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Well, for one thing it's not a "sharing economy" (that's a feel-good misnomer) - it's a "part-time work economy", which is a completely different beast. The fac
by allengeorge 10y ago
Well, for one thing it's not a "sharing economy" (that's a feel-good misnomer) - it's a "part-time work economy", which is a completely different beast. The fact that Uber, TaskRabbit et. al. have managed to brand it as such is a triumph of marketing.
(I like the term "gig economy" - also used in linked article - because it reflects the reality of the style and conditions of the work.)
- meric 10y agoIt's a sharing economy, as in there is little room for profit - it's all break-even business, the producer surplus shared completely with the consumer. Ok I made that meaning up - but still, think about it.
- crpatino 10y agoSeriously? Do you think Kalanick has no expectation to turn a profit? The only reason Uber operaters below costs right now is because they still have millions upon millions of VC money to burn, AND because those millions can be turned into further market penetration. They do not share out of the goodness of their hearts, they are merely positioning themselves to extract even biger surpluses in the future.
- thanatropism 10y agoHere in Rio Uber doesn't have much space to hike prices before local yellow cabs become much cheaper. Uber seems to arrive at new locations with offering price savings that pretty much amount to dumping, and would be strongly opposed by consumers and antidumping regulators (the usual pushback doesn't come from them) if established cab services weren't such an annoying, low-level-of-service monopoly. But hey, yellow cabs here have improved a lot (better cars, better service) and prices are approaching parity.
- hx87 10y agoIt's almost as if competition and a lack of hard caps were a good thing.
- pyb 10y agoI like 'gig economy' too. You may also like to call it the 'tax- and labor law- avoidance economy'
- andy_ppp 10y ago* Hotel licence avoidance economy
- masklinn 10y agoThat's just a subset of tax and law (/regulations) avoidance isn't it?
- andy_ppp 10y agoI'm being deliberately teasy with my reply, but if you like I can say that grand parent specifies tax and labour laws.
- LoonyBalloony 10y agoPayroll tax avoidance for sure.
- sp332 10y agoIt's sharing as in you bring your own car to pick someone else up, or rent out your own house, etc.
- dragonwriter 10y agoUsing your own tools as an independent contractor or renting out your property is not sharing.
- drzaiusapelord 10y agoWhile not the best term is its valid in the sense that you're sharing your existing infrastructure. With uber you're sharing the car you already own. The problem is way too many people ran out, bought $35,000 cars they wanted, and drove them on the weekends and evenings to pay for them and then complain about low wages. You're not supposed to buy infrastructure for these types of gigs. They only make sense as added use on existing infrastructure. The same way a gig musician is supposed to have his own gear that has already been paid off and not supposed to run out and buy the most expensive stuff at guitar center after a few guitar lessons. Then they're pissed that studio gigs pay only $100 a day which isn't a lot to offset that guitar center credit card balance.
- madgar 10y ago> You're not supposed to buy infrastructure for these types of gigs. Then why does Uber offer financing?
- thatcat 10y agoI assume it is because financing is profitable and locks drivers into a work commitment. This doesn't necessarily imply that it makes long term financial sense for the driver.
- dang 10y agoOk, we replaced the title with a representative phrase from the article and 'gig' rather than 'sharing'.
- allengeorge 10y agoThank you dang.