The One Really Dumb, Unbelievable Thing Google Keeps Saying About Google Glass
Case-in-point: Google has just finished a contest called "If I Had Glass," where contestants fill out entries explaining all the cool things they would do with Google Glass, if they were someday, maybe, allowed to purchase them for $1,500.
Making people apply to get your product is brilliant stuff!
So was asking The Verge's Josh Topolsky to come in and try them on. The Verge does images and video very well, and it made Glass look great. Plus, the site is all about the future and how it will be cool.
Finally, have you seen Google's latest video for Glass? Even skeptics like my boss, Henry Blodget, finally got excited when they saw it.
So…mostly, Google has done a great job making me want these things.
BUT!
There is one thing that Google keeps saying about Google Glass that is really pretty silly, and they should stop.
It starts at the top, with Google cofounder Sergey Brin.
Every time he talks about Glass, he talks about how the point of it is "to prevent social isolation" – as if the goal of the whole enterprise is to eliminate that thing that happens when people pull out their smartphones and stop talking at the party or at dinner.
Here's Google Glass product director Steve Lee trying to make the same argument:
"Why are we even working on Glass?"
"We all know that people love to be connected. Families message each other all the time, sports fanatics are checking live scores for their favorite teams. If you’re a frequent traveler you have to stay up to date on flight status or if your gate changes. Technology allows us to connect in that way."
"A big problem right now are the distractions that technology causes."
"If you’re a parent — let’s say your child’s performance, watching them do a soccer game or a musical. Often friends will be holding a camera to capture that moment. Guess what? It’s gone. You just missed that amazing game."
Get that?
These people want you to believe that the reason they are developing a computer that you put on your head – one with a screen that will constantly hover above your right eye – is so that you will be LESS distracted by technology, and feel MORE connected with the world around you.
That is nonsense.
Look: Google Glass excites some of us at BI very much.
We can't wait bring you stories with it, or take it on the golf course, or into a museum or shopping.
But the idea that it's going to result in fewer distracted people is complete nonsense.
People who wear these things are going to be checking their email more, playing games more, "sharing" on the Internet more. They are going to be more distracted.
Google should stop talking about it that way because no one is going to buy the concept – and maybe not the gadget.
Instead, Google should talk about and show off potential applications for Glass. That's what Google's latest video does, and I bet you can't watch it without getting excited: