I frequently intend to blog something, but rarely feel like I have the time to dedicate to a well thought out post and instead, end up tweeting a shorthand version of that thought.
Red Tettemer + Partners is bustling. We're moving at a speed that only another agency with talent and fire in their bellies can appreciate. It's fun as heck.
Speaking of fun. I picked up a pair of Google Glasses this week. Here I am wearing them on Amtrak.
What a device. I've only had them for a few days and haven't worn them out in the world yet, but it's been remarkable testing them and thinking of new ways to apply them to life and my work.
For me, because so much of what I do is based on understanding people and their behaviors, it's been most fun to put them on someone else for the first time. Over the last two days, I've given a quick Glass tutorial to about 25 people that I work with and watched them as they experience Glass for the first time. It's magnificent to watch.
Initially they scoff, tease and are skeptical about even trying the device on. But every single skeptic, after they put them on, when they see that home screen then follow their command "Ok Glass," an incredulous smile spreads across their faces. For me, it's like peering into a window and seeing what they were like as children. In a word, magical.
Testing the product also dispels a lot of the myths around it. People fear being captured in every day moments. They fear privacy infringement.
When I hear cries of privacy infringement, which I understand and respect, I also think to myself that privacy from technology ceased existing years ago. It died with Twitter, where people can tweet every word they overhear you say. It died with The People of Walmart that won mainstream attention by posting surreptitious photos of us as we shop. It died with camera phones - hand held devices easy to position discreetly and snap.
Google Glass, on the other hand, lights up when in use. You can plainly see that the user is doing something with the device. And because it primarily functions on voice commands (not solely, but primarily), you will likely hear the action the wearer is taking.
Of course, there are some downsides to the device. It's a little bit clumsy with sharing. It shares to your Google+ very easily. The voice video command only offers :15 hands free. Any longer and you have to hold a button down on the frame. If not tethered to your phone, it can't join a Google Hangout. It very quickly drains your phone battery if you're running on bluetooth. And the voice the command thing can get crazy, if you're talking to someone or near a group.
It's a moonshot. One of those far reaching shots that Google didn't know if it'd work unless they tried. And they did it. Today I imagined Steve Jobs testing glass and I imagined him inspired. To that end, I'm eager to see what we at RT+P can create with it.
As a society, we've spent so long slumped over technology, looking down. Won't it be great to live and share life, back in the upright position?
