Google Tells Glass Users Not To Be 'Creepy Or Rude' 341
An anonymous reader writes "One of the biggest worries about the rise of wearable computing is the ease with which random strangers will be able to record your actions without your knowing. Right now, it's pretty easy to tell if somebody's holding up their cellphone to take some video. But when everybody's wearing Google Glass, or something similar, it will become harder to tell. This has led to preemptive bans on Glass in certain places. Now, Google has published a list of Do's and Don'ts to tell Glass users how they should behave politely in public. Do: ask for permission before recording people. Don't: ignore the world around you, expect that people won't notice, or wear it during a cage fight. Most importantly, don't 'be creepy or rude.' Google says, 'Standing alone in the corner of a room staring at people while recording them through Glass is not going to win you any friends.'"
If only such a list existed for cell phones (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:But... (Score:1, Interesting)
In public, I want ubiquitous recording BY THE INDIVIDUALS.
If I'm in a club, I want a few cameras running. Inevitably there are fights, and if we can get viewpoints from five different individuals it could clean up a lot of problems.
If I'm out dealing with a drunk, I want a few cameras running. If anything goes wrong we can get viewpoints from several angles to prove innocence against accusations.
If I'm dealing with a difficult client, I want a few cameras running. Let's have both of our viewpoints and more besides. If I did something wrong let me know, show me so I can fix it.
I'm a photographer who insists on having someone present when I shoot women alone, I really want a few cameras running. I once had baseless accusations against me, and a few cameras would have cleaned things up quick.
If I need to interact with police for anything from a speeding ticket to an arrest, I want a few cameras running. If I'm guilty, I am content to have those cameras show my guilt. If I am innocent, I want those cameras to prove not just to the court, but to show the media, to show facebook, to show youtube.
There is a HUGE difference between government run CCTV, corporate overlords monitoring our movements, versus individuals who can use recordings to preserve what they see for any use.
Individuals with cameras in public? Bring them on. When everybody (not just the authorities) have the cameras running the world will be that much better.
Re:But... (Score:2, Interesting)
Except that they don't necessarily offer the superior product, just the most expensive, trendy one. This actually appeals more to those 'sociable' people the gp refers to, because, for them, social acceptance is the most important factor in every decision they make. They buy apple because their rich friends did. Often, such people aren't very intelligent when it comes to technology, or even basic concepts like reason and logic, because, frankly, they haven't had to be in order to survive.. Often, these people being at the top of the social pyramid, do not have to interface with harsh realities all that often.
The world, today, is run by such people, and examples of their 'success' in doing so are everywhere.
Re:But... (Score:5, Interesting)
which is why Glass will never take off.
Consumer products are only successful if they're marketed to cool, sociable people, not loser nerds with no lives.
I'm their target market.
I'm not a creepy nerd either. I'm a middle-aged business man with a nice wife, a nice house, a reasonable car, and a reasonable job that requires me to inspect and manage engineering works in progress.
I have always obtained and used the best mobile recording tools for the job: Digital cameras as soon as they were available. Those Olympus electronic voice recorders/transcribers. I still have a Compaq Concerto tablet PC from the early '90s, The first Palm Pilot, and several later iterations of the marque. Win CE PDAs and phones. Nokia N800s. Several varieties of Android phones and tablets. If a tool saves me time, it makes me money.
If I could get a Glass, I'd be using it now. It's a tool, not a toy and will succeed or fail based on how good a tool it is.
You can call me a Glasshole if you like. I don't care, as long as it's making my job easier and better.
Re:Glassholio (Score:4, Interesting)
If only 1 in 10,000 Glass users behaves in a socially unacceptable way, that one person will be the focus of endless sensationalist news coverage.
I'm pretty sure more than 1 in 10,000 iPad users behaves in a socially unacceptable way. Go to a London exhibit and you won't be able to see it because of the wall of iPads taking photos. Didn't seem to do sales any harm though.