10 Ways To Make Google Glass Less Creepy

Google Glass is back and hopefully better than ever. Here how we think the company can make sure it sticks for good this time.

David Wagner, Executive Editor, Community & IT Life

August 2, 2015

3 Min Read
<p align="left">(Image: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lancefisher/13708424/" target="_blank">Lance Fisher</a> via Flickr)</p>

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One more time, just less creepy. That's the refrain coming from Google as it tries to respond to the fears people had with the first version of Google Glass. This time, the company is taking it slowly, concentrating on the business market instead of consumers.

The new devices also will clip to existing eyewear so they are a little less … shall we say … dorky?

The main problem still remains, however. How do you get society past the "glasshole" stigma? It will be hard to overcome the fear of being recorded without our knowledge, the idea that people might be looking up our personal information while they are talking to us, and the general sense of rudeness that comes from having a device like this.

[ It actually was catching on a bit in healthcare. Read Google Glass Gains Momentum in Healthcare. ]

In some ways, Google is counting on the idea that we'll get used to it. That's why putting it in the workplace makes sense. We often accept things into our home after being exposed to them at work. But that might not be enough. Google might need to come up with new features and strategies for getting Google Glass into the mainstream. Here are some I'd suggest:

10 Ways to Make Google Glass Less Creepy

1. From now on, Glass will project to the public the last 10 search terms each wearer put into Google, so you know whether or not that person is creepy.

2. So people don't use the record function without someone's knowledge, Glass will play Rockwell, the 1980s one-hit wonder, whenever it is recording.

3. Buy a Google Glass and the company throws in the all-new Google Mask to go with it.

4. Google will instruct new buyers of the Glass to respond to accusations of creepiness by saying that Google Glass isn't nearly as creepy as the fact that Google employees drive by your house and take regular pictures of it without permission for Google Street View.

5. And if that doesn't work, Google will also remind you that it takes pictures of your backyard from space.

6. Partnering with Timbuk3 to remake this song for Glass.

7. Google has promised to add a Start menu.

8. To increase cool factor, it will now be called Apple Glass.

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9. Google will announce that all Glass video will be available exclusively on Google+ so that no one worries about anyone actually seeing any of it.

10. New versions will include a funny nose and mustache, so people aren't intimidated.

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About the Author

David Wagner

Executive Editor, Community & IT Life

David has been writing on business and technology for over 10 years and was most recently Managing Editor at Enterpriseefficiency.com. Before that he was an Assistant Editor at MIT Sloan Management Review, where he covered a wide range of business topics including IT, leadership, and innovation. He has also been a freelance writer for many top consulting firms and academics in the business and technology sectors. Born in Silver Spring, Md., he grew up doodling on the back of used punch cards from the data center his father ran for over 25 years. In his spare time, he loses golf balls (and occasionally puts one in a hole), posts too often on Facebook, and teaches his two kids to take the zombie apocalypse just a little too seriously. 

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