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:

• While many businesses struggled during the pandemic, big tech thrived (see YouTube/Netlfix below). Small business? It has been brutal. And, it’s not just small business. 80,000 retail stores (9% of all stores) will close in the U.S. by 2026, according to a new report from UBS. E-commerce sales are projected to account for 27% of all retail sales by 2026, up from 18% now. Amazon? Their earnings more than tripled. Shopify has done fantastic as well (which bodes well for the newer small businesses). What a strange recovery this will be. 
• In 2006, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion. I remember it well. The world lost its collective mind. YouTube was video on a small screen, shaky cameras publishing user-generated content, buffering issues (the Internet struggled to make video clear and flowing back then). Alphabet/Google just released their quarterly earnings. YouTube made close to $7 billion in one quarter. YouTube’s ad revenue is similar to Netflix’s total revenue. 
• App of the Week: LinkTree – Connect audiences to all of your content with just one link (here’s mine).

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio. 

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