The move to ban Google Glass seems to be intensifying. This interesting blog post shows the efforts underway to make driving with or otherwise using Google Glass illegal in certain instances. Even though there is a really good debate on whether Glass will prove a distraction on the road or during work, I don’t believe this is a debate framed by safety issues.
This, to me, is all about the fear of technology and how it might impact business.
This story by the Columbus (OH) Dispatch is the best example of what I mean. Some poor guy wearing Glass in a movie theater gets hauled out by Homeland Security because someone thought he might be making a bootleg copy of a movie. (Lets forget about the logic behind that one. Heads and bodies shake, so you’d have to sit as still as a cardboard cutout just to, maybe, make a half-way awful bootleg copy. Not exactly a way to get your customers coming back for more).
Some businesses have also talked of banning Glass in the workplace, because no one wants an employee taping, let’s say, a contentious discussion with a manager or an HR representative. Not good, from the business standpoint.
And this isn’t going to be limited to Google. Samsung has announced its going to create a Glass clone, and if it sells, you can sure others will follow.
This reminds me a little of the ruckus caused by the advent of personal computing devices. Some were concerned that PCs in the workplace would encourage using the devices for personal use and distract from their jobs. That didn’t happen; I don’t know anyone would advocate having a technology-free workplace.
Eventually, this will all work out. Glass may be banned from certain activities. I can see banning it while driving cars, or operating heavy equipment; it might be banned among some workers who have access to sensitive and proprietary documents. But for most other daily activities, I can’t see it. Really, if companies worked with Google, they could probably find ways to help advance their business, and raise productivity and profits.
Just like the PC.
This, to me, is all about the fear of technology and how it might impact business.
This story by the Columbus (OH) Dispatch is the best example of what I mean. Some poor guy wearing Glass in a movie theater gets hauled out by Homeland Security because someone thought he might be making a bootleg copy of a movie. (Lets forget about the logic behind that one. Heads and bodies shake, so you’d have to sit as still as a cardboard cutout just to, maybe, make a half-way awful bootleg copy. Not exactly a way to get your customers coming back for more).
Some businesses have also talked of banning Glass in the workplace, because no one wants an employee taping, let’s say, a contentious discussion with a manager or an HR representative. Not good, from the business standpoint.
And this isn’t going to be limited to Google. Samsung has announced its going to create a Glass clone, and if it sells, you can sure others will follow.
This reminds me a little of the ruckus caused by the advent of personal computing devices. Some were concerned that PCs in the workplace would encourage using the devices for personal use and distract from their jobs. That didn’t happen; I don’t know anyone would advocate having a technology-free workplace.
Eventually, this will all work out. Glass may be banned from certain activities. I can see banning it while driving cars, or operating heavy equipment; it might be banned among some workers who have access to sensitive and proprietary documents. But for most other daily activities, I can’t see it. Really, if companies worked with Google, they could probably find ways to help advance their business, and raise productivity and profits.
Just like the PC.
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