Author: jeromekatz

Resistance Is Futile: Uber Loves a Good Fight | Inc.com

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Recently, some of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies have been pushing ahead with their ideas without pausing to ask for permission. As a result, they’re behaving in ways lawmakers aren’t quite comfortable with. Consider that on your phone, you can purchase luggage (say, on Amazon), find someone to carry said luggage (TaskRabbit), rent an apartment for a couple of days (Airbnb), and hail a luxury sedan (you get the picture). But when the luggage retailer doesn’t pay state sales tax, the employment provider doesn’t pay minimum wage, the renter doesn’t hold the lease, and the sedan driver doesn’t charge a fixed rate? The government is pissed.

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The Aggressive Processes Uber Uses for Global Expansion | Process Street

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Describes Uber’s strategy for going into new markets and recruiting drivers, including hiring them from Lyft. Gives Kalancik’s history with prior businesses (including file sharing services, hence “Uber is the Napster of Driving-as-a-service”).

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Is an Uber Ride Any Better Than a Gypsy Cab? – Motherboard

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If Uber allegedly employs rapists and recruits unlicensed drivers, does that make the chauffer service any different than the gypsy cabs your mom always told you not to take?
It’s complicated. Uber has faced nothing but resistance from local governments and taxi companies (especially in DC) since it launched in 2011, but it’s contested those challenges by demonstrating a demand for a smartphone-powered private car service, or, as it calls itself, “Everyone’s Private Driver.” 

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