A VR Head Fake
There is something about the way the tech industry continues to prop up and push VR that doesn’t sit right with me. Too many companies are using VR to distract from a genuine rise in competitive pressure and unattractive business performance. As a result, we are getting warped expectations of what may materialize over the next three to five years.
It’s easy to understand why so many people are quick to compare the move into VR and AR to what happened with mobile.
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Live Sports Is in a Weird Place Right Now
The Super Bowl serves as an annual reminder of what live sports used to be. While approximately 100 million people still tune into the Super Bowl, the motivation behind watching has changed. A declining number of watchers are even aware of which teams are playing each year. The Super Bowl is instead still able to grab interest by reminding people what it was like to have everyone watch the same live event. There is then irony found with Super Bowl ads, which are more likely to be seen on YouTube than during the actual game, appealing to people who have otherwise eschewed video advertising altogether by paying for streaming services.
There are two ways of looking at live sports.
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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.
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Snap’s Quest to Control Cameras in an AR World
Snap continues to be an interesting company. Thanks to spending years in Facebook’s shadow, the social media company has a credible claim to being perennially underestimated. Snap’s $96 billion market cap is just one-tenth of Facebook’s ($946 billion).
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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.
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