Technology
I became a Google Glass Explorer on
the 20th of December 2013.
After 13 months of wearing Google
Glass every day, in six countries and
on 54 flights, I can truly say that I
understand Google’s wearable device
and appreciate what an amazingly
interesting, controversial and ground-
breaking piece of technology it is.
Firstly, let me say I’m a big fan of
Google Glass – let’s just get that out
there. I’m a fan, not because it is a
wearable computer, but because it is
a piece of kit that takes the internet,
technology and a great point-of-view
camera and kind of melds it with your
brain.
The first month of wearing Google
Glass was painful, actually physically
painful, as my right eye adjusted to
wearing the Glass, much like an army
helicopter pilot must feel – but less cool.
After a month, wearing a computer/
camera on my head started to feel
normal, and I loved meeting strangers
who stopped me in Tesco, on my weekly
Easyjet flight to London, in fact just
about everywhere I went to ask “What
is it like?”, “Is it any good?” or “Are you
filming me?”.
I learned that there are two types of
people Google Glass gets attention from:
1. genuinely interested gadget gear-
heads, who had a magical jaw-dropping
experience when they tried it on; and
2. those who think you are filming them
and feel uncomfortable about it.
Only twice did I feel threatened –
once when an employee in a German
motorcycle dealership decided I was
invading his privacy and would “punch
me” for it, and once in Gatwick Airport
when a fellow passenger possibly a little
tipsy from her long-haul flight started
shouting at me in the ticket hall for
wearing Glass.
Overall, though, people just wanted
to try Google Glass and were very
gracious and polite about it, which was
part of the fun. Around 200 people tried
my Google Glass on, and around half of
them were simply gob-smacked by the
experience.
Elephant in the room
I always sensed there was an elephant in
the room with Google Glass. At first,
I thought it was cool, the way people did
a double-take as I passed; that’s what
it must feel like to be a Z list celebrity
walking down Hampstead High Street,
I thought. But Google Glass didn’t
make me a celebrity; the only star that
mattered was perched on my head.
New forms of etiquette were quickly
learned with Google Glass, including
propping the device on top of my head
to avoid offending strangers.When I met
other Explorers (which was only ever at
Google or Glass meet-up events), I felt
uneasy being looked at with a camera
lens and began to appreciate why other
people felt uncomfortable.
Google Glass has really broken
boundaries; it feels like you are wearing
a real life Star Trek device and has raised
some important questions – Is it OK to
wear technology with a camera on your
head in public and be connected all day
to your social media feed? Is it cool or
just plain weird to stare into the space
just above people’s heads when you
receive a notification?
We did some really cool firsts with
Google Glass at work – the world’s first
point-of-view chef video (we pitched
Jamie, but he turned us down only to do
it later himself); the world’s first Google
Glass trip to Morocco (great food);
Monaco in a day (amazing views, but live
streaming from a Penthouse 30 floors
up was glitchy); and a family camel ride
in the Canary Islands (for me, capturing
images of my two young girls on holiday
was one of the best experiences and by
far the greatest benefit of Glass).
Somehow, I even managed to get
driven through the Gumball Rally next to
Steve Reilly, Europe’s most active Explorer, gives his verdict
on the late, not much lamented Google Glass
Confessions of
a Google Glass
Explorer
a Russian Supermodel in a Lamborghini,
much to the amusement of my lovely
wife and children in the crowd. Time
and again, I met amazing people simply
because I was wearing a silly looking
computer on my face.
Europe’s most active Explorer
Over the course of 2014, a weird thing
happened. According to one of the
Google guys, I became Google Glass’s
most active European Google Glass
Explorer (or most annoying, I’m not sure
which). This is probably because there
simply weren’t that many of us and I like
a jolly and so took every opportunity to
travel with Google Glass and find a new
angle to apply it to.
We Explorers were always a rare
breed in the UK and, although the guys
I met who participated in Google’s
Beta programme were much cooler
than me, their enthusiasm (which was
generally huge) somehow didn’t seem to
encourage others to buy the developer
version of Glass.
Around 200
people tried
my Google Glass
on, and around
half of
them were
simply gob-
smacked by the
experience.
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