Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering away about what’s going on in the digital world. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed: 

• We get all hyped about Apple product launches (see last week’s iPhone and Apple Watch announcements), but maybe the tide is turning, and we need to pay more attention to Amazon. Last week Amazon unleashed a staggering amount of new, smart and connected devices. From Alexa and Echo to smart wall sockets and beyond. In short: a huge and big push from Amazon. For your consideration: Amazon is going to be collecting our data in ways that we could never have imagined. George Orwell much? 
• While we are discussing the power of Amazon. Many look to them as the reason that retail is such a state of disruption (destruction/disrepair)? Well, if Amazon is killing physical retail stores, then it’s wild to hear that Amazon has plans to open up 3000 (yes, 3000) of their Amazon Go convenience stores. Yes, the cashierless, no checkout line stores are coming to a city near you and, maybe (just maybe) this marks the “phoenix from the ashes” moment for physical retail from the company that is most associated with trying to kill it. 
• App of the Week: Flipd. From the Washington Post: “Professor Lorenz Neuwirth was tired of his students scrolling through their phones during class. The students were physically present, but mentally many were miles away — and their class participation and grades reflected that. So two years ago, Neuwirth used his own money to pay for his students to download a new app called Flipd, which monitors the amount of time users spend on their phones. If students engaged with their phones during his classes, Neuwirth could see and track it, and it affected their final grades.”