译者 nicholwei
Pop quiz. How long do you think a fresh new link lasts online before people stop clicking on it? The answer: on average, just shy of 3 hours. If you ask the same question about a news-related link, the answer is a measly 5 minutes.
小测验：一个链接从产生到人们停止点击它，生命有多长？答案：平均只有3个小时。
如果问题是一个新闻链接生命有多长，答案是只有很少的5分钟。
According to new research by Bit.ly, the URL shortening service, most links shared online don’t live very long and quickly get lost amid the noise of our digitally distracted universe. The research found that links across all genres, from comedy to news, follow the same pattern, receiving an initial burst of attention, which quickly peaks, and then the link essentially dies.
根据URL压缩服务商Bit.ly的最新研究显示，大多数网上链接的生命周期都很短，出现以后很快就淹没在令人分神的数字海洋中。研究表明，包括从喜剧到新闻的所有种类链接，都有遵循同样的模式：最开始点击率急速升高，很快到达最大值，然后下降最后消失。
The research determined a link’s longevity by measuring its half life — the point at which it has received half the clicks it will receive online.
研究中用一个链接的半衰期——它达到一半点击率的时间——来代表其生命周期。
Hilary Mason, Bit.ly’s lead scientist, found that links have different lifespans if they are posted on Facebook and Twitter or sent through e-mail or chat clients. After analyzing 1,000 popular links shared on bit.ly, Ms. Mason discovered that the average half life of a link on Twitter is 2.8 hours. On Facebook it’s 3.2 hours, and for e-mail and messenger services it’s 3.4 hours. This means a link gets an extra 24 minutes of life on Facebook compared to Twitter.
Bit.ly的首席科学家希拉里·曼森在研究中发现，发布在不同地方的链接具有不同的生命周期，比如发在Facebook、Twitter或通过e-mail、聊天室发布的链接生命不同。曼森女士分析了Bit.ly上共享的1千个链接，发现Twitter的链接生命周期是2.8个小时，Facebook是3.2个小时，e-mail和聊天工具的是3.4个小时。Facebook上的链接比Twitter上的能多传播24分钟。
But not all links are created equal, as Ms. Mason notes. Links shared from YouTube hit their half life after 7.4 hours. “As clickers, we remain interested in links on YouTube for a much longer period of time,” Ms. Mason writes.
但曼森女士也提到，并不是所有的链接都一样。YouTube上共享链接的半衰期是7.4个小时。“用户对YouTube上的链接的兴趣明显持续的要久一点，”曼森女士在研究中写道。
News has a much shorter life. A recent article by The Washington Post that was shared during the East Coast earthquake quickly lost reader interest after just 5 minutes. This is likely because new links were being shared at such a rapid pace.
新闻链接的生命很短。《华盛顿邮报》上最新一篇有关美国东海岸地震的文章，对读者的吸引力不超过5分钟。这可能是因为新闻链接分享的速度太快所致。
