Woman Attacked In San Francisco Bar For Wearing Google Glass 921
First time accepted submitter Martin Blank writes "Sarah Slocum, an early adopter of Google Glass, was bar hopping with friends in San Francisco when a few people in the bar took issue with the eyewear when she was demonstrating it to another patron even though she wasn't recording. When she felt threatened, she informed them that she would start recording. Two of them approached her, yelling and throwing a bar rag at her, and ultimately ripping the Glass from her face and running from the bar with it. She gave chase and eventually got the Glass back, but her purse was gone when she returned to the bar. This physical level of hostility is unusual, but discomfort with Glass is common, especially among those who don't understand how it works. Given that much more hidden spy cameras are available for far less than the $1500 cost of Glass, what will it take for general acceptance to finally take hold?"
LED (Score:5, Interesting)
what will it take for general acceptance to finally take hold?
A red LED that glows when the 'glasses' are actually recording and is dark when they aren't.
Wander into a bar holding up a video camera (Score:4, Interesting)
See if the response is the same.
Tell the patrons that its OK, you're not actually recording anything despite holding the camera in a manner to record.
Or you could just put the Google Glass in your pocket and socialise with your friends without the need for a constant internet connection.
"...what will it take?" (Score:4, Interesting)
"...what will it take for general acceptance to finally take hold?"
Major changes in society, that won't be happening anytime soon. Look, we're already monitored basically 24/7. We don't like it, but if we squint our eyes and look the other way, we can pretend we aren't. The Google Glass thing is just shoving it in our faces and not allowing us to ignore it. (The reasonably common perception of Glass wearers as pretentious hipsters doesn't help).
I think it's far more likely that places like bars (where we want to relax and do foolish things) will ADVERTISE that they don't allow these devices, and don't record internally. Glass may be the straw that triggers the backlash.
People hate cameras. (Score:4, Interesting)
People turn quite irrational at the prospect of being photographed or filmed. I've run into problems overseas, but I almost think it's worse in the US. People seem to take issue with the mere presence of a camera. If you're shooting buildings that are not established landmarks you get odd looks. And I got approached once because I was taking photos of car taillights for a project. They were still suspicious after showing them my shots. The only time you're really not going to have a problem is when you're with friends and your camera is clearly pointed at them.
Google Glass, however, takes this perceived threat to a whole other level because you've got a camera stuck to your head and in the minds of the ignorant you're recording everything you see.
Of course, we don't really know the nature of the incident; if this woman was antagonistic herself, if the other party were resentful of someone flaunting wealth, if theft was the motive, or if they really were just plain stupid. Either way, bars and such tend to attract imbeciles which is why I would never wear something like Google Glass out at night. At least not until the technology became ubiquitous and accepted.
Re:Why get mad? (Score:4, Interesting)
With glass, you cannot easily detect whether the glasshole is recording or not. With a phone, it takes a certain stance to record anything useful and hence it is easy to see. Try recording videos with a phone some time and see how people get upset...
Re:Take pictures, press charges. (Score:5, Interesting)