4 ms·

Agreed. I wonder who's benefiting from all of this anti-Uber propaganda lately? There's been too much of it to ignore, at least one or two nasty pieces per week

Agreed. I wonder who's benefiting from all of this anti-Uber propaganda lately? There's been too much of it to ignore, at least one or two nasty pieces per week. While this memo is hardly professional in tone, it's also an internal communication about a celebration weekend. It reads a lot like party announcement emails I'd get from college organizations, and I don't think it's sexist-- it's just lighthearted. It sounds like employees were a bit confused about how to behave at this Miami event, and Travis sent this out to clarify expectations- don't talk about confidential stuff to press, a quick/informal (and, imo, very reasonable) mention of intimate dos/don'ts within the company, and even an internal joke about dropping kegs off of roofs. Would I want to work at this company as a 50-year-old? Probably not. But as a 20-something female, the Uber of 2013 sounds like a pretty fun place to work. It may be informal, but at least it's not layers and layers of unbearable PR-speak.

ryandrake 9y ago
Compared to most company events I've been to, Uber's parties sound like they were a blast. At most companies it's "Here is your approved adult beverage. Fun will now commence."
iamatworknow 9y ago
The way I see it, for a company as young and "hip" as most of these SV unicorns, they could've handled the consent thing in three ways: 1. Not say anything at all. Not exactly ideal. 2. Say it in a completely mature, serious way which most of the young hip employees would ignore after the first few words, because "Yeah yeah, don't rape, I already know all this." 3. Say it in a lighthearted way that has a better chance of maintaining the reader's interest, and actually be something they remember during the event. To me, 3 sounds like the most effective option.
zentiggr 9y ago
https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-on...
- vanilla_nut 9y ago
  She joined in January 2015. Also, I'm not saying I've ever worked at Uber (I haven't) -- I simply said that this memo makes 2013 Uber sound like a fun place to work because it feels honest and isn't just PR-speak. I don't mean to belittle Susan's experience at all: from her description, it sounds like there are a lot of bad eggs at Uber. But this memo is not indicative of that at all, and I don't like the fact that news articles are trying to spin it as "frat" level language.
throwaway14678 9y ago
> I wonder who's benefiting from all of this anti-Uber propaganda lately? pmarca would be one example. Of all the Silicon Valley VCs, he's invested more money in tech journalists than anyone I can think of, both personally (e.g. Sara Lacy) and professionally through A16Z (e.g. Buzzfeed). It just so happens that A16Z is probably the single biggest shareholder in Lyft. So long as Uber has competitors that still think they have a chance and that investors are will to invest in, we'll continue seeing hit piece after hit piece. If anything, all these hit pieces just confirm that Uber is still wildly successful and its competitors are playing dirty to try and get any advantage.

ryandrake 9y ago

Compared to most company events I've been to, Uber's parties sound like they were a blast. At most companies it's "Here is your approved adult beverage. Fun will now commence."

iamatworknow 9y ago

The way I see it, for a company as young and "hip" as most of these SV unicorns, they could've handled the consent thing in three ways: 1. Not say anything at all. Not exactly ideal. 2. Say it in a completely mature, serious way which most of the young hip employees would ignore after the first few words, because "Yeah yeah, don't rape, I already know all this." 3. Say it in a lighthearted way that has a better chance of maintaining the reader's interest, and actually be something they remember during the event. To me, 3 sounds like the most effective option.

zentiggr 9y ago

https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-one-very-strange-year-at-uber https://www.susanjfowler.com/blog/2017/2/19/reflecting-on-on...

vanilla_nut 9y ago
She joined in January 2015. Also, I'm not saying I've ever worked at Uber (I haven't) -- I simply said that this memo makes 2013 Uber sound like a fun place to work because it feels honest and isn't just PR-speak. I don't mean to belittle Susan's experience at all: from her description, it sounds like there are a lot of bad eggs at Uber. But this memo is not indicative of that at all, and I don't like the fact that news articles are trying to spin it as "frat" level language.

throwaway14678 9y ago

> I wonder who's benefiting from all of this anti-Uber propaganda lately? pmarca would be one example. Of all the Silicon Valley VCs, he's invested more money in tech journalists than anyone I can think of, both personally (e.g. Sara Lacy) and professionally through A16Z (e.g. Buzzfeed). It just so happens that A16Z is probably the single biggest shareholder in Lyft. So long as Uber has competitors that still think they have a chance and that investors are will to invest in, we'll continue seeing hit piece after hit piece. If anything, all these hit pieces just confirm that Uber is still wildly successful and its competitors are playing dirty to try and get any advantage.