Uber Drives Away from Kansas

Uber continues to suffer from uneven publicity. For all the fuss Wall Street has lavished on the app-driven car service, a surprising number of domestic municipalities have frowned over Uber's tactics and apparent distaste for regulations determined by democratically elected bodies.

The latest black eye comes from, of all places, Kansas. The home of extreme right-wing politics sent Uber a clear message that the state, not Uber, would determine driver suitability and insurance requirements. According to a story in siliconvalley.com, both houses of Kansas' legislature overcame Governor Sam Brownback's veto regarding laws pertaining to Uber's services.

Uber's response was to pout and stomp out of the state. Ironically, Uber, whose CEO embraces the free-market mantle, has experienced its share of defeats in profoundly conservative areas, such as Boise, Idaho. Perhaps "free" has its limits.

Silicon Valley's "All-Male" Boards of Directors Remain High Tech's Black Eye

Airbnb founders Nathan Blecharczyk (left)
CEO Brian Chesky (center) and Joe Gebbie (right).
(Image: skift.com and nbcnews.com)

The Ellen Pao gender discrimination lawsuit against Silicon Valley VC heavyweight Kleiner Perkins suggested the "boys club" remains alive and very well in High Tech's leading firms. The issue of frat house mores and overt sexism just won't go away in "America's best hope for its future." Interestingly, Fortune recently named names in the all-male-all-the-time world of Silicon Valley's corporate boards. Reporter Michelle Quinn noted the story in her siliconvalley.com column today.

The firms are a subset of privately held enterprises called "unicorns." These creatures are not only elusive, but individually command a market value over one billion dollars. Among the unicorns with all-male boards are Uber, Airbnb, and ironically, Pinterest. Why should one feel surprised by these findings? Frankly, many Silicon Valley firms act with a deep sense of entitlement. These so-called disruptors feel rules are for others to follow, and for themselves to selectively consider. One wonders how this group would manage in a world of female "unicorns." Think Ellen Pao might offer an answer?

Uber Raised Rates During Sydney Hostage Siege

Image: blog.uber.com

The controversial car service Uber gained traction among the hip and wired as the new wave of getting from point A to point B. A mere whiff of an IPO created a valuation frenzy unsettlingly similar to the turn of the century Internet stock bubble. Uber has publicly maintained its mission is the provision of cheaper car service fares, leveraging shared ridership and app-generated demand. However, Uber operates much more like an airline utilizing "yield management" techniques. In simplest terms, transportation firms charge higher fares during peak periods. Uber has asserted this approach, muscularly defending it as a way to attract more drivers to work for Uber.

People on expense accounts (Uber's prime demographic) don't care about rates that double or triple during "peak" times. Meanwhile, Uber's definition of "peak" seems arbitrary, leaving ordinary citizens who've bought into the Uber concept paying more than they would have in a metered cab.

The "peak" concept came into ugly focus during the recent hostage siege in Sydney, Australia. Those who attempted to leave the city's central business district during the incident were dismayed to learn their Uber fares would be anywhere from double to quadruple the regular fare, as a vator.tv report noted. This repellent exploitation became another in a series of very public black eyes for Uber. Recently, an Uber driver in India allegedly raped a passenger. Earlier this fall, an Uber executive publicly suggested hiring detectives to discredit journalists who post pieces that displease Uber.

Uber is another example of privatization's dark side. In this case, arrogant, tech-driven greed masquerades as a public good. My suggestion is a simple one: buyer beware.

Athens' "Cookistos" Form Culinary Vanguard of Greek "Collaborative Consumption"

Home cooks, especially those without children, frequently face the challenge of preparing more food than they can consume. This issue is not unique to American kitchens. One solution to this domestic dilemma is something called "collaborative consumption," in which people can purchase portions of, say, a homemade chicken pot pie.

This phenomena is emerging in unlikely European venues. The BBC reported today on collaborative consumption's emergence in profoundly individualistic Athens. The emergence of cookistos -- those who prepare portioned meals -- is a fascinating story with parallels to the development of America's "sharing economy" firms, such as ride-sharing Uber.

The food described in the BBC story, including a recipe for moussaka, sounds delightful. If you can't visit Athens, you can always make the dish yourself -- and share it for a fee with total strangers.

Uber Drivers Sue Over Company's Tipping Policy

This year, car-service firm Uber has become a darling of the tech/services crowd. The San Francisco-based enterprise, which recently received a $200-plus-million cash infusion from Google, features a unique selling proposition is its use of an application to arrange rides. Well, that sounds fine until one looks under the hood at who receives what cut of the passenger payment pie.

A lawsuit was recently filed alleging Uber is not paying tips that drivers believe they have earned. The story, initially reported by Bloomberg reporter Joshua Brustein, appeared in yesterday's sfgate.com. The plaintiffs assert that passengers in Uber's taxi service are charged a twenty percent tip. Somehow, according to the litigation, Uber drivers don't ever get the money; Uber pockets it. (The firm faces similar litigation in two other cities.)

Uber has dismissed the lawsuit as "frivolous." What's more interesting is Uber's use of the Amazon defense, i.e., their business is consumer friendly and bad guys are trying to "stifle innovation." Meanwhile, unregulated Uber is muscling into turf that is highly regulated and occupied by connected, entrenched interests. At the same time, Uber keeps the unregulated tips, thus improving margins as Amazon did by not charging state sales tax on transactions.

What's "frivolous" is Uber's claim that consumer friendliness is its business raison d'etre. Uber's assumption that "disruption" is an unqualified benefit is a spurious one. It's fine to compete: it's bullshit to drape ruthless competition in the falsely virtuous cloak of technological progress.