I get that people sometimes say stupid things after two or three glasses of wine. And I get that blabbing about something is different from actually doing it. But this was egregiously beyond the boundaries of basic ethics and societal values, and a company executive should know better.
So you may think it's overblown, but I'd like Uber to feel that this is not OK, so it got me to finally install the Lyft app which I'll be giving a try.
I think it's the most absurd thing I've ever heard. I don't know if you read Sarah's actual article, but it reads as if this guy called her up and told her that he was going to murder her children. It is that sentiment, not facts about what actually happened, that has carried this "story" so far. She is exploiting others' fears about stalking and sexism for her own personal gain. IMO, that makes her far more evil than anything Uber could or would do.
The tone of Sarah Lacy's article is irrelevant to me. It is the suggestion that a company executive would consider lashing out at a journalist this way that I find disturbing.
How about looking at it this way: even if everyone has had a moment of wanting to "wring someone's neck" as you say down-thread, I don't expect company executives to actually suggest that they might hire some goons to go rough up someone who negatively reviewed their product. An executive who says something like that in public is an idiot, and I personally would seriously reconsider whether I want that person to be in charge of anything at my company, or represent my company in public ever again.
It's not "exploiting others' fears" when there is actual evidence that Uber has tracked journalists and other high profile figures, and top execs have brashly threatened to spend millions investigating journalists' personal lives. This is disgusting.
top execs have brashly threatened to spend millions investigating journalists' personal lives
Nope. ONE exec went on a rant at a party about what HE would hypothetically like to do to a self-declared enemy of the company. Have you ever been really frustrated with someone and said "Ugh sometimes I'd like to ring his/her neck" or similar? Now imagine someone overheard you, took it literally, and called the person you were frustrated with. Sensing an opportunity to exploit the situation, they call the police, contact Senators about you, and write a blog post about how you threatened to eradicate him/her and everyone they've ever spoken to from the planet in the most violent possible way - all in an effort to get clicks on ads on your blog. That is basically what happened here.
So you may think it's overblown, but I'd like Uber to feel that this is not OK, so it got me to finally install the Lyft app which I'll be giving a try.