6 ms·

That is not only morally wrong but it is flat out stupid. Uber is the leading firm in a growing market with network effects. They should be worried about growin

by hristov 13y ago

That is not only morally wrong but it is flat out stupid. Uber is the leading firm in a growing market with network effects. They should be worried about growing as fast as possible first and above all and not about competition. The network effects will take care of the competition. The worst thing a company in a leadership position like Uber can do is take actions that acknowledge their competition. Even if they are trying to screw over their competition they are doing them a big favor by acknowledging them. It seems that Uber may lose their first mover's advantage by their greed and small mindedness.

carleverett 13y ago
I had not heard of Gett before this story.
- maxbrown 13y ago
  Right? This is the best part of the story...that their actions were what made me aware of their competitor.
  - amirmc 13y ago
    > "... their actions were what made me aware ..." Point of pedantry: You're aware because someone wrote an article and someone else posted it here. I wonder how many other locations have tried similar tactics but not been widely exposed.
    - differentView 13y ago
      He is aware because of all those things, including his brain processing the words he read, but the only thing controlled by Uber is their actions.
    - mmanfrin 13y ago
      He is also aware because he owns a computer, has access to the internet, is in a profession or hobby that led him to this site, is in a specific place where he thought to check this site. At a certain point, you go overboard with pedantry.
    - dinkumthinkum 13y ago
      I don't think this is very good pedantry, though. This is really straining pedantry ...
- hammock 13y ago
  Do you live in NYC
AJ007 13y ago
Could these be sales people giving a per driver incentive? Or was it from the direction of a manager? If it was sales people, fire all of them. If it was a manager, fire him or her. Then issue a press release.
- hbags 13y ago
  I sincerely doubt that a company as unethical to the bones as Uber would ever consider firing them.
  - yapcguy 13y ago
    Shitty company employing shitty people. "Uber Driver Allegedly Locks Passenger In Car, Gives Himself Five-Star Rating" http://laist.com/2014/01/21/uber_driver_locks_passenger_in_car_gives_himself_five-star_rating.php http://laist.com/2014/01/21/uber_driver_locks_passenger_in_c...
    - eridius 13y ago
      I had not heard of this before, but I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Uber said they're looking into the matter. I would assume that, if this story is actually true (I'm inclined to believe it is, but sometimes people do make things up), then the driver will be fired. I don't know what else you're expecting them to do.
icebraining 13y ago
The network effects will take care of the competition. Will it? Why? Unlike social networks, I don't see why would Uber benefit particularly from network effects; it doesn't even have switching costs, since the consumer can use both concurrently.
- nickpinkston 13y ago
  And that's true for the riders and the drivers - the opposite of network effects. I think he meant economies of scale.
- hristov 13y ago
  Each Uber user benefits when there are more Uber drivers. They can get rides faster and more conveniently. Each Uber driver benefits when there are more Uber users. They can get clients faster and closer to their current position and thus make more money with less downtime. These are the network effects. A consumer can use Uber and a competitor. This, however, is not unlike social networks, it is entirely like social networks. A consumer can use two social networks as well. However, in practice if one car service or social network does a good enough job the consumer is unlikely to use another.
  - icebraining 13y ago
    Each Uber user benefits when there are more Uber drivers. They can get rides faster and more conveniently. Each Uber driver benefits when there are more Uber users. They can get clients faster and closer to their current position and thus make more money with less downtime. These are the network effects. As nickpinkston said, those are economies of scale, which is a related concept, but not the same. A consumer can use two social networks as well. Yes, but this is where the difference highlighted above kicks in: in a social network, the total number of users is not as relevant as the number of connections the user has, so the user can be "stuck" even if he feels the product is not good enough. In a product like Uber, there's no such effect; people can switch as soon as they feel like trying the alternatives.
    - 13y ago
bdcravens 13y ago
Uber is the leading firm in a growing market with network effects. MySpace was also the leading firm in its industry. In Houston I've seen a lot of cabs with some app advertised on them - Hail a Cab or something like that. Actually painted (or maybe long-term decal lettering) so it's obviously embedded somehow in the industry. Eventually you'll see firms with pre-existing relationship take advantage of the business model.

by hristov 13y ago

carleverett 13y ago

I had not heard of Gett before this story.

maxbrown 13y ago
Right? This is the best part of the story...that their actions were what made me aware of their competitor.
- amirmc 13y ago
  > "... their actions were what made me aware ..." Point of pedantry: You're aware because someone wrote an article and someone else posted it here. I wonder how many other locations have tried similar tactics but not been widely exposed.
  - differentView 13y ago
    He is aware because of all those things, including his brain processing the words he read, but the only thing controlled by Uber is their actions.
  - mmanfrin 13y ago
    He is also aware because he owns a computer, has access to the internet, is in a profession or hobby that led him to this site, is in a specific place where he thought to check this site. At a certain point, you go overboard with pedantry.
  - dinkumthinkum 13y ago
    I don't think this is very good pedantry, though. This is really straining pedantry ...
hammock 13y ago
Do you live in NYC

AJ007 13y ago

Could these be sales people giving a per driver incentive? Or was it from the direction of a manager? If it was sales people, fire all of them. If it was a manager, fire him or her. Then issue a press release.

hbags 13y ago
I sincerely doubt that a company as unethical to the bones as Uber would ever consider firing them.
- yapcguy 13y ago
  Shitty company employing shitty people. "Uber Driver Allegedly Locks Passenger In Car, Gives Himself Five-Star Rating" http://laist.com/2014/01/21/uber_driver_locks_passenger_in_car_gives_himself_five-star_rating.php http://laist.com/2014/01/21/uber_driver_locks_passenger_in_c...
  - eridius 13y ago
    I had not heard of this before, but I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. Uber said they're looking into the matter. I would assume that, if this story is actually true (I'm inclined to believe it is, but sometimes people do make things up), then the driver will be fired. I don't know what else you're expecting them to do.

icebraining 13y ago

The network effects will take care of the competition. Will it? Why? Unlike social networks, I don't see why would Uber benefit particularly from network effects; it doesn't even have switching costs, since the consumer can use both concurrently.

nickpinkston 13y ago
And that's true for the riders and the drivers - the opposite of network effects. I think he meant economies of scale.
hristov 13y ago
Each Uber user benefits when there are more Uber drivers. They can get rides faster and more conveniently. Each Uber driver benefits when there are more Uber users. They can get clients faster and closer to their current position and thus make more money with less downtime. These are the network effects. A consumer can use Uber and a competitor. This, however, is not unlike social networks, it is entirely like social networks. A consumer can use two social networks as well. However, in practice if one car service or social network does a good enough job the consumer is unlikely to use another.
- icebraining 13y ago
  Each Uber user benefits when there are more Uber drivers. They can get rides faster and more conveniently. Each Uber driver benefits when there are more Uber users. They can get clients faster and closer to their current position and thus make more money with less downtime. These are the network effects. As nickpinkston said, those are economies of scale, which is a related concept, but not the same. A consumer can use two social networks as well. Yes, but this is where the difference highlighted above kicks in: in a social network, the total number of users is not as relevant as the number of connections the user has, so the user can be "stuck" even if he feels the product is not good enough. In a product like Uber, there's no such effect; people can switch as soon as they feel like trying the alternatives.
  - 13y ago

bdcravens 13y ago

Uber is the leading firm in a growing market with network effects. MySpace was also the leading firm in its industry. In Houston I've seen a lot of cabs with some app advertised on them - Hail a Cab or something like that. Actually painted (or maybe long-term decal lettering) so it's obviously embedded somehow in the industry. Eventually you'll see firms with pre-existing relationship take advantage of the business model.