Uber V. Facebook: Who Will Stay on Top?

We all get so excited when new stuff comes out, and I don’t know if it is my realistic attitude or my occasional pessimism that instills in me the need to shoot down new social networking ideas, but I do it often. Like, I could tell Twitter would make it, but I doubt we have much time left with Snapchat. But when you hear about a thing like Uber…

For those of you not in the know, Uber is presently an app for smartphones (are there any other phones these days?) that allows you to be picked up and dropped off anywhere in your city. Now, Uber is a startup, so it isn’t currently available in every city or country, but you may be surprised to know (I was) that it is being used in 22 countries across the globe. Sixty American cities, my hometown of Seattle included, utilize the service. That is a whole lot of places, considering I have just learned about it in the past month.

Uber is quite different than taking a taxi, obviously. The user is allowed to choose from a variety of vehicles to pick them up, and you pay by credit card via the app. No cash or annoying card readers necessary. Well, why not take a cab instead? Convienence? Luxury? No one carries cash anymore? Probably all three. Now, after reading this article, I have been pondering the suggestion that Uber will one day be bigger than Facebook. A ludicrous accusation, I assumed before reading the NY Magazine post. However, after further hearing about Uber’s intentions to become a machine like Amazon.com, I was not as much of a naysayer. Uber plans to outgrow car service and branch out to all logistical services like food, clothes and basically anything you could want or need. Recently, Uber has changed its tagline from “Everyone’s private driver” to “Where lifestyle meets logistics.” I see where this is headed. Though I fully believe in Uber’s ability to not only match Amazon’s monster, but perhaps even overtake it, I cannot fully commit to believing in its ability to overcome Facebook. Uber will likely cash in on the social aspect that Facebook banks on eventually, but currently, Facebook and Twitter rule the social aspects of life as we now know it. Facebook has it all: it is how people connect with not only their high school classmates and college roomies, but their families as well. There are pictures, new and old; ways of announcing pregnancies and engagements; ways of promoting a new business or fan page. Facebook, love it or hate it, rules everything. You can feel so close to someone that you have not seen in forever because of Facebook. We rarely ask, “I wonder what happened to that dude?” anymore because we know exactly what they do for work, who they are married to and the name of their firstborn son. Maybe I am a loyalist (not maybe), but I believe that Facebook is the top. Uber will go far, I would be surprised to see it not, but I don’t think Mark and the friends over there need to be concerned. Or…you know…maybe they will marry and take over the world. Anything can happen! It’s almost 2014! What do you guys think? Does Uber have the power to be the next Facebook? Featured image via .