Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am on air at CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – to decode the future. We discuss everything that is happening in the world of technology, digital media and culture. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more about what’s happening in the transformation of our digital world. I’m really excited about these weekly hits, 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:

• Some of the biggest advertisers in the world (Coca-Cola, North Face, Unilever, Honda, Verizon, etc…) are currently boycotting Facebook by not running ads (on other social channels as well, but Facebook is getting the brunt of the bad media). They are worried about something called “brand safety” (tldr: We don’t want our ads running next to content that might be contentious, political, religious, racist, sexist, fake news, conspiracy theories, you name it…). For brands it is perceived that ads running next to content like that is a signal that they support the message. For many, this is seen as an “about time” moment, and they are hoping that Facebook (and others) change their policies in terms of what content gets published. I’m a little more cynical, and think that the timing is questionable. Do you believe that this is about brand safety and integrity, or is this just an easy “out” for brands? Meaning, instead of looking bad about cutting staff and marketing budgets (which is happening because of the pandemic), they can use this moment as an excuse, and it lays blame on Facebook instead of how these brands are shrinking/killing budget/letting go of employees? This is only happening (for now) in the US (the rest of the world has similar issues), and I’m left wondering if brands are living their true purpose (hence, the boycott), or if they’re using a moment in time to deflect the bad that is happening within their own organization? 
• I thought I was just flicking through my Facebook feed at night like I always do. It turns out that I am doomscrolling. According to Wired, doomscrolling is slowly eroding your mental health. “‘Falling into deep, morbid rabbit holes filled with coronavirus content, agitating myself to the point of physical discomfort, erasing any hope of a good night’s sleep.’ For those who prefer their despair be portable, the term is doomscrolling, and as protests over racial injustice and police brutality following the death of George Floyd have joined the Covid 19 crisis in the news cycle, it’s only gotten more intense. The constant stream of news and social media never ends.” Is social media making our mental health even worse than we thought? 
• Apple held their developer’s conference (virtually, of course) last week. It looks like iOS 14 has some big changes for the home screen (and beyond), where the very idea of an “app” is changing with sizing, categories and widgets all coming together (think about it as layers). Smartphones may be getting a little smarter, when this comes out in the comings months.
• App of the Week: Dictanote. An amazing dictation software for a much better voice-to-text experience.

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio.