4 ms·
The entire business model is unsavory. The basic theory is about atomizing the workforce until they have no power whatsoever, and more profits can flow upwards
by free_rms 6y ago
The entire business model is unsavory. The basic theory is about atomizing the workforce until they have no power whatsoever, and more profits can flow upwards.
Abusing the app to force drivers to click "yes, i support this" under fear of a "no" click being recorded and held against them is just one small instance of the overall phenomenon.
- fastball 6y agoTo my mind, any business which is generating value which didn't exist previously and captures a portion thereof is a savory business. Uber therefore qualifies.
- free_rms 6y agoUber didn't invent the car or the mobile phone, or cabs or food delivery. What they invented was a business model that empowers capital and disempowers (some classes of) labor. I hear their microservice architecture employs a lot of SWEs, though, so they've got that going.
- fastball 6y agoNo, Uber combined all those things together in a way that made them more efficient and more appealing to both drivers and riders. If driving for Uber is worse than being a cab driver, why didn’t the vast majority of Uber drivers drive cabs before? You don’t need to create completely innovative greenfield technologies in order to generate value.
- kofejnik 6y agoRemind me again, how much power does a regular taxi driver Joe have under the previous system, where he has to rent a medallion from its rich owner?