Why Buy A Car, When You Can Have A BMW On-Demand?

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:

In London, BMW is launching a pay-as-you-go car sharing operation. You have to pre-register - like ZipCar - but once you're in, you can choose between BMWs, Mini Cooper and even the hot n' happening electric i3. They're partnering with DriveNow, which also means that you can pick-up and drop-off cars almost anywhere. This marks a huge stride in the evolution of the collaborative economy and - maybe - a smart brand play for BMW.
My book publisher, Hachette, had this massive year-long battle with Amazon. It's over now, but the damage for many authors (including me) has been done. Now, Hachette has launched an initiative that enables authors to sell their books directly to fans through a "buy" button on Twitter. Consumers won't have to leave their Twitter feed to spend money on books. And, much like Amazon, Twitter may simply be starting with books, but soon every brand can start selling on Twitter.
Does it make sense to you that Instagram is now bigger than Twitter? When we talk about social media, we tend to talk Facebook, then Twitter. Now, with Instagram bigger than Twitter, we're seeing a new kind of social Web, on many fronts. Also, consider this: Facebook owns Instagram. So, what does Google do now?: 
App of the week: Robinhood. It's too bad that this is only being launched in the US, but it's still an interesting idea. Imagine if you could buy and sell stocks - in a simple and smart way - on your smartphone. Well, Robinhood nailed the usability and experience. Oh, wait... you also get to do this for "zero fee." No, that's not a typo. How do they get away with this? "Robinhood makes money through interest on funds you hold with it or when you trade on margin, plus selling trade volume to stock exchanges." A new (and, potentially, massive) disruption to Wall Street.

Listen here...

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