I, Glasshole: My Year With Google Glass

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/12/glasshole/all/1

by shawndumas • 13 years ago

85 78 13 years ago

hnriot• 13 years ago

I don't seriously think anyone at Google thinks Glass is going anywhere. To me, this looks like Google just trying to cement in the public's head that Google=Futuristic technology. In that regard, and pretty much only that regard, Glass has been a success.

jpace121• 13 years ago

I think wearable computing is definitely the future, and Glass is probably a good first stab at it. I don't think anyone thinks glass is the perfect solution, though.

ams6110• 13 years ago

I hope I'm dead before this happens.

njharman3• 13 years ago

Wearable computing has been around for decades. Even commercial companies. The tech has been and still is too weak to break out of niche markets. But tech progresses.

brandynwhite2• 13 years ago

Don't agree with most of the article but hey it's cool that I'm in the top picture (second row). Here are a few brief comments

Socially Awkward: I've worn Glass every day since I got it (one of the first ones) and had 2 negative reactions and one of them ended up being a VC that after explaining it to him offered to fund me (I didn't accept). You have to be sympathetic to other people's feelings, if someone is feeling uncomfortable and you aren't using it then just put it on your head/neck and watch them chill out instantly. It's awkward when someone's constantly wondering if you are recording them but too scared to ask, just diffuse the situation and figure out what is making them feel uncomfortable. Once they understand how it works it will clear up any wild ideas they may have. Part of being an early adopter of anything is to explain it to people who are curious (same goes for fitbits, AR drones, etc).

Glass wearers self-segregating: If you act nervous and self aware while you are wearing it, you will make the whole room feel uncomfortable. If you are approachable and having fun with others you'll get a whole night club to stop dancing and want to talk to you (this is in DC, not exactly a bastion of techies like SF/NY). Due to how the Glass invites were distributed it's not "self-segregated" it's "self-selected", you invite your friends which means when you go out you are with your friends. Causation vs correlation man, the former is sensational and the latter isn't even mentioned.

At the end it starts to get more agreeable: glass is v1, it's incredibly ambitious of them to have released Glass like they did and it's allowing us to even have these discussions (thanks!), and the status quo (phones) aren't that great either right now. Sure it's not perfect but look where we came from: custom/clunky wearables of the 90's, nothing special for a decade, and now we have something that gets more positive attention than I'd otherwise get. Instead of looking at the first datapoint on a timeline and dumping on it, shouldn't a hip futurist publication (where the author says he gets made fun of...that's probably more telling about what it's like to work at Wired than anything) try to think out a few more steps and not sling link bait like this?

(from my G+ post https://plus.google.com/+BrandynWhite/posts/fRfhgBXej7e)

MatthewWilkes2• 13 years ago

A VC offered to fund you as a technology user?

brandynwhite2• 13 years ago

Well I do a bit more than that http://openshades.com and http://wearscript.com

frisco2• 13 years ago

I have Glass. I wore it for about a week when I first got it and then stopped; while cool, it's not very useful. It struck me that it's more of a status symbol right now than a legitimately useful device.

I've changed my mind about this a little bit recently: now I use it as a classier GoPro. There are a lot of times where it isn't appropriate to have a GoPro strapped to your head, but there's still good story potential. In most of those cases, the cool factor of Glass lets you get away with recording it.

My friends and I stitch the footage we collect from the adventures in our lives into a video every now and then, and Glass has added a lot to the storytelling capability.

Maybe wanting to record stuff makes me a narcissistic millennial, but it doesn't harm anyone and the videos we get out of it are awesome. I don't know if that use-case justifies Glass, but it definitely has some value for me, even if it's only used rarely.

samstave• 13 years ago

I'd love to find a way to just be able to checkout a glass for N days.

Say - like for a week or two.

Further - it would be interesting to see glass used in this manner at various locations; say have glass as a navigation/resource location tool in a library, etc...

EDIT: I would love to see a public-service office REQUIRED to wear glass 100% of the time for a period; say a police department - where their every interaction is captured.

To me; this is the most effective immediate social value that these things could provide.

iterationx• 13 years ago

Police already have dash-cams, but when something suspicious happens they either don't release the footage or they claim that it malfunctioned. Similarly, the London trains had cameras on them on 7/7/2005 but the authorities stated that all the cameras malfunctioned.

jonmrodriguez3• 13 years ago

You describe exactly the use case for which my product Epiphany Eyewear is specialized.

Epiphany records wide-angle HD video (like a GoPro), has a full hour of battery life, and looks & feels like designer eyewear which hold your prescription. Please check it out, I put practically every waking hour of my life into manufacturing this:

http://epiphanyeyewear.com

We are now shipping consumer units, with approximate a 5-week backlog on orders placed right now.

lclarkmichalek• 13 years ago

What prompted that design for the frames? While I imagine you were severely restrained in needing to fit equipment in there, they look awfully like the 3d glasses you get at the cinema to me :)

Very impressive product, regardless

frisco2• 13 years ago

Cool, I will check it out. Congratulations on shipping!

While it seems like most of HN believes Glass's aesthetics to be garish and unwieldy, they are futuristic and I think that's a positive thing. Some day we might do better, but given the technology available today they are actually very compact. Glass has always felt thin and light to me. (Photos can be misleading on this: how many people here have actually held Glass?) I also like that it's explicit: though most people can't tell when it is and isn't recording (and, realistically, people usually assume that it isn't) I like that it's at least upfront that it might be. If someone asked me to stop I'd take it off. So, there's a balance: I wouldn't use it as a "hidden camera" and the aperture on your landing page (if I'm reading the photo right?) looks pretty camouflaged.

kumarm• 13 years ago

I wear Prescription Glasses. I can't wait to get Google Glass that work well with Prescription Glasses. To me it is seamless since I already wear glasses anyway.

Google by ignoring Prescription Glass users initially lost a chance to have people use it 24x7.

thret• 13 years ago

Yes! I already wear glasses that are very expensive, surely I'd be able to use GG without looking too extravagant.

njharman3• 13 years ago

Not to mention people who have and can deal with social stigma.

andrewfong• 13 years ago

I also wear prescription glasses, but wearing Google Glass 24x7 sounds like a terrible idea to me.

Think of it like this: There are all sorts of situations in which it is socially unacceptable to have your phone out. Movies. Funerals. Intimate conversations with loved ones.

Having Glass on 24x7 is basically the same as always having your phone out. Sure, maybe it's off and you're not actually looking at the screen while you're having a conversation. But the other person doesn't know that. If you flick your eye to a corner, does that mean you got something in your eye or were you checking a text message? Wearing prescription glasses does not interfere with my ability to establish eye contact and maintain a personal connection with someone. Google Glass does.

And, come to think of it, that's really the problem with Glass. There are all sorts of useful situations in which I'd like to have Glass, much as there are all sorts of useful situations in which I'd like to have a smartphone. But I can easily put away the smartphone in the situations where it's socially unacceptable to have it out. It doesn't seem nearly as convenient to do so with Glass.

ericd• 13 years ago

It's pretty easy to do the equivalent, I just flip it to the top of my head like I do with sunglasses when I go indoors.

biscarch• 13 years ago

I suppose here is as good a place as any... but can anyone explain to me why there is an overarching trend of self-describing as an asshole just because you own Glass? It's becoming a connection, especially in the media, that Glass = Asshole and I think it's because much of the early community refers to themselves as "Glassholes".

I own Glass and I am not an asshole (afaik) about it nor do I wish to be perceived as one. I've met a bunch of other Glass users with whom I've brought this up in a similar way to: "Why do you self-deprecatingly call yourself an asshole for wearing Glass?" and as far as I know they stop, but that may just be them not doing it around me.

Do other Glass users feel like they need to call themselves names? Is there something I'm missing/taking out of context? Do people without Glass have an opinion on this?

(An interesting and maybe relevant tidbit is that I was recently told "You make me feel poor" by someone who I was interacting with while wearing Glass)

timr• 13 years ago

"It's becoming a connection, especially in the media, that Glass = Asshole and I think it's because much of the early community refers to themselves as "Glassholes"."

I think you've got the causation backwards: people do not perceive Glass users to be assholes because Glass users refer to themselves as such; Glass users refer to themselves as assholes to try to pre-empt the insult.

It's the same visceral social need that drives people to make a joke out of their own awkward behaviors. If you can get people to laugh with you, they aren't laughing at you.

sliverstorm• 13 years ago

Penny Arcade was the first step in that behavior; they injected at least a blush of humor into the notion of a "glasshole" early on. They may have even coined the phrase.

jpeg_hero• 13 years ago

Yes, you are missing the hostility that wearing Glass engenders in other people.

beaner• 13 years ago

There are a lot of people in the world who see every action that others take as some kind of personal statement on the world, instead of just seeing those choices as people doing things for themselves out of natural interest.

You eat meat? You're an asshole, because you must think we should all be carnivores. You studied computer science and got a good job? You're an asshole because your lifestyle is implying liberal arts is worthless, and that I am worthless because I studied liberal arts. You became a wall street trader? You're an asshole because you're telling me money is everything. You wear Google Glass? You're an asshole because you're saying I should wear technology on my face and I don't want to.

It's incredibly naive and self-centered. To think this way, you have to believe the world revolves around you, because you think everyone else's actions are conscious decisions directed at you or people like you. The idea that some people might actually like Glass in a personal sort of way as a cool technology is beyond them. You're making a statement about them - judging them, by wearing glass. So you're an asshole. It's stupid.

girvo• 13 years ago

It's seen as a status symbol, of youngish successful tech people with disposable income. It's conspicuous, so people see it as typical conspicuous consumption, with the feelings that come with that. I think that's it, though I'm not entirely certain.

discardorama• 13 years ago

I've heard from a couple of different sources that the word "Glasshole" was invented on the Google campus, to refer to the early prototype wearers who were strutting around on campus...

stevewilhelm• 13 years ago

http://bit.ly/1giuaG6

abrahamsen2• 13 years ago

Robert Scoble is references in the article. I actually believe this picture helps counteract the "asshole" meme. He really does not come through as a person who takes himself too seriously here.

It does nothing to counteract the the dweeb meme though.

snappy173• 13 years ago

my reaction when people look at me while wearing google glass is, "please get that camera out of my face." i find it unnerving and sorta creepy to have a camera pointed at my face, and to me, while the glass is not just that, it is still a camera.

jfoster4• 13 years ago

A DSLR from many metres away can capture a far higher quality image of you than a Google Glass camera could, even at close range.

glynjackson• 13 years ago

You are captured thousands of times a day on CCTV, even if you have done nothing wrong these images can be stored. Data protection means nothing if you never know about it!

This resistance comes 'mostly' from the older generation, look at generation X, your kids. They give information freely, its a natural part of life their life, daily!

When I can walk out of my door and thousands people are feeding information 2 miles away about traffic on route to my work, or predictions of flu outbreaks are spotted before then happen saving hundreds of lives. This is a world where closed minded people don't guard information like there are special. A would where people give information to help others! The world is currently like China, closed minded and guarded. Role on generation X!

olivier1664• 13 years ago

As someone without Glass and currently unused to see it, my feeling is not "You make me feel poor". If it was the case, I imagine I will just be jealous, it will be a good point for the Glass (as if you have an expensive car or a gold watch).

My first impression is more something like "I can not see your eyes" (as if you were wearing sun glass) mixed with a "You are not focus when I speak to you" (as if you were looking your phone during a meal). But my opinion may be not relevant since I will not insult you for wearing Glass.

MatthewWilkes2• 13 years ago

Personally, I don't think wearing Google Glass makes you an asshole. I think it makes you look ridiculous (when I first saw someone wearing them I burst out laughing, I couldn't help myself).

sanoli2• 13 years ago

Why this is, I don't know, but when nerds get famous (not rich; famous) they suddenly begin thinking they have a fashion sense ;)

justin• 13 years ago

I bought glass and wore it for a week. I felt like an asshole while doing so because 1) I was making people uncomfortable and violating social norms (basically keeping a camera pointed at anywhere I looked) for my own convenience, and 2) it signaled I could blow $1700 on a mostly useless device (like having an expensive watch).

I didn't stop using glass because I felt like an asshole though, I stopped because it was just another device to charge with minimal utility.

eps• 13 years ago

It's almost entirely #1 that makes a Glass wearer an asshole, I can assure you of that.

Going around with a instant recording device is an ultimate manifestation of a lack of common tact. People just do NOT like to be recorded. Period. And the fact that you think it's OK, that's what rubs everyone else the wrong way. Not that you could get that shiny gadget and that they couldn't.

sharkweek• 13 years ago

Maybe just me, but I kind of feel the 'glasshole' stems from the type of person who wears a bluetooth headset at all times.

I was a bank teller in college right at the height of that technology and nothing irked me more than someone walking up to my window chatting on a bluetooth. I almost preferred they at least have their phone up to their ear if they were going to be rudely belittling me and expecting me to read their minds if I had a question about their transaction. I remember very well countless times someone in the middle of a conversation acting mortified that I would dare interrupt them to clarify something with them. THE HORROR!

Guessing it just has to do with the types of people who have that 'always on' mentality with technology. Put it down and interact with the rest of society

Nursie3• 13 years ago

> Do people without Glass have an opinion on this?

Yeah, I don't like having cameras pointed at me constantly, I don't like the idea that the person I'm talking to might be recording the whole conversation. And that's if the device itself is trustworthy and not reporting all sorts of stuff straight back to Google and whichever government agencies have decided to take an interest.

Basically it feels like crowd-sourced surveillance. Not positive, hence glasshole.

abrahamsen2• 13 years ago

The reaction to the early adopters of cell phones were similar. They were perceived as yuppies who though themselves as way to important to talk to the people they were actually with at the moment.

njharman3• 13 years ago

This is old and tired news. These attitudes will change. I know cause I'm old enough to have seen it before with advent of cellular phones. Same reactions, calling people assholes, same stigma, same wealth issues.

People hated the jerks who were rich enough and self important enough to be phoneable anywhere, anytime. Eventually price, ugly factor came down and phones became ok cause everyone had one.

Same thing will happen.

Silhouette2• 13 years ago

I don't think the real problems with Google Glass have much to do with showing off how rich the wearer is. Most of the strong concerns I've heard -- and I thought I was pretty down on the idea, until I heard some otherwise very level-headed people I know speak about it -- relate to the privacy aspect. I don't see that going anywhere, just as today most of us have mobile phones but there are plenty of places that will ask you to turn them off so you're not disturbing everyone else around you with your conversations/ring tones/etc.

jfoster4• 13 years ago

But is the lack of understanding due to the current inequity? I suspect people fear it partly because it is an unknown device that they haven't been able to experience yet. Once they have tried it, some will probably relax a little bit.

Cameras on phones had similar reactions to begin with. Now everyone just finds them to be extremely useful.

bowlofpetunias• 13 years ago

That's a false comparison.

Cellular phones do not constitute an invasive act perpetrated on others. Unless you start having loud conversation in the presence of others, in which case you're still an asshole.

iamartnez• 13 years ago

I was showing my Glass to a family member who visited from out of state. He's a commercial helicopter pilot, isn't wired in to the tech space, and didn't know much of anything about it.

He went completely mental after putting it on.

A few interesting things he noted:

1. Many commercial helicopter pilots today use iPads with a software called Foreflight (http://foreflight.com/). They mount the iPad in the cabin and prefer it to the older analog stuff.

2. The form factor alone is a huge improvement over anything else available on the market, he told me. He also said that many pilots would pay top dollar for a device like Glass. "All" it would need to do is: a) display a hud w/ waypoints, b) show current conditions, c) know which direction he's looking at.

4. Pilots see the world differently. We look at Google Maps, they look at SkyVector[2]. Flying commercially is mostly an automated affair with everything planned out ahead of time. Computers do all the work. The location/size/properties of every airport is stored in a consistent format. Pretty much everything is standardized and easily accessible, no matter how remote the location! [3]

5. He told me that the day-to-day processes are ancient. Logbooks are kept by hand, for example. This is interesting considering aviation is a highly regulated industry. All process are laid out in great detail and slow to change. This could make building software in this space easier once you get past the initial hump.

6. Military pilots have had things like this for years, but way more advanced. He told me about helmet-mounted displays (woah) [1].

We went on to discuss the myriad of practical applications for a device like Glass, even if the cost stays high past the prototyping phase. Unfortunately none of them included every-day usage by his wife and kids.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmet-mounted_display

[2] http://skyvector.com/

[3] http://skyvector.com/airport/ZMCD/Dornod-Choibalsan-Internat...

ronaldx• 13 years ago

He told me that the day-to-day processes are ancient.

It's a basic tenet of air safety that everything can be done by hand when equipment fails.

For example, it's a requirement that you should be able to do vector calculations to account for wind: using only pen-and-paper tools.

Although licensed pilots are allowed to use technology to assist, you shouldn't imagine that the ancient day-to-day processes will change.

hyp0• 13 years ago

Similarly, a cycling app would also be great; also, a heads-up display for ordinary car navigation.

Perhaps the best way to market it is as purpose-specific equipment: you ride a bike, you wear a helmet. It's not weird to wear special cycling glasses, but cool. It's not necessary to hit the universal mass-market first off (and not how new technology is usually adopted anyway).

yeukhon4• 13 years ago

I don't know why it has to be so negative. All the negativity seems to be privacy concern. I respect that and I do understand there is privacy concern.

But the technology is pretty fun for people who just want to capture every fun moment of their life. I, for one, would love to wear it every day. I always see interesting stuff. But holding a physical phone on my hand seems weird to me. I feel like if I could just film the current event as I am looking would be awesome and easy. I don't have to pull out my device and stand there. Putting it on my head seems natural to me. Imagine instead there is Google Watch with the same functionality, it'd surely would be awkward. When I am searching for a place, I imagine that Glass could just scan my environment as I look and tell me "oops there is the coffee shop you are looking for!" To me, the most awkward thing about taking photos with cell phone by myself or with a group of people (call it selfie) is holding a cell phone. Every time when someone pull out a cell phone taking some instagram photos on the food or people, everyone around will look at him.

I broke up with this lovely girl. I wish I had this shiny toy when I was with her. It would be really fun to take lots of pictures and video. Kids like me love blogging too. I always entertain myself thinking "it would be nice if I had the gut and time to do vblog."

huhtenberg3• 13 years ago

But the technology is pretty fun for people who just want to capture every fun moment of their life.

Except for all other people in the frame who don't want to be captured in the process.

Fun for one at the expense of others is the book definition of an asshole.

So, yeah, you do not understand the privacy concerns nor do you respect them. You will fit right in with the rest of the Glass crowd.

pjbrunet2• 13 years ago

I'm not a lawyer but I heard if you say "You don't have permission to record me." they're legally obligated to delete the video.

yeukhon4• 13 years ago

Fun for one at the expense of others is the book definition of an asshole.

No. Find the book that describe this.

So, yeah, you do not understand the privacy concerns nor do you respect them. You will fit right in with the rest of the Glass crowd.

So the difference between Glass and a cell phone is that holding a cell phone is more apparent and obvious to people so they can avoid being in my recording? Instead of an invisible Glass, the Glass is visible. I hold my phone in my hand a lot. I usually talk while holding my phone and my hands move a lot. How do you know I am not recording you? How do you know I am not an undercover journalist with a hidden camera in my bag walking around BestBuy? If you actually think that's the safe zone to address privacy concern, that is my book definition of trying to feel better when the truth is not.

Look at tourists with DSLR in front of their chest or holding it in their hand. How can you tell they are not creeping on you either? I own a DSLR so I know how little people pay attention to it. I can just walk around like that all day.

When I say respecting your concern meaning I am going to be your best friend to the best of my ability like remove my headset at your request when we share a tight space. You can't guarantee a guy with a cell phone not doing something illegal and horrible to you. So, how can you hold me accountable for something I probably won't commit? And now I am asked DON'T EVER PUT IT ON?

The public space is utilized by all kinds of people and for all kinds of purposes. If you feel uncomfortable with me wearing a GLASS in front of you, tell me to remove it and I probably will (e.g I am taking a picture of my family from the GLASS I probably will wait until you go away or find some place else.)

And paying my respect does not mean I have to agree with you. As long as it is legal and as long as I am not really hurting you (because I am just a random guy you probably won't see me again), I can't be stopped for your concern. You can your right to file a complain. Whereas if your neighbor is playing loud music you probably have a good chance of winning the lawsuit.

So, let's tolerate each other.

Nursie3• 13 years ago

> I broke up with this lovely girl. I wish I had this shiny toy when I was with her. It would be really fun to take lots of pictures and video.

And how would she have felt about her creepy ex having kept a whole load of pictures of her?

That's really quite weird.

--edit-- seriously, read that last sentence of yours back. That sounds deeply creepy.

yeukhon4• 13 years ago

Oh, so anyone in relationship should just delete everything? Is that something you are going to propose? She's still my friend and we cherish everything we had. Please. Don't think so creepy about other people.

wamatt• 13 years ago

Interesting that no one seems to be talking about the wisdom of placing an EMF field next to your brain, for hours at a time.

wilg• 13 years ago

Do you have something to say about the wisdom of placing an EMF field next to your brain, or are you just interested that no one is talking about it?

cupcake-unicorn• 13 years ago

"I have no idea why my wife was resistant to live-casting the birthing experience."

Seriously? Is this a joke? He really is a Glasshole :P

tommaxwell• 13 years ago

I, like others here, have Glass. My girlfriend dumped me and I lost all my friends but hey now I can wink to take a picture so it's all good.

riyadparvez• 13 years ago

Just wait for Apple to release "iGlass".

OMG, how innovative, Apple and see everyone is copying Apple.

qwerta• 13 years ago

I think people do not mind the device itself. For example bluetooth handsfree is kind of similar, it can do even do recording, but most people do not mind it.

I think problem is usability. It is not possible to have conversation and use this device at the same time.

bloddyfool• 13 years ago

So here's a question, If google made google glass look just like a prescription glass, would it be for the better or worse?

forgottenpaswrd• 13 years ago

The author says it is the format what makes you an asshole. It is not.

If I go with my reflex pointing to people in the beach people will get angry at me. As simple as people is there to relax, not to have to defend themselves.

People is doing top less in the beach and people could see it at the moment. It is a completely different thing that someone will store the date, the place, the people in the pictures and have millions of people look at them on the Internet.

I got to watch a woman, a sports teacher fired from a Catholic school because she made top less 8 years ago!! and one of his students got a picture from an ex- boyfriend asshole and soon all the school had the pictures. Half of the parents supported her, over a quarter were outraged.

People say stupid things all the time, when there is friends, I don't want my conversations recorded without my permission and having someone remind me constantly : you say this and that while drinking beer with the football team.

The same way Paul Graham was sold by a private conversation made into an interview by a son of a b*ch. When you are talking to someone else you are not talking to millions of people.

laichzeit0• 13 years ago

Glass is amazing, but it's not for everyday wear, like a watch, because you look like a tool. That said, there are a few very niche applications for it that I can't wait to try: deep sea fishing, for one. Our boat is fairly customized and teched out. Walking around on the boat and having the data overlayed infront of you would be awesome. Maybe hooking up the coms is also possible, I'd like to stream the video feed of the cameras in the lures too.

etfb• 13 years ago

Here's why Glass users are assholes, and why that won't always be true: because "iPod" is a verb.

"To iPod" is to change a particular technology so much that you create a permanent mark in everyone's calendar. Before Apple invented the first iPod, music players were clunky and irritating, and it was like nobody in the business knew the first thing about user interface design. After the iPod, music players were iPods, clones of iPods, or nothing. And carrying music around with you is so ubiquitous that the commuters on the bus who don't have earbuds in their ears look weird.

Glass hasn't been iPodded yet. That means it's intrusive, ugly, and it threatens people -- a bit like the way people felt uncomfortable sitting on the bus with someone who had headphones on. It's rude, it's anti-social, and it's a clear sign that someone is maladjusted.

But one day, someone -- almost certainly not Google -- will create a wearable camera/HUD/computer that is to Google Glass what the iPod is to the Sony Walkman. And after that, it will be normal for people to be documenting their whole lives, and the hostility will disappear quite quickly.

But that day is not today. Today, if you use Glass in public, you are an asshole. Accept it peacefully and look forward to the iPodding.

hisham_hm• 13 years ago

It's interesting that there are so many comments about how uncomfortable people get around it due to not knowing if they are being filmed/recorded... why didn't Google simply cater for that by adding a small, hardware-controlled red "recording" LED indicator to it? I think it would work wonders to the rejection around Glass.

I, Glasshole: My Year With Google Glass

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