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Zoom Shaming And More On CHOM 97.7 FM

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:

Zoom Shaming. Is that a thing? Yes, we are all judging people by where they live, now that we have to allow our bosses and co-workers into our personal spaces. The actor, Lukas Gage (best known for his role in HBO’s Euphoria), posted a video this weekend on Twitter of him prepping for an audition on Zoom. The director (without realizing that he was not on mute) was insulting Gage’s apartment. Folks, two things: You never know who’s listening… and consider everything that you do and say online as public record… and if you can’t follow that simple rule: make sure your mute button is on.
The annual holiday party is (usually) a great time of year for a company to get everyone together in a room to celebrate. What will the holiday party of 2020 look like? Zoom is an obvious answer, but what happens when we have our teams day-drinking, alone at home, while staring at Zoom? I hazard to guess what new indiscretions we are going to see. What will be the Zoom version of photocopying your butt? Or, Did Jeffrey Toobin already let that cat out of the bag, as the saying goes? Wired has some better ideas.
When we talk about the future of work, it’s hard to not think about WeWork. For all of the negative press that they’ve had in the recent-past, one might think that this could be their moment of redemption. Big companies might start letting go of their leaseholds, while taking on more WeWork-like options. Well, the Montreal start-up, Breather, now has WeWork breathing down their necks. WeWork – through their app – is allowing anyone to book a desk in a shared workspace for $29 per day or reserve a private meeting room starting at $10 per hour.
App of the Week: Star Wars Intro Creator (and, if you’re a Star Wars fan and not watching The Mandalorian, there’s something wrong with you 😉