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He was absolutely instrumental to the early success. In some places they were actively breaking the law just to operate there, and Kalanick was able disrupt the

by jobu 7y ago

He was absolutely instrumental to the early success. In some places they were actively breaking the law just to operate there, and Kalanick was able disrupt the system and make Uber important enough to change the laws. However, that doesn't mean he should still be CEO. Kalanick also created a company culture that became more and more toxic as it grew larger. Lyft was arguably on the ropes and might've failed without the #DeleteUber movement caused by all of the Uber scandals. Without Lyft for competition Uber might actually have the pricing power to be profitable now, but as it stands I'm not sure how viable they are in the long-term.

edw 7y ago
You've reminded me of an observation I made recently about Star Wars: the behavior of Han Solo (pre-Greedo-shoots-first-bs) and Darth Vader aren't that different. It's the context that matters. If you're small and scrappy, antisocial behavior makes you a charming scoundrel. If you're big, the same behavior makes you evil.
- outside1234 7y ago
  It was still ugly when Uber was small.
- csb6 7y ago
  But the difference is that Han came around at the end of A New Hope, joined the Rebellion, and saved Luke’s ass, which lead to the Death Star’s destruction. This proved he wasn’t a complete scoundrel and had good within him. Uber’s corporate culture was ugly and toxic from the start. And it never got better or “came around” to a good cause. A better analogy would be Anakin moving from small-time massacres of Sand People to blowing up planets as Vader. The scale changed, but it was still evil all along. I think it’s misleading to defend Travis as some misunderstood scoundrel whose enabling of sexual harassment didn’t “scale”. He’s just a shitty person who initially had less power to be shitty.
  - Apocryphon 7y ago
    Not to mention the stories of early stage Uber engaging in shady tactics like hailing and cancelling Lyft rides as a manual DDOS, or ripping mustaches off parked Lyft cars.
  - goatinaboat 7y ago
    The Old Republic was OK with slavery and left Anakin’s mother to die. Any one of us would have done the same in his place.
    - mustacheemperor 7y ago
      Unfortunately many people lose close family members, even parents, in tragic, horrible, unfair circumstances that never see justice all the time. Most of them - I would wager almost absolutely all of them - do not commit mass murder afterwards. I vehemently disagree with your opinion about what I would have done in his place and register my unease with how you raise it as an obvious general norm.
      - goatinaboat 7y ago
        Vader moved fast and broke things sure, but he succeeded in disrupting the Old Republic. That’s why he’s the real hero of Star Wars, and a role model for the tech community in general.
        csb6 7y ago
        Not sure if you’re joking, but I think “moving fast and breaking things” is a bit of an understatement. I mean Vader enabled a heartless dictator to take over the galaxy and personally saw to it that a whole planet of billions of people blew up. Doubtless in the years after Order 66 Vader was responsible for millions of other deaths. I mean he personally strangled Captain Antilles for god’s sake. The Old Republic was flawed, but disruption in this manner was clearly a step towards a new, shittier status quo. Disrupting something and making it worse doesn’t make him a hero.
- pretendscholar 7y ago
  Han shooting first is totally legitimate. Greedo is an organized crime thug who is going to take Han to an incredibly painful and certain death. It's self-defense even if he shot first.
- MegaButts 7y ago
  You're completely ignoring the most important data. Han Solo and Darth Vader are not the same person. Maybe one is just more likable than the other? You can have two different comedians tell identical jokes, word for word, and only one of them will be funny. Jim Jefferies does an entire bit about a journalist who reviews his jokes harshly after transcribing them to text. His conclusion is (paraphrasing) "my entire job is to say offensive things while still being likable."
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- rewgs 7y ago
  “If you're small and scrappy, antisocial behavior makes you a charming scoundrel. If you're big, the same behavior makes you evil.” This is with regards to businesses only, though. With people, it’s flipped. Poor? Bad behavior is vilified. Rich? Bad behavior is justified. (Just an observation of a weird social phenomenon, without agenda).
- nooyurrsdey 7y ago
  You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
- LaGrange 7y ago
  ...because it is different? If you're a small fry, you hurt fewer people, and any claims that it's a survival necessity are at least plausible. It's also quite likely that people you hurt are actually worse than you, as is possible with Greedo. If you do the same as the director of FBI, _excuse me_, Lord of the Sith, things are quite different. Edit: but also, Uber and Kalanick were never small fries. So that's where it breaks down.

by jobu 7y ago

edw 7y ago

You've reminded me of an observation I made recently about Star Wars: the behavior of Han Solo (pre-Greedo-shoots-first-bs) and Darth Vader aren't that different. It's the context that matters. If you're small and scrappy, antisocial behavior makes you a charming scoundrel. If you're big, the same behavior makes you evil.

outside1234 7y ago
It was still ugly when Uber was small.
csb6 7y ago
But the difference is that Han came around at the end of A New Hope, joined the Rebellion, and saved Luke’s ass, which lead to the Death Star’s destruction. This proved he wasn’t a complete scoundrel and had good within him. Uber’s corporate culture was ugly and toxic from the start. And it never got better or “came around” to a good cause. A better analogy would be Anakin moving from small-time massacres of Sand People to blowing up planets as Vader. The scale changed, but it was still evil all along. I think it’s misleading to defend Travis as some misunderstood scoundrel whose enabling of sexual harassment didn’t “scale”. He’s just a shitty person who initially had less power to be shitty.
- Apocryphon 7y ago
  Not to mention the stories of early stage Uber engaging in shady tactics like hailing and cancelling Lyft rides as a manual DDOS, or ripping mustaches off parked Lyft cars.
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  The Old Republic was OK with slavery and left Anakin’s mother to die. Any one of us would have done the same in his place.
  - mustacheemperor 7y ago
    Unfortunately many people lose close family members, even parents, in tragic, horrible, unfair circumstances that never see justice all the time. Most of them - I would wager almost absolutely all of them - do not commit mass murder afterwards. I vehemently disagree with your opinion about what I would have done in his place and register my unease with how you raise it as an obvious general norm.
    - goatinaboat 7y ago
      Vader moved fast and broke things sure, but he succeeded in disrupting the Old Republic. That’s why he’s the real hero of Star Wars, and a role model for the tech community in general.
      - csb6 7y ago
        Not sure if you’re joking, but I think “moving fast and breaking things” is a bit of an understatement. I mean Vader enabled a heartless dictator to take over the galaxy and personally saw to it that a whole planet of billions of people blew up. Doubtless in the years after Order 66 Vader was responsible for millions of other deaths. I mean he personally strangled Captain Antilles for god’s sake. The Old Republic was flawed, but disruption in this manner was clearly a step towards a new, shittier status quo. Disrupting something and making it worse doesn’t make him a hero.
pretendscholar 7y ago
Han shooting first is totally legitimate. Greedo is an organized crime thug who is going to take Han to an incredibly painful and certain death. It's self-defense even if he shot first.
MegaButts 7y ago
You're completely ignoring the most important data. Han Solo and Darth Vader are not the same person. Maybe one is just more likable than the other? You can have two different comedians tell identical jokes, word for word, and only one of them will be funny. Jim Jefferies does an entire bit about a journalist who reviews his jokes harshly after transcribing them to text. His conclusion is (paraphrasing) "my entire job is to say offensive things while still being likable."
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
rewgs 7y ago
“If you're small and scrappy, antisocial behavior makes you a charming scoundrel. If you're big, the same behavior makes you evil.” This is with regards to businesses only, though. With people, it’s flipped. Poor? Bad behavior is vilified. Rich? Bad behavior is justified. (Just an observation of a weird social phenomenon, without agenda).
nooyurrsdey 7y ago
You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
LaGrange 7y ago
...because it is different? If you're a small fry, you hurt fewer people, and any claims that it's a survival necessity are at least plausible. It's also quite likely that people you hurt are actually worse than you, as is possible with Greedo. If you do the same as the director of FBI, _excuse me_, Lord of the Sith, things are quite different. Edit: but also, Uber and Kalanick were never small fries. So that's where it breaks down.