This past week, we found ourselves squealing with delight while simultaneously drooling over the newest tech toy: Google Glass. Through a connection made on Twitter, Chris Barrett from PRServe kindly agreed to come to Vocus HQ to demo Glass and let us test it out firsthand.
After the initial shock and awe over the shiny new object, Chris told us some interesting ways his PR agency is using Glass to change news and media relations.
Afterwards, we had a few ideas of our own:
Inspiration: Chris was able to get Bon Jovi to wear Glass during a concert to give a first-person point of view straight from the rockstar never seen before.
Idea: Capture what other first-person POV videos are missing. GoPro has already highlighted people going above and beyond (literally) with their camera, but the ease of use of Glass means that there’s less taking out, turning on and positioning properly. They’re already there on your face. Media opportunities will present themselves if you provide a perspective never seen before.
Inspiration: Accidentally catching a civilian fight on the Atlantic City boardwalk, Chris recalled a tale of being in the right place at the right time with Glass.
Idea: Using Glass to document breaking news offers extra citizen journalism opportunities, much like how CNN’s iReport encourages multimedia taken on behalf of eyewitnesses. An influx in consumer reporting will continue to change the way outlets report their news as “first account” videos and photos become more and more available.
Inspiration: Google Glass can project the image of a map and navigate you to your destination via voice prompts while driving – but this has received much scrutiny.
New driving laws as of this month are explicit about hands-free driving. Glass battles this by reading your text messages and emails aloud, allowing you to reply via voice, and use navigation – all hands-free. Though there are arguments against having your attention on images projected in front of your face, many are saying that this feature will save lives.
Idea: There are other ways Glass can potentially save lives, and provide businesses as well as the media with life-changing stories. Consider a doctor communicating in real-time with a patient who needs urgent care, fireman viewing a building schematic while navigating a burning structure, and even CPRGLASS, an app to walk a Google Glass wearer through the process of administering CPR while it calls 9-1-1 at the same time.
It’s clear that this new wearable computing is set to change our world once it hits the public. However, it’s up to us to decide how.
See photos of glass in action and videos of our team members reacting to Google Glass, here and here.
(Photo credit: Geoff Livingston)
