4 ms·
this approach has worked well for uber in the usa. wonder if they've made a mistake by assuming that anti-govt sentiment in other countries is similar? or by
by andrewcooke 14y ago
this approach has worked well for uber in the usa. wonder if they've made a mistake by assuming that anti-govt sentiment in other countries is similar? or by simply copying the technique without thinking?
but this is from a single english-language post. what is the rest of the local reaction like? [ah, see reply below - i missed "response was huge" (in the sense of support for uber)]
- _delirium 14y agoI suspect the angle of an Ayn-Rand-quoting American who sees himself as Galt won't play quite as well in Sweden, either...
- Uchikoma 14y agoWhat I find funny - and I like a lot of Rand, though I've understood the books completely different as most Americans - is that many of the Americans that quote and evangelize Rand would be "parasites" in a Galt world, e.g. all the Republican politicians who never produced or created anything in the Galt sense and are paid by the state.
- willurd 14y agoLet's be honest with ourselves. There are plenty of Democratic politicians who, also, have never produced anything and are paid by the state.
- mindjiver 14y agoThere are strong libertarian strands in several swedish parties so there are some comrades in arms. Quoting Ayn Rand in parliament has happened. But even as a libertarian leaning swede I find myself quite annoyed by Uber. In the 1990s, IIRC, the taxi market was striktly regulated and finding taxis where a problem. Now in Stockholm there are many, many taxis all over the place so I personally don't get what problem Uber is really trying to solve here.
- venomsnake 14y agoThe problem of how to cash higher in an IPO and be hailed by the media as the next next Zuckebergs.
- masklinn 14y agoTFA notes > The response was pretty huge. What surprised me was that people who are bright and often critical of sources jumped on the wagon without asking obvious questions: Since the original Uber post was in swedish and targeted at swedes, I expect it was local reaction.
- effn 14y agoThe mistake was not researching local laws before entering a new market. It has nothing to do with anti-govt sentiment.
- matthiasl 14y agoI'm a local. This is the first time I've heard of Uber, so in a sense the PR has worked. Looking at the 20 or so comments (in Swedish) below Uber's original press release/blog entry (http://blog.uber.com/2013/04/25/transportstyrelsen-forsoker-stoppa-uber-i-stockholm-vi-behover-din-hjalp-nu/ http://blog.uber.com/2013/04/25/transportstyrelsen-forsoker-...), they're almost all opposed to part or all of Uber's post. The biggest non-tabloid newspaper, DN, hasn't mentioned Uber at all. The next biggest, SvD, hasn't mentioned the current spat, but had an interview (a month ago) with Simon Breakwell from Uber. Choice quote: Reporter: You've encountered resistance from taxi companies in some cities. Simon: Right, but that's mostly in the USA. Before we enter a new market, we conduct a thorough investigation into the local rules and regulations to avoid nasty surprises. We've never encountered resistance based on Uber itself being illegal. (Source: http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/branscher/handel-och-tjanster/han-vill-ta-lyxtaxin-till-alla-storstader_8003774.svd http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/branscher/handel-och-tjanster/h... I translated it by hand.)
- ewalk153 14y agoI know for a fact that Uber has encountered resistance in Paris for not complying with local transportation-for-hire laws.
- jusben1369 14y agoJust based on this blog post it appears to have done well. He (?) starts off discussing that people seem to have believed and rallied around the Uber story without applying any critical thinking. So I'm guessing it did resonate.