。然而，David 认为它属于技术类别，因为它成为 Facebook 移动战略的重要组成部分。如果没有 Instagram，Facebook 可能不会积极寻求其他移动收购，例如 WhatsApp，也可能不会构建其移动应用程序套件，包括拥有 7 亿活跃用户的 Messenger。 该播客随后考虑了如果收购没有发生，潜在的替代现实。虽然 Instagram 的用户群增长可能较慢，但他们可能缺乏作为 Facebook 一部分所带来的资源和优先级。Instagram 的广告平台已经成为一个非常真实的收入来源。如果没有 Facebook 现有的广告渠道，在广告领域获得吸引力可能会充满挑战。 该播客随后引入了一个关于科技主题的新环节。 Ben 认为这次收购表明了“拥有受众”的重要性。成为用户休闲和消遣的默认平台，可以让一家公司控制渠道，并利用其力量来触达受众。 David 认为技术浪潮是一个主要主题，它展示了移动浪潮如何超越桌面浪潮。 Facebook 认识到并充分利用了这一点。他还指出了技术提供的可扩展性和杠杆作用，强调了每位员工拥有惊人的用户数量。 最后，两位主持人都给这次收购打出了“A+”。他们一致认为，考虑到收购后的回报，这可能是技术史上最成功的收购之一。这一点尤其值得注意，因为这次收购发生在 Instagram 尚未产生任何自身收入之前。

The podcast episode, "Acquired," delves into Facebook's acquisition of Instagram, a pivotal moment in the tech industry that ushered in the era of unicorns and reshaped the social media landscape. Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal dissect the acquisition, categorizing it, analyzing potential alternative scenarios, identifying key tech themes, and ultimately grading the deal. The hosts begin by recounting the acquisition's basic facts. Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for $1 billion. Instagram had a mere 13 employees, no revenue, and 30 million users. This valuation was shocking given that billion-dollar valuations were rare at the time. Just before the acquisition, Instagram had raised a Series B round valuing the company at several hundred million dollars, underscoring the surprise surrounding the final acquisition price. Remarkably, Instagram had 2.3 million users per employee at the time, illustrating its efficient scalability. As of 2015, the platform had around 2.6 million users per employee and 400 million users in total. The podcast then explores why the acquisition was crucial for Facebook. While Facebook dominated the desktop social networking scene, it struggled with the mobile transition and its mobile app was an HTML5 mess. The company recognized that it was becoming a utility rather than a fun place for users, especially younger demographics. Apps like Instagram and later WhatsApp were attracting users with their engagement, something Facebook needed to capture to continue driving advertising revenue. In contrast to Facebook's cluttered desktop interface, Instagram offered a simple, mobile-first experience with immersive, full-screen photographs. Analyzing the categorization of the acquisition, Ben believes that the acquisition falls under product due to Facebook's decision to let Instagram evolve independently. However, David argues that it falls under technology because it became a vital component of Facebook's mobile strategy. Without Instagram, Facebook might not have aggressively pursued other mobile acquisitions like WhatsApp and may not have built its suite of mobile apps, including Messenger, which boasts 700 million active users. The podcast then considers the potential alternative reality if the acquisition hadn't occurred. While Instagram's user base might have grown more slowly, they might have lacked the resources and prioritization that came with being part of Facebook. Instagram's ad platform has become a very real source of revenue. Without Facebook's existing advertising funnel, gaining traction in the advertising space could have been challenging. The podcast then introduces a new segment about technology themes. Ben believes the acquisition demonstrates the importance of "owning the audience." Being the default platform that users visit for leisure and distraction allows a company to control the channel and leverage its power to reach its audience. David identifies the technology wave as a major theme, showing how the mobile wave surpassed the desktop wave. Facebook recognized and capitalized on it. He also notes the scalability and leverage technology provides, emphasizing the incredibly high number of users per employee. In the conclusion, both hosts give the acquisition an "A+." They agree that it may be one of the best acquisitions in technology history, considering the post-acquisition returns. This is especially noteworthy since the acquisition happened before Instagram had generated any revenue of its own.