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Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

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Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#21

Post by forgetsusername »

tyingq wrote: post #2

There's a number of things that have happened in the organic search area of Google that seem to suggest a declining interest in quality organic results. There's Matt Cutts' long leave of absence, his departure, and the announcement that he's not really being replaced. A much lower volume of communication from Google on initiatives in the space (they used to talk endlessly about Panda, Penguin, etc). Amit's original r…

>The marketshare battle is done. Google won. No competition

Is there an analog to this? Is there another market where marketshare has "been decided"? My instinct tells me that companies who fall for this are in trouble.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#22

Post by wsh91 »

forgetsusername wrote: post #21
tyingq wrote: post #2

There's a number of things that have happened in the organic search area of Google that seem to suggest a declining interest in quality organic results. There's Matt Cutts' long leave of absence, his departure, and the announcement that he's not really being replaced. A much lower volume of communication from Google on initiatives in the space (they used to talk endlessly about Panda, Penguin, etc). Amit's original r…

> The marketshare battle is done. Google won. No competition Is there an analog to this? Is there another market where marketshare has "been decided"? My instinct tells me that companies who fall for this are in trouble.

As a Googler, I can tell you that no one I know here is under that impression. (Your instincts are absolutely correct.)

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#23

Post by nolok »

rryan wrote: post #17
tyingq wrote: post #2

There's a number of things that have happened in the organic search area of Google that seem to suggest a declining interest in quality organic results. There's Matt Cutts' long leave of absence, his departure, and the announcement that he's not really being replaced. A much lower volume of communication from Google on initiatives in the space (they used to talk endlessly about Panda, Penguin, etc). Amit's original r…

> There's a number of things that have happened in the organic search area of Google that seem to suggest a declining interest in quality organic results. I think you may be falling for the SV cult of personality fallacy. There are still literally thousands of individuals you've never heard of working on organic search quality at Google who care very much about quality organic results. :)

No no no, the two person whose name he knew left after years in the same job, it must mean Google doesn't care anymore about their main product that makes roughly 90% of their revenue !

So yeah I totally agree, be it Google, Apple, Microsoft, ... A large amount of people around here are so used to small team startup represented by their founder that they always feel the need in similar stories to make a cult of personality for / against someone as if he was the product he worked for.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#24

Post by bduerst »

SixSigma wrote: post #9
oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

Big $$ talk loud

I think Matt Levine nailed it earlier this month [1], on how Uber lost $2.2 Billion in 9 months [2]:

>Eventually there will be self-driving cars, and there's no special reason to think that Uber will be the best at building them, or that its dominant position in the ride-hailing-app space will protect it from better self-driving-car businesses.

Which also needs to factor in Uber's biggest liability: their attitude towards flouting laws and regulations. It worked okay for the ride-sharing markets, as municipal regulations are varied and slow to catch up, but they were forced to stop their self-driving car project after just a week because they didn't even get the necessary permits. [3]

[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-01-10/bank-bloc...

[2] http://www.vox.com/new-money/2017/1/9/14194202/uber-lost-22-...

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/21/technology/san-francisco-...

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#25

Post by kelukelugames »

oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

You should sign up for Blind and read the Uber employees' comments.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#26

Post by maverick_iceman »

oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

I think self-driving cars would be a major challenge for Uber. As long as ridesharing companies need human drivers network effects ensure that Uber will remain at the top. But when driverless cars become feasible Uber's moat disappears. What's stopping an upstart company to buy/lease 10,000 self-driving cars and let them loose on the street? There's no reason for customers to prefer Uber over them. (This problem becomes more acute if Uber IPO's by then and have to worry about quarterly results but their competitor can burn through VC money.)

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#27

Post by fullshark »

grandalf wrote: post #14
oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

Uber has done nearly everything right. I think its main vulnerability is that its laborers are a fickle bunch and Uber hasn't done enough to inspire any loyalty. All Uber drivers I talk to alternate between Uber and Lyft and exploit any promotions or incentives either firm offers. Uber has the opportunity to revolutionize not just logistics but also on-demand employment, but has lagged in the latter, leaving the door…

Uber's racing to make their drivers obsolete. They view them as an unwelcome cost and have no desire to spend resources making them loyal.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#28

Post by taxicabjesus »

grandalf wrote: post #14
oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

Uber has done nearly everything right. I think its main vulnerability is that its laborers are a fickle bunch and Uber hasn't done enough to inspire any loyalty. All Uber drivers I talk to alternate between Uber and Lyft and exploit any promotions or incentives either firm offers. Uber has the opportunity to revolutionize not just logistics but also on-demand employment, but has lagged in the latter, leaving the door…

> I think Uber should immediately offer the following services to its drivers:

The taxi industry pioneered the 'independent contractor' business model. Some of the services you suggest cross the line between 'contractor' and 'employee', especially 'healthcare subsidy'.

The owner/operator whom I drove for says that the company only provides liability insurance (to cover the cab company's liability) as a part of her contract with the cab company. If she wanted collision coverage, she had to buy that separately, because insurance == employment.

When I signed up I was told that I should buy my own worker's compensation policy, but I never did this.

Most people don't want 'on demand' employment, they want stability. Because of outsourcing and automation, the economy doesn't need as many workers anymore. Uber's business model is entirely dependent on this phenomenon.

Drivers -- taxi drivers, 'rideshare drivers', trucking drivers, etc -- would benefit from a union. Arizona is not a union-friendly state; I don't know if taxi drivers elsewhere have unions.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#29

Post by grandalf »

cm2012 wrote: post #20
grandalf wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Uber has done nearly everything right. I think its main vulnerability is that its laborers are a fickle bunch and Uber hasn't done enough to inspire any loyalty. All Uber drivers I talk to alternate between Uber and Lyft and exploit any promotions or incentives either firm offers. Uber has the opportunity to revolutionize not just logistics but also on-demand employment, but has lagged in the latter, leaving the door…

They are really worried about their contractors being classified as employees. That would be an existential threat.

I know that is Uber's view, I think it's mistaken and unsustainable. The lack of a sustainable policy is what creates the existential risk.

Re: Uber Hires Former Google Search Chief Amit Singhal as SVP of Engineering

#30

Post by Kiro »

maverick_iceman wrote: post #26
oculusthrift wrote: post #5

I'm really confused on what to think about Uber. My personal thinking/logic is really bearish on them, similar to the post on the front page yesterday [1]. However, I keep seeing extremely smart/accomplished people joining it which makes me second guess my intuition. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13437414

I think self-driving cars would be a major challenge for Uber. As long as ridesharing companies need human drivers network effects ensure that Uber will remain at the top. But when driverless cars become feasible Uber's moat disappears. What's stopping an upstart company to buy/lease 10,000 self-driving cars and let them loose on the street? There's no reason for customers to prefer Uber over them. (This problem beco…

That's why Uber invests so heavily in self-driving cars.
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