Inside Orchard Essays
The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard membership is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Essays are 900 words and sent via email on Thursdays. Essays revolve around the following topics: industry analysis, company / business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. Sample essays can be viewed here, here and here.
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DeepSeek Broke Wall Street’s AI Mania Fever
When kicking off the brainstorming session for this essay, my intention was to talk about tariffs. The level of fear and unknown in the market rivals the early days of the pandemic. However, something else had been nagging me.
The WSJ Was Right to Fire Its Tech Newsroom
In what were clearly decisions being pushed by editors, the WSJ embraced an anti-tech agenda that positioned Big Tech as the enemy of the people.
A Voice Head Fake
As we move into the second half of the 2020s and what still feels like AI mania, we seem to be on the inevitable path of relitigating the voice computing debate from the late 2010s.
Apple News Is Winning
While it may feel like there aren’t many surprises left to uncover in the news industry, my local paper shows how we are probably still underestimating legacy media’s collapse. Apple News is looking like the right product at the right time to take advantage of such industry turmoil.
Nike Needs Its Next Michael Jordan
The uncomfortable truth is that today’s youth don’t have the same connection with sports that prior generations had.
Getting Consumers to Pay in Tech Is Underrated
Several Big Tech giants aren’t even at Netflix’s level in terms of getting consumers to pay for products and services. Such a reality raises a number of interesting implications to work through.
Meta Excels at Copying, but at What Cost?
Innovation is an intriguing word. Every tech company thinks of itself as an innovative leader while claiming innovation is in short supply at their competitors.
Big Tech Got Its Pivot in 2024
When reviewing 2024 from a technology perspective, it’s tempting to assume something related to AI must have been the story of the year.
Bitcoin Is a Middle Finger to the Establishment
As generative AI mania matures, we find ourselves in something of a Bitcoin bonanza.
Elon Musk’s Influence Was Misjudged
Musk is taking advantage of the generational shift in how we consume news to put his thumb on the news scale to suit his own (political) interests.
Big Tech Should Embrace Trump’s Pro-America Platform
Earlier this week, President Trump won a second presidential term in a blowout election. The signs were there all along that such a result was likely. Big Tech sure seemed to anticipate such a result.
Video Podcasts Are Having a Moment
The U.S. presidential election has put a spotlight on video podcasts. On both sides of the aisle, video podcasts are being leveraged to gain an edge by connecting with voters.
Something Has Changed With the Tesla Community
The most interesting takeaways and observations from Tesla’s “We, Robot” event weren’t from the event itself, but rather from what unfolded after the event.
Passive Investing’s Impact on Big Tech Is Being Underestimated
Big Tech has seen about $4.5 trillion of market capitalization gains since January. While the move has led to some valuation diehards, usually those in academia, becoming louder in opposition to the move, the role passive investing is playing in Big Tech’s rise is flying under the radar.
Apple vs. Meta Is the New iOS vs. Android
Zuckerberg has spent the past few years trying to start a new kind of tech holy war with Apple. At least based on what’s unfolding on social media, Zuckerberg’s wish is coming true.
Amazon’s CEO Is Getting Skewered
Amazon is in a tough situation as the company is suffering from legitimate issues, and what appear to be genuine attempts to address those issues are now generating backlash.
Consensus Is Still Underestimating Wearables
While Big Tech finally understands wearables are a thing and they need to have an answer for it, there isn’t widespread realization of just how big the revolution is trending.
Founder Mode Is Actually Design Mode
Paul Graham’s essay only scratched the surface regarding why certain companies succeed while others don’t.
Our Memories Are Under Attack
Thanks to mobile cameras, we have never had better tools at our disposal for capturing memories as they occur. Generative AI is now threatening those memories.