Uber
An alternative interpretation of Uber’s rebranding
Here is a German version of this article.
When Uber two weeks ago presented its new branding, the company’s CEO Travis Kalanick explained the changes and elimination of the widely recognized “U” icon with the company’s evolution from being “everyone’s private driver” to becoming a transportation network; one not only for moving people, but also for food, goods, and “soon maybe much more”. It’s a reasonable explanation supported by marketing theory – an evolving company might need a rebranding to update and upgrade its perception among the public.
However, there is another possible interpretation of the move and the departure from the iconic design elements that people around the world would recognize: By giving up on the branding that everyone associates with Uber’s – in many parts of the world controversial – people transportation services, the company might try to change the narrative. It does not want to be seen anymore as the company fighting to out-compete the taxi incumbents and being embroiled in legal battles all around the world. Because this turned out to be extremely challenging. Applying the successful US-strategy of aggressive, ethically questionable and rule-breaking behavior has not led to the same success in many other markets. There Uber often plays the role of an obscure (and often illegal) niche player. Europe is just one example. Continue Reading
Once Uber’s self-driving cars arrive, what will be left to hate about the company?
Uber is one of the most controversial and most hated companies in tech. It is also beloved by many of its regular customers. But a seemingly never-ending series of scandals, hyper aggressive tactics and questionable business practices have brought the San Francisco-based company critics all over the world, from taxi drivers, competitors and journalists to politicians, union leaders and activists.
Most of the criticism involves aspects related to the human drivers of Uber. But Uber plans to abandon its drivers. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has made it clear in the past that his long-term vision is to make use of self-driving cars. A few days ago a report confirmed that the company is already actively testing the potential of autonomous cars.
Today no one knows when Uber’s self-driving cars will become reality and actually hit the streets, ready for passenger pickup. But assuming that not all experts are mistaken, self-driving cars will become reality, and Uber will use them.
That leads to an interesting question: What will be left to hate about Uber once its drivers are gone? Continue Reading
Uber, the network economy and why we need a system upgrade
Last week, Uber made an interesting remark in a blog post announcing the appointment of the company’s first chief security officer. In the second paragraph of the text it said:
“In many ways we’ve become a critical part of the infrastructure of cities. We are both in cyberspace and on city streets all at once; a bridge between bits and atoms. And as we get into tens of millions of rides a week, we continue to challenge ourselves to do even better when it comes to safety and data security”.
Uber sees itself as a “critical part of the infrastructure of cities”. This might initially sound like a hyperbole. But especially in some North American cities, this claim actually appears close to reality. Consider New York, or consider San Francisco. 162.037 drivers have completed at least four or more trips in the U.S. during December alone. So let’s go with the proposition that Uber (along with its competitor Lyft) indeed has become a critical part of the infrastructure of an increasing number of cities. This marks a milestone. Continue Reading