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"will seem more and more malevolent". Are you saying its not actually malevolent but is just being perceived as so because it is aggressive ?

by nyrulez 12y ago

napoleoncomplex 12y ago
I only meant that how we look at them changes with their size, and if they want to remain the "good guys" their tactics should change too. If Lyft had 5 times the funding, Uber recruiting their drivers would look like a bold move. It would mean Uber believes drivers will stick with them long-term because life for drivers with them is clearly better, and the initial investment pays off in the long run, despite them having a smaller war chest to begin with. Now that Uber has 5 times the funding, the same move looks like Uber is afraid of Lyft beating them in the market, and is trying to kill them early by buying off their drivers and crippling them. They can afford this even if driving for Uber is a shittier experience long-term than driving for Lyft, since they have so much more money it doesn't really matter. Lyft will be dead or badly injured before drivers figure it out, so Uber doesn't need to worry about being the best in the market. What their actual motives are is anyone's guess, but it doesn't look good for them to do this.
georgemcbay 12y ago
The way people perceive actions tends to change based on the status of the person(s) performing the action at the time the action was performed. Everyone knows reddit admins used to game the system by faking submissions to solve the chicken and egg problem and nobody really cares, but there would be an uproar if they were found to be manipulating story placements behind the scenes today because the scale of the site is so different. People are pretty willing to overlook borderline underhanded things if you are really an underdog trying to get a leg up, but far less so when you're the industry leader trying to crush upstarts.

"will seem more and more malevolent". Are you saying its not actually malevolent but is just being perceived as so because it is aggressive ?

by nyrulez 12y ago

"will seem more and more malevolent". Are you saying its not actually malevolent but is just being perceived as so because it is aggressive ?

napoleoncomplex 12y ago

I only meant that how we look at them changes with their size, and if they want to remain the "good guys" their tactics should change too. If Lyft had 5 times the funding, Uber recruiting their drivers would look like a bold move. It would mean Uber believes drivers will stick with them long-term because life for drivers with them is clearly better, and the initial investment pays off in the long run, despite them having a smaller war chest to begin with. Now that Uber has 5 times the funding, the same move looks like Uber is afraid of Lyft beating them in the market, and is trying to kill them early by buying off their drivers and crippling them. They can afford this even if driving for Uber is a shittier experience long-term than driving for Lyft, since they have so much more money it doesn't really matter. Lyft will be dead or badly injured before drivers figure it out, so Uber doesn't need to worry about being the best in the market. What their actual motives are is anyone's guess, but it doesn't look good for them to do this.

georgemcbay 12y ago

The way people perceive actions tends to change based on the status of the person(s) performing the action at the time the action was performed. Everyone knows reddit admins used to game the system by faking submissions to solve the chicken and egg problem and nobody really cares, but there would be an uproar if they were found to be manipulating story placements behind the scenes today because the scale of the site is so different. People are pretty willing to overlook borderline underhanded things if you are really an underdog trying to get a leg up, but far less so when you're the industry leader trying to crush upstarts.