Understanding Google My Business & Local Search
Google Glass: Metaphor for the Future of Local or a Turkey?
At the Philadelphia Local U last week I had a chance to touch Matt McGee’s Glass. It was exhilarating, disturbing, interesting, disorienting and a number of other adjectives. Everyone at the table was anxious to try it and see what it did and how it works.
I was struck by its awkwardness and obtrusiveness as a wearable device and it is clear why it has already engendered a new noun: Glasshole. But I was also amazed at the power that an always on, always present, always connected device has and its obvious impact on local. Despite my inability to bond with the device it raised the question for me: Is this the future of computing?
My personal answer as to whether the Glass was THE PRODUCT was “not this product, not this form factor” as it didn’t go far enough for me to define a compelling experience. I wasn’t sure what I was hiring it to do (as Horace Diedu always says).
That though raised the question: Was it me or was it the Glass that was the problem? Was I being myopic and it was really the future?
To try to get out of my own way I asked all of the folks at Local U (whose opinions I value very highly) to give me some perspective by answering the following questions:
Macintosh was a metaphor for desktop computing. The iPhone became the metaphor for smart phones. The early products defined what other products needed to be like.
1) Do you think that the Google Glass is a metaphor for the next generation of small, wearable computers?
2) Is it a winner?
3) Do you think that Google will make Glass the market leader in the category?
Read their answers at the Local U Blog: Thoughts About Google Glass – Is It a New Metaphor for Mobile Computing and Local Search? and let me know what you think,
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Comments
10 Comments
Hey Mike,
I have to believe that no matter what the privacy issues or dork-glasshole factor is now, wearable computing simply has to be the future; I remember us all wondering why the heck we’d want to have a phone with us at all times before the mobile explosion, same will happen with wearables. Others have posted more eloquently on this topic than this comment, but that’s my input.
David
I think you guys nailed it.
Just to throw in my two cents:
One problem is differentiation. Sure, the technology behind Glass will get better and better, but so will smartphones. I see the question of “What can Glass do for me on an everyday basis that my smartphone can’t?” becoming a real burr in Sergey’s saddle. Kind of like what you said about how you’re not sure what you’re “hiring it to do.”
Sure, Apple probably can work on making something more mainstream, but I would think they have bigger fish to fry. Glass will be a one-product niche market for at least a few years.
@Phil, a great point in comparing Glass to smartphones. Although, that brings to my mind tablets. I asked the exact same question once they hit the market, and alas, Apple (along with others) have made them successful products. There are a innumerable number of differences in these two comparisons, but I wonder if it will be the same outcome.
Mike, perhaps you and the glasses may have bonded better if, while wearing the glasses, you were on a Segway sipping from a can of New Coke 😉
1) Do you think that the Google Glass is a metaphor for the next generation of small, wearable computers? Possibly
2) Is it a winner? at this stage, no
3) Do you think that Google will make Glass the market leader in the category? absolutely
I personally will not wear the glass. I don’t like wearing glasses and looking like a nerd. I also don’t want to speak outloud for what I want. Maybe in the future it will be useful and the norm. But as for right now, my smartphone does all i need and i have no need to have my phone over my eyes. So I will only consider it once the glass passes the functionality and tech of the iphone. There is no NEED for the glass, which is essential for product success. Especially when you need to use your fingers to touch the glass anyways. Just my opinion
Great points one and all… We can revisit in a year or two and see if we nailed it or not. 🙂 (If I was wrong you won’t see a post. 🙂 )
Glasshole – I like it.
I’m not 100% sold on this head adorned computer, but I suppose time will tell if it is to go the way of Oakleys or the way of the Sinclair C5.
Thanks for the great post.
George
1) Do you think that the Google Glass is a metaphor for the next generation of small, wearable computers? – No, Google is unable to properly bring any new products to market successfully (unless they copy an already successful product). The only way these will work is if they give them away, literally, as was done with Android Software. I can see a ton of vertical uses where this could be very beneficial, heads up display for sports of all types (golf, biking, motorcycling, racecars, etc), scientific laboratory uses, and any other activity/ occupation were a heads up display could be useful.
All they are really doing with this publicity of Glass is to set the stage for Apple’s rumored watch.
2) Is it a winner? No. If anything it could be doing more harm than good. All the publicity is focusing on the ability to record video and audio “secretly”. I can already envision legislation on local levels inhibiting similar products.
3) Do you think that Google will make Glass the market leader in the category? Guess you have to define the category. Is it one of the pre-selected categories available in the new local dashboard? If so, then no they will not lead “optometrist” 🙂
Here is the real question you should be asking… is the growth of mobile data connected devices overly limited by pricey access to data connections? Yes, in fact I believe Google’s real value business is the Google Fiber initiative. If they can successfully bump the access speeds expected by average web users then you will start to see an entirely new breed of devices enter the market.
1)Your point about verticals is very well taken. That might make more sense as a go to market strategy than the celebrities use Glass model. Pushing this device as a broadly appealing consumer device will, like Google TV, backfire.
2)Google always wants to push these limits, gather the data, have their hand slapped before they pull back…. in the meantime they will get lots of great data.
3)Hah! Yes I was defining the “category” as wearable glasses with a heads up display. Not wearable computing but I didn’t make that explicit.
Certainly there is room for alternatives in the mobile data space. I don’t see google going after it for the time being. Once they have the back hauls in place I suppose it becomes more feasible. Not sure why the Glass initiative points to cell data disruption though so I while I agree that they are trying to disrupt the land line data space am missing your point here.
re: the data access. If Google gets to a point with fiber where they have a wide footprint there is nothing preventing them from encouraging subscribers to open up their wifi connections to a general audience. I could even see them providing the routers to enable this. Imagine being able to walk around a Fiber enabled city with your device able to connect at gigabyte speeds for free! This path allows them to create a “cell network” without paying for the airwave licenses, installing towers, etc.
I travel a lot and the biggest hurdle to effective access to “the web” is the lack of steady and reliable data speeds. With the new cell data plans placing caps on data rates and exorbitant overage charges the limiting factor for mobile/ wearable devices will be these data access limitations. As an example my wifes father, 67 years old, just purchased a Verizon Mifi 4G card. His data plan is capped at 4GB per month; he utilized 3.5 and he barely uses the thing. Imagine how much data a Google Glass video/ sound/ picture auto upload to Youtube would utilize!
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