Seeing the Future Through Google Glass
Game-changing ideas are often ridiculed in their infancy, until that moment when everyone is using it. One personal experience occurred in the late 1990s, when the agency I was working for was about to acquire another agency with a product known as an “online job board.” The idea that people would post jobs online and hope that qualified candidates would find them and apply was crazy to me; especially with a name like “The Monster Board.” The rest is history.
I had that itch to dismiss another advancement in technology when Google introduced Google Glass—eyeglasses embedded with Android capabilities such as:
- Online search
- Camera or video
- Mapping (GPS)
- Messaging
Recently, I tried on Google Glass and my eyes were opened to the future. While it may look a bit odd, the functionality and potential of this product is remarkable. Features such as blink = click, eye-motion navigation and verbal commands make Google Glass unique. In May 2013, Google founder Sergey Brin spoke at the TED2013 conference to share the thought process behind Google Glass. I urge you to take 15 minutes to watch it.
The potential for Glass to revolutionize the way we do business—any business—is real. From production lines to medical surgery, Glass will allow staff to have essential information in easy view without using their hands or having to stop what they are doing. Factor in the geo-targeted advertising angle (remember—this is Google we are talking about), and Glass technology is truly a game-changer. Every marketer or marketing firm, including Strategic America, will need to identify innovative ways to utilize this simple, yet revolutionary, technology.
Google Glass is the first to market, and in September 2014, Samsung plans to release the Galaxy Smart Glass; the battle for wearable technology is on! Contact lenses will soon be available with the same functionality as the Glass product. There are even discussions about digestible microchips that will connect humans with state-of-the-art health insights, body recognition tools and much more.
While this technology is still in its early stages, no doubt we will get there much sooner than later. Our job as digital marketers is to ensure that we remain open-minded to the opportunities and willing to test concepts more than once before writing off these advancements as mere trends; that’s a lesson I learned long ago!
