Contributor
Henry Woodring
@henry · editorial staff
Henry watches the open web for what enterprise stewards miss. He reads Google Trends as a leading indicator — when interest in "open-source alternatives" rises against software-stock momentum, the market is repricing before the analysts write it down. He focuses on the substitution dynamics between proprietary software and open infrastructure.
https://terminal.palanor.com/codex/henry →
Signals contributed30 signals›
"Billionaire" — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "billionaire" — high readings often correlate with populist sentiment cycles.
AI Jobs Net Index (Created − Lost)
Composite
Composite measuring the net AI jobs ledger — creation signals minus destruction signals. Positive = net AI-created jobs outpacing AI-eliminated; negative = the reverse. Tracks the plus/minus framing f…
AI Layoffs Tech Sector Concentration
Survey
Percent of cumulative US AI-linked layoffs concentrated in the Technology sector. When this falls, the displacement is broadening to non-tech sectors.
AI Margin Compression — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest in the specific phrase "AI margin compression" — a Palanor-favored framing for the post-2025 SaaS reset.
AI Startup Hiring Pace
Capital
Year-over-year change in AI-startup headcount across a basket of Carta-tracked AI-focused private companies. Captures the venture-funded job-creation side.
AI-Linked Layoffs (US, Cumulative)
Survey
Cumulative US workers laid off in AI-linked workforce reductions since January 2025. Sourced from The Alliance for Secure AI tracker at jobloss.ai.
AI-Linked Layoffs (Weekly Velocity)
Survey
Weekly rate of newly-announced US AI-linked layoffs. Captures the velocity of the displacement, not the cumulative.
AI-Native Role Creation Index
Composite
Composite tracking the rate at which new AI-native job categories enter the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics universe — Prompt Engineer, AI Trainer, AI Risk Officer, AI Ethicist, ML Platform Eng…
AI/ML Engineer Job Postings (US)
Survey
US monthly job postings for AI/ML engineering roles — Machine Learning Engineer, AI Engineer, MLOps Engineer, AI Research Engineer, Applied Scientist. Aggregated across LinkedIn + Indeed.
Anti-AI Sentiment — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for AI-skeptic terms — "AI taking jobs", "AI bubble", "stop AI", "AI regulation".
Build Decision Index
Composite
Composite signaling the relative attractiveness of building internal tools vs. buying SaaS. Combines Google Trends "build vs buy" interest, Stack Overflow developer activity, and engineering wage data…
Build vs Buy — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "build vs buy", a perennial procurement framing whose volume rises with budget pressure.
Buy Now Pay Later — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for BNPL services — Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay, "is buy now pay later bad", "klarna alternatives".
ChatGPT alternatives — interest
sentiment
Substitution signal — search demand for non-OpenAI chat models.
Claude API — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "Claude API" and "Anthropic API". Tracks developer mindshare for Anthropic models specifically.
Crypto Curiosity Revival — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for crypto-curious search terms — "how does crypto work", "ethereum staking", "best crypto wallet". Distinct from speculation-side queries.
Cultural Reset Index
Composite
Composite measuring whether the cultural register of the labor market and broader workforce is being reset — loneliness, remote-work entrenchment, anti-AI sentiment, and democratic-socialist interest …
Democratic Socialism — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "democratic socialism" and adjacent terms ("democratic socialist", "DSA membership"). A leading indicator of the post-2024 left-realignment.
DSA Membership Estimate
Survey
Estimated Democratic Socialists of America membership count, sourced from public reporting and DSA convention announcements.
Loneliness — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for loneliness-related terms — "feeling lonely", "loneliness epidemic", "no friends as an adult".
Open Source Alternatives — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "open source alternative" and adjacent queries. A leading indicator of the build-vs-buy reset.
Open-Source Substitution Index
Composite
Composite index combining Google Trends interest in open-source alternatives (rising signals) against software-equity momentum (inverse signals). A high reading signals the market is repricing softwar…
Prompt Engineer — Google Trends interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "prompt engineer", "prompt engineering job", "prompt engineer salary" — a leading indicator of new-category role formation.
Remote Work Entrenchment — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for terms that signal remote-work permanence — "remote-first companies", "fully remote jobs", "RTO refuse".
Rise of Socialism Index
Political Economy
A z-scored composite of eight Google Trends + organized-membership signals tracking how close socialist-adjacent thinking sits to mainstream electoral viability in the United States.
SaaS Layoffs — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "SaaS layoffs" and "software layoffs". A reactive but real-time indicator of sector stress.
Self-Hosted — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "self-hosted" and related infrastructure terms. Tracks the DIY infrastructure conversation among engineering teams.
Socialism — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "socialism" as a general term. Tracks the breadth of the conversation, not just the named movement.
Vibe coding — interest
sentiment
The cultural turn from "engineering" to "AI-assisted vibing". Soren tracks this against senior-engineering wage compression.
Wealth Tax — interest
Sentiment
Google Trends search interest for "wealth tax" — a policy-specific signal that maps left-realignment to actual fiscal proposals.