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:

• Does the idea of a personal pod seems a little kooky? No more. Face masks, face shields and now… personal pods. Maybe you’ve seen the Facebook ads? While this seems absurd at first blush, the more it sits with you, the more you realize that inventions like this find a massive audience and business online. No need to wait for Shark Tank to decide if this is a good idea or not, or wait and hope that Walmart might carry it. Currently they are sold out.
• Why is a video of someone slicing up a pickle so viral online? That’s not a pickle… that’s a cake! Hyper-realistic cakes are all the rage online right now. BuzzFeed‘s food site, Tasty, shared a compilation video of these wild looking cakes (that don’t look like cakes at all), and now… well… as everyone moves on from baking bread, they are trying to figure out not just how to bake something that looks like an iPhone, but then generate millions of views to watch it get sliced. Cake memes! Yummy! 
• How do we shop in a pandemic-ridden world? Amazon may change that with Dash Cart. The cart uses cameras, computer vision, weight sensors, and a touchscreen interface. Using the cart, shoppers can check-out without any cashier or credit card. Totally contactless for the Covid 19 era. The carts will only be for their Amazon grocery stores for now, but I can imagine that the technology will soon be shared with Whole Foods (which Amazon owns), and then sold to other stores.
• App of the Week: Anonymous Camera – the easiest way to anonymize people in photos and videos.

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio.