“Newsworthy” implies “demands coverage,” not “deserves platform.”— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 13, 2017
Under its existing model, Uber's competitive advantage is mainly based on cheap nonunion labor providing its own vehicles. Under this model, Uber has no special advantage while competitors from Amazon to Google to car rental companies to auto manufacturers are better positioned.— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 13, 2017
Josh missed the most important point, Forget racist, conspiracy theorist and fabulist. Cernovich first came to fame through the men's rights movement. Misogynists have now weaponized the backlash against harassment.— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 21, 2017
True, but those decisions were made before false balance and Clinton derangement syndrome helped put Trump in the WH. This shows the NYT has learned nothing from its mistakes. @jayrosen_nyu— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 13, 2017
Of course, if the New York Times had followed the Washington Post's lead instead of doubling down on false balance, we might not have a situation they all need to rise to.— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 20, 2017
Substitute 50s and Russian for 80s and Japanese and work in Sputnik...https://t.co/JdzsgDyDNX— Mark Palko (@MarkPalko1) November 22, 2017
Mark:
ReplyDeleteYou write, "Under its existing model, Uber's competitive advantage is mainly based on cheap nonunion labor providing its own vehicles."
I always understood the above as Uber's short-term business model, with their long-term business model as getting so large (in $, customer base, and publicity) to become too big to fail. The idea is that Uber becomes viewed as indispensable and then they can live off government subsidies. That's the plan, no?
Andrew,
DeleteYes, that's the only possible endgame that justifies the valuation of the company. You simply have to have monopolistic pricing, government subsidies and regulatory capture to make those numbers work. For the moment though, rideshare companies run on regulatory arbitrage (not having to follow the same rules as taxi companies), cheap labor (often below minimum wage when you take into account operator expenses), and investors' willingness to lose money on each transaction.
The ability to lose a ton of money is kind of key. It is one thing to be Amazon and have little profit but constant growth. But growth paid for entirely by debt is an enormous advantage, if you can find a way to either evade the debt bill or obtain monopoly rents to pay it down.
Delete