-It's a great PR gimmick for Uber/CheezBurger and it's something others can learn from.
-Uber articles typically end up on HN because of their presence in SF and that a lot of HN users use Uber (all of the 50~ people that I personally know on HN have used Uber) or are otherwise connected to people who work at Uber.
-Ben Huh is awesome. He's a great advisor and him being involved means I'm going to upvote it.
-Kittens on demand = cool.
-Kittens, cupcakes, and raising money for a good cause = Awesome.
>> No cash required! Donations will be charged directly to your Uber account.
This is big as most everyone who signs up now has an account with Uber. Once Uber has my credit card information, I am less hesitant to use their service in the future. It sounds like a great way to reduce friction to me.
Off-topic: I remember when the only reason I signed up for Living Social was because Amazon.com was giving me $10 in gift certificate. I thought they were idiots for giving me free money. Of course, I don't think twice about having a $90 gift card balance "because it never expires".