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squirrelfish's review against another edition
3.0
So, there's a lot of good information about how Uber works in here. I'd definitely recommend it for an Uber driver, but there's a lot of angst as well. Some of the points are good - how Uber lacks transparency and fails to look out for drivers, even when its super easy like putting in a timer, but also in harder situations like sexual harassment. Some points are a little bit more mixed, such as comparing the taxi industry to Uber/Lyft, with a lot of discussion that really fails to discuss why the taxis share of the market fell so easily. Some points I thought were a more common angst against tech. He discusses pay issues as if it's compared to a 40-hour/week job with benefits, and seems to blame tech/gig jobs for the problem, failing to see that those are increasingly unavailable and unattractive regardless of the state of the gig economy. I do gigs, but not Uber or Lyft specifically, so I was aware of some of the stuff, but this did give me more information. The interviews with Lyft drivers around North America were some of the better parts - letting you see how drivers are treated by the company and by the riders.
Audiobook read through the SF Public Library and the Libby app.
Audiobook read through the SF Public Library and the Libby app.
atnmitch's review
5.0
Really interesting book and something that applies to lots of other similar industries that fall within the same trend as Uber. The author really cuts through the rhetoric and ideas at the heart of Uber's model, that it is a technology company rather than a taxi company, and that the drivers are self employed contractors. And how it uses the fluidity of these definitions to be what it needs to be in different circumstances to evade responsibilities.
It can be a little frustrating as most of the experience with changes in uber functionality or fares is anecdotal and speculative and you want to find out how it works and how it is manipulated; but as there is no access to uber's data or algorithms it's all that can be done, and you can't fault the author for that.
It can be a little frustrating as most of the experience with changes in uber functionality or fares is anecdotal and speculative and you want to find out how it works and how it is manipulated; but as there is no access to uber's data or algorithms it's all that can be done, and you can't fault the author for that.
socprof's review
5.0
This is an engaging exploration of how Uber changes how we conceive of work. Based on both macro examination of the legal frameworks that Uber has used to its benefit (defining itself as a tech company and not a transportation company, and treating drivers alternatively as consumer and independent contractors), and micro ethnography and interviews, Rosenblat provides a full picture from the perspective of both drivers, and the impact of Uber on the culture.
Obviously a very timely book well worth a read.
Obviously a very timely book well worth a read.
jamescridland's review
4.0
So far, this is a bit ploddy. It's a deep dive into how Uber works, though there's little here that comes as any surprise. 47% in, there's little investigation of other, similar services; which seems a disappointment. I'll probably continue to plod through eventually.
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