[Joeboy]

Is this not a shameless land grab for the term "sharing economy"? I've always associated the term with actual grassroots things like Freecycle, LETS systems etc. Or maybe people have actually started to think AirBnB is part of the "sharing economy" and I just missed it.

[potatolicious]

It absolutely is. Freecycle, Couchsurfing, etc.

Now you have Uber joining the fray as "ride-sharing". No, these are professionally licensed drivers cruising around town in sleek, jet-black towncars. They are not "ride sharing" any more so than that restaurant is "food sharing" to me.

[theorique]

Does anybody really think of Uber as "ride sharing"? I think of it as "app that calls you a black car cheaper and faster than if you went through a car service".

Some of these like Lyft or RelayRide are truly car sharing - peer to peer facilitating hitchhiking by unlicensed "cab drivers" for tips.

But still, the "economy" part is more in evidence than the "sharing" part. Obviously, people expect to be paid for doing services, even if it's an informal and off-the-books part of their income.

[subsystem]

I would guess they are going for an IPO soon and tries to attach themselves to something sufficiently vague that seems bigger than themselves.