The Trouble With Twitter, Flying Uber Cars And More On This Week's CTRL ALT Delete Segment On CHOM 97.7 FM
Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio 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 on iHeart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering away about what’s going on in the digital world. 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 DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.
This week we discussed:
Does Wall Street’s attitude not meet the realities of the marketplace? Is Twitter dying? That’s what Wall Street would lead us to believe. If you dig in, you will see that shares have dropped more than 10% as ad revenue fell by 7%. With that, its monthly user base increased 4% to 319 million, and daily users were up 11%. Still the money is not following (this is the headline), as revenue grew only 1%. So, close to 320 million people use this platform. There is still – without a doubt – many people who know, like and use it. There is still – without a doubt – many people who might still join or use it for different reasons (Facebook is getting close to 2 billion users, so the market is open). There is still – without a doubt – things that Twitter can do (more than text, different marketing solutions, premium services, data and analytics plays, etc…). If you abide by the Wall Street world (massive growth, multiples and huge ad revenue), it looks like Twitter is in a death spiral. If you abide by a different philosophy (large media platform, strong user base, strong technology, a part of our cultural fabric, etc…), it’s a relevant business that is not growing at the speed of Wall Street’s expectations. Twitter is not dying. It’s just not living up to Wall Street hype. Those are two different things. I wrote more about it here: Don’t Confuse Growth From Relevance.
Whenever we talk about self-driving cars, I think about how quickly they came to market… and how fast it is still happening. Well, without missing a beat, Uber hired a NASA Langley Research Center engineer named, Mark Moore. Moore became (somewhat) known in the engineering world for his research into VTOL (short for Vertical Takeoff and Landing). Yes… flying cars. Uber launched Uber Elevate last year. Many thought it was a stunt. Now, it seems more like something that is inevitable. If drones take hold. Why not drones that can transport us humans?
Montreal startup, Luxury Retreats, made the news at the end of last week, because it looks like Airbnb is about to acquire them for close to $300 million USD. A huge win and a story of great entrepreneurship that Montreal should be very proud of!