When a GQ interviewer asked Uber then-CEO Travis Kalanick about the company’s rise making him increasingly desirable to women, he responded “Yeah, we call that Boob-er.”
Analyzed customers’ “Rides of Glory”
Uber staff analyzed passengers’ rides to and from unfamiliar overnight locations to chronicle and tabulate one-night-stands. Uber explained the methodology: “A RoGer [Ride of Glory user] is anyone who took a ride between 10pm and 4am on a Friday or Saturday night, and then took a second ride from within 1/10th of a mile of the previous nights’ drop-off point 4-6 hours later (enough for a quick night’s sleep).”
Uber counted the number of such users in various cities, then assessed the most common such neighborhoods and which weekends have the most ROG’s. Uber published the analysis, including highlighted neighborhood maps, on a corporate blog.
Who’s Driving You? preserved Uber’s since-deleted “Rides of Glory” blog post.
Proposed to “dig up dirt” on reporters
Uber Senior Vice President of Business Emil Michael proposed spending $1 million to target reporters who wrote unfavorable stories about Uber. In particular, Emil proposed to hire researchers and journalists who would publish unflattering research about the reporters’ personal lives.
Coverage from The Verge.