Google Glass
I was recently in San Jose and while in an Irish pub I met a woman who said she worked for Google (I had no reason to think otherwise). She was wearing Google Glass. Fascinated, I probably spent too long badgering her with questions and begging to try them. (She wouldn't let me. I don't blame her, I wouldn't have let me either.) Nevertheless, she was able to show me what she was seeing via a connection the glasses had to her Droid phone. Pretty cool stuff.
But it got me wondering if I would actually wear them if I could get them and if they resembled affordable. I don't think I would.
While we've become accustomed to having the world at our fingertips through mobile devices, we've also become, as a society, a little bit rude in that we will whip out our phones and live our social lives online while in the presence of real, live people! Crazy.
But more importantly, while Glass allows you to have constant access, I believe it to be a red herring. That is, while it appears that Google is offering the world to you, it is actually the opposite. You are offering yourself to the world. The world of Google, that is.
Think about it. While you are looking up, say, the menu of the restaurant you are standing outside of, Google will now know whether you like (or are in the mood for) that particular cuisine by using GPS to know whether you went inside, whether can afford the price, what items on the menu you spent the most time looking at, and ultimately, what you decided to eat. Google will be collecting your every move in exchange for instant information. Paranoid? Perhaps, but I think Google's real intent is to feed their core business of gathering marketable information.
Google Glass, Part 2, and the Loon Project
Google is currently doing a pilot test where they propose to give Internet access to the millions that do not have it, and they are doing it with solar-powered balloons. Certainly an interesting idea.
I really want to believe this is at least partly altruistic, where they really do want to share the wealth of information (and cute cat videos) on the Internet, knowing full well that, if successful, this will also be good for their bottom line. Hey, I'm ok with them making a buck, and I'm more than ok with the humanitarian desire to enlighten the world.
Obviously Loon is wrought with challenges, not the least of which is whether certain countries will shoot their balloons out of the sky. It will be interesting to see how this progresses. For more info on Loon, go to http://www.google.com/loon/
So, how does Loon have anything to do with Glass? Technically, it doesn't really, other than the fact that they offered photographer Trey Ratcliff a chance to chronicle the story in pictures. While shooting stills, he was also wearing Google Glass which captured surprisingly extraordinary video. And, as always, Mr. Ratcliff's photos are truly fantastic. To see the video and pictures, go to http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2013/06/14/google-internet-balloons/
7 comments:
Balloons seem like an odd choice to me. Too temporary. I have no idea what type of material they used or how well they might hold up. It just seems like it could get expensive if they are constantly having to replace them. Of course, I don't have Google-money, so maybe it's not that big of a deal to them.
Additionally, altruism only gets you so far. Loon is also a threat to every major Internet access provider out there (including cellular). Not today, not tomorrow, but coming soon to a Stratosphere near you.
How Google would know what items on the menu you spent the most time looking at, and ultimately, what you decided to eat? You'd have to intentionally video it and then upload the video. Unless you believe Google is secretly turning on the video and uploading it without your permission or knowledge. That seems unlikely given its open source Android operating system.
Reader Chuck asked, "How Google would know what items on the menu you spent the most time looking at, and ultimately, what you decided to eat? You'd have to intentionally video it and then upload the video. Unless you believe Google is secretly turning on the video and uploading it without your permission or knowledge. That seems unlikely given its open source Android operating system."
All legit questions.
Do I think Google is attempting to secretly gather data? Nah, it doesn't seem to be their style. Possible? yes. Likely? No.
So, how about my claim about them collecting info about my diet (or lack thereof)? I am not suggesting any nefarious intentions by Google, but I do expect that they would set the lowest possible security settings with the expectation that the user would need to modify them.
OK, that still doesn't explain the menu thing. No, it probably doesn't. Just because it doesn't actually record video, doesn't mean the camera's not on. And, even if the camera is off, I gotta tell you, I have seen my fair share of photos of food on Facebook and elsewhere. Mmmmm, doesn't this look yummy? Yes, and it smells like marketable data.
To take the idea one step further, lets say they never make the data [directly] available to their advertisers, it doesn't mean it won't further refine the ads that you see when you do a search.
Many people already know this, but I assume some probably do not, so here it is. Google is watching you. They are paying attention, not just to what ads you click on but also to what you search for and, in some cases, what web pages you browse. And this results in refining your search results and the advertisements you see. For instance, if you and I both search for the same topic, there is a very good chance we'll get different results because our history of search content is different. They are tayloring the results based on your previous history. Creepy, huh? Well, here's the good news/bad news: It's not just Google. Have you ever wondered why, given the vast wasteland of advertisements that are out there, the ads that you see on, say, Facebook seem oddly directed at you?
In my opinion, Glass is just another way to use your preferences to target ads at you. It makes sense, and it makes a lot of dollars.
Put another way, does Google care that I had two pre-packaged burritos for dinner tonight? I highly doubt it. But do they care that they can MARKET the fact that I had burritos? You betcha!
I think Google is a good example of how innovation can create new revenues. In Google case, collecting personal data and use it to sell what people desire. Of course, there is a disadvantage. For example: fundamental concept as taking away your rights to choose by giving what you want at the time being. Yes, Google can be labeled as a politician in this example, where it gives you want you want in the time being, but making you pay for it later-buy things that you desire.
Personally I find it interesting from a different perspective that is Google trying to collect information to predict the feature. That is, what people are interested in. For example, how VoIP and mobile technology will change. I see digital phones going away like the floppies disk. "The five Forces That Shape Industry Competition" shows that smart phone is a substitution of digital VoIP phones. Google number (or Google Voice) statistics shows that people rather have one number for everything. Mobile phone can be the one number. When the last time you did not carry your cell phone? This where Microsoft Lync will play a major role-as soon as you entered your work place, Lync can take over your phone for work calls and leave your phone when you leave the office by using Wi-Fi. BES from Blackberry already provision cell phone for large enterprise deployment. Every lego pieces are there, we just need to put them together.
I think am young enough to see this revolution :0). Lets see what happens …
Mainul, I agree with you. I am generally a big fan of Google. And I also really like the idea of Glass, I was just presenting a "what if..."
Sorry it took so long to publish your comment. I haven't been on the blog recently.
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