Pokemon Go And The New Viral

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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. was off today.
  • One of the craziest weeks I have ever experienced in the digital space as a women went live on Facebook video and streamed the death of her boyfriend after a police stop (with her 4 year old child in the backseat). Beyond the tragedy and miles we have to go in terms of our society, the implications of live streaming everything can’t be underestimated. Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg had to say about it: “Yesterday, a Minnesota woman named Diamond Reynolds went live on Facebook immediately after her fiancé, Philander Castile, had been shot by police in his car. Philander later died from his wounds. In the video, Diamond’s 4-year-old daughter is watching from the back seat. My heart goes out to the Castile family and all the other families who have experienced this kind of tragedy. My thoughts are also with all members of the Facebook community who are deeply troubled by these events. The images we’ve seen this week are graphic and heartbreaking, and they shine a light on the fear that millions of members of our community live with every day. While I hope we never have to see another video like Diamond’s, it reminds us why coming together to build a more open and connected world is so important — and how far we still have to go.” 
  • Pokemon Go has taken many part of the world by storm. It’s one of the better applications of Augmented Reality, as the user is forced to go out “into the wild” and chase down Pokemon characters. People are loving it and – of course – it has already caused car accidents and injuries. Who has more fun than people? 
  • Snapchat isn’t as ephemeral as we thought. They introduced Memories last week. Memories is a new way to save Snaps and Stories on Snapchat. It’s a personal collection of your favorite moments. So, don’t think that everything that you snap disappears once it’s viewed. 
  • App of the week: Mobile Pass.

Listen here…