The Art of the Turnaround
Bob Iger isn’t wasting time attempting to put Disney on his preferred track. Yesterday, the WSJ reported that Iger had axed Disney’s metaverse and membership teams – two initiatives in their infancy that were spearheaded by Bob Chapek. This follows a reorganization a few weeks back that returned power to the company’s creative executives. Disney is just one of a handful of companies that have been changing strategies to get a better footing in the marketplace.
We can look at Netflix’s move into advertising – something that executives had talked down and dismissed for years - as an acknowledgement of paid streaming becoming bigger than any one company.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Tuesdays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
Peloton’s Ride Is Ending
We are at the point where we can begin writing Peloton’s eulogy. Last week, Peloton co-founder and former CEO John Foley stepped away from the company by resigning from the board. He had moved into the executive chairman role this past February after bringing in Barry McCarthy to fix his errors and miscalculations.
Peloton’s user trends continue to worsen.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
The Pandemic Tide Is Receding in Tech
After two years of pandemic-induced demand and supply shocks to the system, we are getting our first good look at the new normal. At the same time, the stock market’s bout of turbulence has impacted wide swaths of the tech sector. Many are now connecting the two developments and declaring the start of some kind of pandemic-induced tech recession. History is being rewritten, and current developments are being misdiagnosed.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
Elon Musk Buys Twitter
It’s been quite the April for Elon Musk. Within just three weeks, Musk went from disclosing that he had spent months quietly amassing a 9% stake in Twitter, to accepting and then turning down a Twitter board seat, to finally having Twitter’s board accept his hostile takeover bid for $44 billion.
Musk buying Twitter is a big deal for a few reasons:
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
A Digital Content Overload
One topic that has fascinated me for the past 18 months has been societal changes arising from the pandemic. Most of the so called movements or shifts are showing signs of petering out. The Peloton movement, which pushed an anti-gym ideology, does not appear to be gaining much momentum. Meanwhile, the Work From Home movement, which took over tech-oriented blogs and news sites for the better part of the past year, is showing signs of losing steam as more people get back into the swing of things.
A somewhat recent development that may end up having more legs in terms of longer-term trends caused by the pandemic is changing digital content consumption trends.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.
Peloton’s Race to Build a Health Platform
The warning flags have begun to wave for Peloton. As one of the most high-profile beneficiaries from the pandemic, it should probably come as no surprise that the reopening of gyms has resulted in concerning business trends for the company.
An Inside Orchard subscription is required to continue reading this essay. Subscribers can read the essay here.
(Subscribers: The password for reading exclusive essays is always accessible by logging in and going to Downloads.)
Inside Orchard Subscriptions
Payment is processed and secured by Stripe. Apple Pay and other mobile payment options are accepted. Special bundle pricing is available for Above Avalon members.
Subscriber Privileges and Benefits
Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Mondays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
Access Exclusive Private Podcast. Listen to Inside Orchard essays via an exclusive private podcast. After becoming a paid subscriber, all previously-published podcast episodes become available in your favorite podcast player. Podcast episodes never become available to the public.
Inside Orchard Support. Play an active role in supporting Inside Orchard as an independent source of analysis and perspective. Inside Orchard is 100% supported by its subscribers.