Transportation In Paris

You want to take the subway, but Uber is so good the days of the cab are numbered.

Yes, I took the aforementioned subway to Le Marais. The initial train from Place de la Concorde was so sophisticated I was laughing at the U.S. Until further along my journey I found broken escalators and schmutz. But that first ride... So quiet, with the inability to fall into the gap, the barrier between platform and train a wall of plexiglass, that only opened when a car arrived, it was a marvel.

However, on my return trip to the Fondation Louis Vuitton... I was blundering and ultimately jumped the turnstile at the end of my ride, unable to find the correct ticket, if I even still possessed it. I wouldn't have jumped in this camera-laden world if I hadn't seen a troupe of young men do it before me without consequence.

My first stop was the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire du Judaisme. What impressed me most was the security. They're taking no chances in this land of Charlie Hebdo. I'd love to tell you the museums is a must-see, but other than the story of Alfred Dreyfus and an exhibit on the Jewish artists of the twentieth century, it was missable.

Unlike the Centre Georges Pompidou.

First I got in the wrong line. I went into the Bibliotheque. One assumes no one speaks English and I'm still inhibited about asking, probably because my father implored me to and had no problem in doing so.

But the museum... Positively staggering.

I wanted to see the Corbu exhibit, but I didn't have enough time. So I went through the twentieth century survey, and unlike in so many museums the explanations were fluid and understandable. It appears that every ten years artists reacted to what came before, and created something new, oftentimes with references to the past. And there I could see the connection to the music business.

Seeing the evolution of Cubism, from representational to abstract, was the highlight, they had a sea of Braque and Picasso, and as I moved through the decades I got to see my favorites, Jackson Pollock and Frank Stella.

And then my ride across town to see Ginny and the crew.

I got to Chatelet.

But then I was completely flummoxed. I found the right line, after walking nearly a mile underground, but could not find my stop in either direction. I asked directions, got pointed the right way, but the list of stops was unfamiliar to me. Turns out that the train goes further than the map, the destinations were literally off the map, that's why I was confused. I got to Charles de Gaulle - Etoile easily ultimately, and then I got in a shuttle bus that fought traffic around a roundabout that was akin to a movie. Scores of cars, few going in the same direction, mere inches away. I couldn't drive here.

But on the way back we took Uber.

Now I'm categorically against Uber. Because of liability issues. When you get hurt in a car the driver's insurance is gonna do its best to deny coverage. And now Uber has an umbrella policy, but still... Certainly in America, we have laws in place to make sure passengers don't fall through the cracks. Furthermore, I read an article in the WSJ stating that most drivers don't make the vaunted $20+ an hour. And even the right wing paper of record said Uber was perpetuating a two class system, of winners owning the systems and worker bees sans insurance and other corporate perks doing the work.

But oh what a glorious service Uber is.

You're motivating a work force to do a job better than the usual suspects via technology. That's the key, the tech. You can't believe your driver appears on your phone instantly, that you can see his or her car as they approach you. That you don't have to worry about searching for cash to pay. This is everything the twenty first century promised us.

Kind of like the printing press way back when. It was the internet of its day. Jewish books flourished, I learned that at the museum. In the future the internet will look quaint and be antiquated as our successors push the envelope of feasibility. We did not get flying cars, but we got what we could not conceive of.

So if you're not employing tech to revolutionize your business...

Someone else will come in and disrupt you.

Happened in the music business and it hasn't been the same since. Forget the major labels, who are harnessing social media and have righted their boats, despite garnering less revenue... It's the artists who are lost in the new era. Some take left field risks, like making apps as albums, but most just stunned that the playing field changed. How do you reach people? That's the next breakthrough in the music business. And it won't be Apple Music. Some techie, not Jimmy Iovine, will find a way to connect great music with those who want to hear it. It's coming. And it's not playlists.

So we got picked up in a brand new Mercedes, where the guy asked us to control the music and offered up candy and water. Every Uber driver is sans a bad attitude. When you get dropped off at your destination you feel happy.

So, the company might be overvalued, but it's not going extinct.

Because someone decided to mix up the pieces to create a new reality. To utilize the tools to deliver something heretofore unknown that is endlessly enticing.

That's how you should see it. The internet, your smartphone, they're just tools. They can get you where you want to go.

If you're unafraid and know how to use them.

If you can look beyond today and deliver what we want tomorrow.

P.S. On an unrelated note, on the nighttime boat ride down the Seine the soundtrack was "Moon Safari." Made me smile and marvel how music is a magic elixir that can enhance the experience. Air took the building blocks and created something new that still sounds fresh today, fifteen plus years later. Let this French duo be a beacon to you. (And if you haven't heard it, check it out on Spotify IMMEDIATELY! http://spoti.fi/1IPkFwn)

"How Everyone Gets the 'Sharing' Economy Wrong - Uber isnt the Uber for rides - it's the Uber for low-wage jobs": http://on.wsj.com/1Rg52Ch


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