Welcome To The Future: Apple And Google Cars, Anyone?
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 away on vacation.
It seems to be moving from rumour to fact in a quick way. If you were wondering what, exactly, Apple is going to do for it’s next act (after it releases the watch that we’re all waiting for)? Would you believe a car? There were a lot of rumours floating around two weeks ago (including some from the Wall Street Journal), but things got real and tangible last week, that Apple is working on an electric car. It makes perfect sense… especially if most vehicles become driverless in the near-future. So, is Apple building a car or are they really just looking to make the applications and user experience for cars?
What can you do in 30 seconds? How about shooting videos and uploading them directly on Twitter. As of last week, when you click on the camera icon next to the field where you can post your tweets, you can now not only take a picture, but shoot video. Many (including me) believe that this is the smartest thing that Twitter has done to build engagement in a very long time. The question – of course – is the same: is it too late? Have Instagram, Vine and even Snapchat stolen the mobile/social video thing away from Twitter?
Speaking of Snapchat, the popular online social network that allows you to send images and videos to friends and then have that content dissapear is now worth close to $20 billion dollars. The Los Angeles-based company is looking to raise another $500 million, so this would place it in the $16 – $19 billion range. Let’s not forget that in 2013, Snapchat’s founder (Evan Spiegel – who was 24 at the time) turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook. Serious business in images that disappear once the receiver sees them.
App of the week: Google Translate (download the app from the Apple or Google store for you mobile device).