2007年6月19日 谁说天下没有免费午餐?

似乎，连硅谷富裕的工程师也喜欢免费的午餐供应。

Even the well-off engineers of Silicon Valley fall for the offer of a free lunch, it seems.

在硅谷，员工们纷纷涌向其它提供免费食物并能满足其人际交往欲望的公司，这一现象被称为"午餐2.0"(Lunch 2.0)。

In a phenomenon dubbed Lunch 2.0, workers in the Valley are descending on other companies for free food and the chance to satisfy their appetite for making contacts.

这一切源于4位试图偷偷溜进雅虎(Yahoo)和谷歌(Google)等公司的硅谷员工，他们希望品尝这些公司免费的美味午餐。

It started with four men trying to sneak into companies such as Yahoo and Google to sample their free gourmet lunches.

不过，这一创意已开始被人利用，并加以发展。数家公司已开始邀请所有来访人员享用免费午餐。

But the idea has been picked up and developed. Several companies have begun inviting all- comers for a free lunch.

当然，它不是慷慨之举。这些午餐不仅可以进行人际交往和填饱肚子，还是宣传产品和网罗人才的时机。

Except, of course, it is not free. The lunches are partly about networking and eating, but they are also about pitching products and sizing up talent.

在上周的最新一个例子中，有100多人出现在社交网络平台Ning位于加州帕罗奥多的办公室享用午餐。

In the latest example, more than 100 people turned up for lunch at the offices of Ning, a social networking web platform, in Palo Alto last week.

他们不仅享受到三明治、沙拉和饼干的款待，还有该公司首席执行官吉娜o比安基尼(Gina Bianchini)的一场宣讲。

They were treated to sandwiches, salad, biscuits - and a presentation by Gina Bianchini, chief executive.


"这是一个机会，可以回馈该地区，并结识在这里工作的人，"她表示。"而我们正利用这一时机招募人员。"

"It's an opportunity to give back to the area and the people who are working here," she said. "And we are hiring at the moment."

雅虎技术人员、"午餐2.0"联合创始人之一的大卫o凯洛格(David Kellogg)表示："它有商务的一面和吃饭的一面。公司希望传达它们的信息，而我们回去工作后，都会将这些经历写在博客上。我扩大了我的社交网络，了解到了这些公司的动态。"

David Kellogg, a Yahoo technician and one of the co-founders of Lunch 2.0, said: "There's a business side and a food side to this. Companies want to get their message out and we will all go back to work and blog about this. I'm widening my network and finding out what's going on in companies."

他将LinkedIn社交网络公司的午餐评为迄今最棒的午餐。

He rates lunch at the LinkedIn social networking company the best so far.


凯洛格表示："我们多数工程师的工资肯定够吃午餐的，但免费食物的诱惑，将我们身上的学生特质诱发出来了。"

"Most of us engineers make enough money to pay for lunch but the lure of free food brings out the student in us," Mr Kellogg said.

谷歌目前尚未发出正式的免费午餐会邀请，但"午餐2.0"的模式正在蔓延至洛杉矶和西雅图等美国其它城市。

Google has yet to offer an official invitation but Lunch 2.0 is spreading to other cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle.

不过，迄今为止还没有人建议创立"刷盘子2.0"(Washing-up 2.0)。

So far, though, no-one has suggested a Washing-up 2.0.