7 ms·

Perhaps rather anecdotal, but this is why I joined Uber, and did not take my Facebook or Google offers. It feels nice to work on tech that directly impacts live

Perhaps rather anecdotal, but this is why I joined Uber, and did not take my Facebook or Google offers. It feels nice to work on tech that directly impacts lives and how a persons day flows. As opposed to, as you correctly put it, optimizing click bait.

jy1 9y ago
There are a lot of teams at Uber optimizing for click bait lol.
nostromo 9y ago
If Google or Facebook were gone tomorrow, I'd definitely notice. If Uber was gone tomorrow, I'd use Lyft.
- sgt101 9y ago
  My point would be that if Uber vanished Uber drivers wouldn't, and very rapidly they would be providing their services via alternatives. My feeling is that no one would lose if this happened, apart from Uber's investors.
- sgt101 9y ago
  My point would be that if Uber vanished Uber drivers wouldn't, and very rapidly they would be providing their services via alternatives. My feeling is that no one would lose if this happened, apart from Uber's investors.
- blacktulip 9y ago
  Well only if you are in US
- samfisher83 9y ago
  You could use bing. Its about 90% as good.
  - JBReefer 9y ago
    DuckDuckGo has been fantastic lately, and the bang system keeps me from using anyone else.
Jach 9y ago
Both Google and Facebook work on "tech that directly impacts lives and how a person's day flows". So far producing more value than Uber has, but Uber provides a valuable service too. And while Google & Facebook's revenue is primarily from their ad business, they're not ad companies, like, say, Rubicon Project.
- saimiam 9y ago
  How are they not ad companies? Together, FB and GOOGL receive a massive proportion of online ad spend.
  - sah2ed 9y ago
    They are tech companies not ad companies. It just happens that Google and Facebook draw most of their revenue from being middlemen in the advertising industry, the same way Uber is a middleman in the transportation industry -- Uber doesn't have the fixed costs that you'd expect a large cab company to have.
    - milesvp 9y ago
      All companies are tech companies in this day and age, it's a meaningless classifier. But not all companies recieve most of thier money from advertising and selling personal information, which makes ad company relevant classifier. Google is an ad company. Facebook is an ad company.
      - sah2ed 9y ago
        I'm sure Warren Buffet will disagree with that generalization of all companies being tech companies, especially since he, the quintessential value investor, doesn't consider Berkshire Hathaway as one. Neither would Carlos Slim. Not that it means anything but at different times, each was once adjudged the wealthiest in the world. Calling a company a "tech company" speaks primarily to its competitive advantage in printing money, not the industry it is in.
    - briandear 9y ago

jy1 9y ago

There are a lot of teams at Uber optimizing for click bait lol.

nostromo 9y ago

If Google or Facebook were gone tomorrow, I'd definitely notice. If Uber was gone tomorrow, I'd use Lyft.

sgt101 9y ago
My point would be that if Uber vanished Uber drivers wouldn't, and very rapidly they would be providing their services via alternatives. My feeling is that no one would lose if this happened, apart from Uber's investors.
sgt101 9y ago
My point would be that if Uber vanished Uber drivers wouldn't, and very rapidly they would be providing their services via alternatives. My feeling is that no one would lose if this happened, apart from Uber's investors.
blacktulip 9y ago
Well only if you are in US
samfisher83 9y ago
You could use bing. Its about 90% as good.
- JBReefer 9y ago
  DuckDuckGo has been fantastic lately, and the bang system keeps me from using anyone else.

Jach 9y ago

Both Google and Facebook work on "tech that directly impacts lives and how a person's day flows". So far producing more value than Uber has, but Uber provides a valuable service too. And while Google & Facebook's revenue is primarily from their ad business, they're not ad companies, like, say, Rubicon Project.

saimiam 9y ago
How are they not ad companies? Together, FB and GOOGL receive a massive proportion of online ad spend.
- sah2ed 9y ago
  They are tech companies not ad companies. It just happens that Google and Facebook draw most of their revenue from being middlemen in the advertising industry, the same way Uber is a middleman in the transportation industry -- Uber doesn't have the fixed costs that you'd expect a large cab company to have.
  - milesvp 9y ago
    All companies are tech companies in this day and age, it's a meaningless classifier. But not all companies recieve most of thier money from advertising and selling personal information, which makes ad company relevant classifier. Google is an ad company. Facebook is an ad company.
    - sah2ed 9y ago
      I'm sure Warren Buffet will disagree with that generalization of all companies being tech companies, especially since he, the quintessential value investor, doesn't consider Berkshire Hathaway as one. Neither would Carlos Slim. Not that it means anything but at different times, each was once adjudged the wealthiest in the world. Calling a company a "tech company" speaks primarily to its competitive advantage in printing money, not the industry it is in.
  - briandear 9y ago