Since muddled naming leads to muddled thinking，here's a rundown of what each name really means，and why it's an inadequate label for the bigger shift that's going on.
混乱的命名往往导致混乱的思想，下面就简要介绍数字经济每个名称的真正含义，并解释它为什么不能充分描述当前正发生的巨变。
Sharing economy
共享经济
One of the oldest and still most widely used names，probably because the first big success of this new economy was Couchsurfing，the site that matches travelers up with people willing to let them stay a few nights for free. The name is apt for any service that allows a thing previously available only to its owner to be used by other people，thus making more efficient use of resources.
这是最老且至今仍最常用的名称之一，大概是因为这种新兴经济的首个成功范例是Couchsurfing，该网站帮助旅行者找到愿意免费留他们住几个晚上的人。凡是让以前只有主人可用的东西也可供其他人使用从而提高资源利用率的服务都非常适合这个名称。
But the name is often applied to any firm that uses a snazzy app or algorithm to manage access to a resource—such as Zipcar，which rents out cars by the hour. And if Zipcar is the sharing economy，then so are Hertz and Avis. Moreover，“sharing economy”is about the reallocation of resources，when most of the biggest changes going on are about the reallocation of labor， as with Uber and Taskrabbit，for example.
但这个名称常常被用于任何一家运用时髦应用软件或算法来管理资源享用权的企业，比如计时出租汽车的齐普轿车租赁公司（Zipcar）。如果说Zipcar是共享经济，那么赫茨汽车出租有限公司（Hertz）和阿菲斯出租汽车有限公司（Avis）也都是。此外，“共享经济”讲究的是资源的重新分配，而当下变化最大的大多是劳动力的重新分配，比如优步公司（Uber）和跑腿兔网站（Taskrabbit）。
Peer（or peer-to-peer） economy
对等（或称点对点）经济
The most insidious term in the lexicon. It's meant to get at the more direct connection between the people on either side of a transaction，unmediated by a big faceless company，but“peer economy”is misleading in two ways.
这是所有词当中最险恶的一个名称。“对等经济”的本意是要说明交易双方之间不经由某个大公司牵线搭桥的较直接的联系，但它具有两方面的误导性。
First，it implies that you and the poor soul who bikes across the city in the snow to deliver a gift for your child's birthday are peers，when in fact，wealth inequality is essential to making this kind of economic relationship work. Second，it intentionally elides the role of the platforms that connect these so-called peers，presenting them as almost frictionless， neutral， practically invisible marketplaces for facilitating transactions. In reality，design decisions made by companies such as Uber determine how much power people on each side of the transaction have， and of course the companies themselves are big economic actors too.
首先，它暗示你和那个冒雪骑自行车穿越整座城市为你的孩子送来生日礼物的那个可怜人是对等的，而事实上，贫富不均是建立这种经济关系所必需的条件。其次，它有意省略了把这些所谓对等者联系起来的平台的作用，把它们当成在促进交易时几乎从无摩擦、保持中立、简直无影无形的市场。实际上，优步等公司的设计决策决定着交易双方各自掌握多大权力，而且公司本身无疑也是重要的经济成分。
Access economy
享用权经济
Not used much，because it refers to something pretty specific：services that let you pay to use things like cars （Zipcar），movies （Netflix），or music（Pandora，Spotify） without owning them.This is indeed a big economic shift，and one that's been going on since long before the Ubers of this world came into being，but it's only one aspect of the broader changes.
这个词不常用，因为它指称的对象非常具体：让你花钱使用而不必拥有某样东西如汽车（齐普轿车租赁公司）、电影（奈飞公司）或音乐（Pandora，Spotify）的服务。这确实是一个巨大的经济转变，早在优步之类企业诞生很久以前就已开始，但它只是总体变化的一个方面。
On-demand economy
随选经济
Another recent favorite，probably because this is where the venture capital money is： services that offer cars， food， home-cleaning， and other services at the touch of an app button. But it's way too narrow to capture all the new kinds of businesses that are being created.（to be continued）
这也是近来流行的一个称谓，大概是因为它受到风险资本的垂青：点一个应用软件按钮即可享受汽车、食品、保洁等服务。但它实在太狭隘了，根本不能涵盖时下不断涌现的所有新类别业务。
Gig economy
零工经济
This seems to be a favorite right now， perhaps because it's a relatively value-neutral way of expressing the nature of work for many people in the new order: not a steady job but a series of gigs. It also has promise bcause it hints at the fact that gig-style working could expand， from work like driving cars and delivering groceries to more specialized work; why not an Uber for lawyers？
However， for the same reason， “gig economy”is narrow， not getting at either the “sharing” part of things， nor at the fundamental shifts that are taking place. （After all， freelancers of all sorts， from journalists to plumbers， have been gig workers since forever.） Also， the gig economy could be short-lived: Legal disputes about gig workers' rights， liability， and so forth could force the creation of a new category of worker that is neither freelancer nor employee.
这个名称眼下似乎很流行，大概是因为它以相对而言不具有价值取向的字眼表述了很多人在新秩序下的工作性质：不是一份稳定的职业，是一系列零工。它有前途也是因为它暗示出这样一个事实：零工式的工作会扩展，从开车和送货扩展到更专业的工种。何不为律师创办一家优步呢？
然而，出于同样的原因，“零工经济”太狭隘，既不能阐明事物的“共享”性，也不能彰显时下的根本性变化。（毕竟，从记者到水暖工的各种自由职业者早就一直是零工劳动者。）此外，零工经济可能会昙花一现：有关零工劳动者的权益、责任等问题的法律纠纷可能会造就一类既非自由职业者也非雇员的新型劳动者。
Platform economy
平台经济
This one has the advantage of being more inclusive than most of the above， since the common feature of the companies we're talking about is that they create a digital platform that， whether through algorithms， a rating system， or some combination of the two， serves to connect customers with providers of goods or services.
The main problem: It's so broad as to be meaningless. Lots of digital services that predate the phenomenon， from Craigslist to Amazon， are also platforms in that sense. One could even argue that any company is a platform， in that it provides a framework for connecting workers， resources， and customers.
这个名称的优点是它比上述大多数更具有包容性，因为我们所谈论企业的共同特点就是它们创造一个数字平台——无论是借助算法、评价体系还是两者相结合——把客户与商品或服务的提供者联系起来。
主要问题是：它太宽泛，也就失去了实质意义。从克雷格分类广告网站到亚马逊，在此之前的很多数字服务也是这种意义上的平台。甚至可以说，任何一家公司都是一个平台，因为它提供了一个框架把劳动者、资源和客户联系起来。
Networked economy
网络经济
See “Platform economy.”
见“平台经济”。
Bottom-up economy
自下而上的经济
A term coined by the San Francisco venture-capital firm Homebrew， this is meant to describe the newfound ability of small businesses and freelance workers to find customers or band together with other workers from all around the world. And indeed， this is going on and there are companies， the kind Homebrew invests in， which are building the tools to make it possible. It's an idealistic slice of the larger phenomenon—the true peer-to-peer economy， if you will—but only a slice.
这是旧金山风险资本企业Homebrew杜撰的名词，本意是要描述小企业和自由职业劳动者如今能够从全世界找到客户或与全世界其他劳动者建立合作。这种情况的确正在发生，而且有些企业、比如Homebrew所投资的那种企业正在打造工具使之得以实现。它是总体现象中富有理想主义的一部分，可以说是真正的对等经济，但终归只是其中一部分。
Uber economy
优步经济
Of course， “the Uber for X” has become an easy shorthand， but it's simplistic—the Uber model is only one of many—and even perhaps a little unfair to Uber.
So what to call the shifts that are taking place？ Faute de mieux， the “next economy” is probably as good as a name as any for now.
当然，“某某领域的优步”已成为一个便捷的简略表达方式，但它过于简单化——优步模式只是众多模式之一——甚至对优步有点不公平。
那么到底如何称呼时下正发生的演变呢？既然没有更好的，不妨就称之为“新新经济”。（何金娥译自美国石英财经网站11月13日文章）
