Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio broadcasting out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 5 to 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 to SoundCloud, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering away. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry and Heather B. morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed: 

• Heather B. is still away on vacation this week.
• Everyone is all excited that Facebook is moving beyond the “like” button. Now, you can get much more expressive about what someone else posts, with these new animated “reactions.” They’ve been testing different ones in other parts of the world, have analyzed the data and are now ready for prime time. So, if someone has posted bad news – you’re not forced to “like” it. You can now be angry, sad… well, you get the idea. Have you tried them? How do you like it? As simple as it sounds, my guess is that this will become a treasure trove of sentiment data for Facebook. Think about it, if suddenly you’re not liking a bunch of stuff, Facebook can start targeting you with more relevant ads based on your mood. 
• Apple is still entangled in this fight with the CIA to unlock the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. As the government pushes them to help, Apple is moving in a very different direction. Just this week, Apple hired Frederic Jacobs, a Switzerland-based developer who worked to develop secure messaging app Signal — the communications app of choice for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden — to work on its CoreOS security team. This is interesting. What if Apple can suddenly prove that their system is so private, that no one can get in? 
• App of the week: Google’s Art Project.

Listen here…