Freely given can have a lot of interpretations. I would say that Uber is buying network effects using VC money by depressing prices for the goods they are selli

Freely given can have a lot of interpretations. I would say that Uber is buying network effects using VC money by depressing prices for the goods they are selling. In the end though car transportation will probably be as profitable of a business as airplane transportation - that is not much. The idea that strapping an app and bending regulations will allow Uber to make more money than its competitors seems like a fantasy to me - the price of entry being low enough and regulations being the same for all, Uber Will be the United Airlines of 2070. The idea that Uber has any right to the data I've put into it is ludicrous as well to me - if I produce data I should have a right to it, and in a fully interchangable manner. anything else is an engineer's defense to monopoly by database, which I increasingly feel like should be illegal.