Wild Tech: I'm not certain that Google gets "Google Glass"

Google Glass:  the wearable device that gives you a heads up display of your life, and allows you real-time positionally and contextually aware information to be superimposed over your view of the world.

This is pure nerd coolness.  The applications are very broad.  You can have directions appear without taking your eyes off the road.  You can locate your friends in a crowd.  You can even display a virtual representation of a new building in its context, and walk around to see how it looks from different locations.  The possibilities are endless.

And, oh yeah, it has a camera.

But to see the promotions coming out of Google, you'd think that was all it had.  The first crop of early adopters are currently playing with their ridiculously expensive prototype "explorer edition" versions of Glass, and while some people are doing some very cool things (like linking tesla car's OS to glass to make a HUD), most seem to be just using it to take and share POV (point of view) videos.  The GoPro cameras have been around for a while, and they do that just fine.  In fact, the videos coming out of Google itself seem to focus on the fact that if you are really cool, and do cool things like fly a plane, or work at a circus, or go up in a hot air balloon, you can allow the less cool people that you know to feel what it would be like to be you.

This focus has led people to assume that if they encounter someone wearing Google Glass, they are being filmed. Not just filmed, but streamed out into the internet in real time.  This kind of assumed assault on the privacy of people has led to the term "Glasshole".

So here is my message to the "Explorers" of Google glass.  Here's an experiment:  Cover the camera.  Have your buddy with a 3d printer whip up a lens cover in bright red plastic that shows the world that you are not streaming it live to Youtube.  The directions, email, etc, will all still work, and you can always reach up and flip up the lens cover when you do want to take a pic.  Sure the augmented reality concepts require a camera to work, but those apps don't exist yet, so you're not losing anything.

It is the display that makes Glass cool, but it's the camera that people don't like.  Don't believe me?  Strap a GoPro camera to your glasses.  I bet you won't look cool, and people will be unconfortable around you.

Aannnd... We're back.

It's been nearly three months since the conclusion of Expedition 2013.  We've been using that time to rest and relax, of course, but we've also been putting the pieces together to begin planning Expedition 2014.  To that end, we've assembled a larger team (five of us right now), and identified some possible destinations for this year's big event. 

On Nov 23rd, Nerds In The Wild met to discuss Expedition 2014 for the first time.  To see some highlights of that meeting (along with our BRAND NEW INTRO SEQUENCE!), check out the video below:

We were able to narrow our discussion down to two possible routes:

• Phillips Ridge to the Golden Hinde.  Hiking to the top of the highest peak on Vancouver Island
• The Hoh Rainforest.  Hiking from rainforest to alpine meadow to glacier in the Olympic National Park in Washington State.

As you can see, we're moving away from coastal hiking and into the mountains this year.  This will no doubt involve some new equipment, techniques, and training.  I can't wait to can't see what new toys we'll need, so keep an eye out for some more "Gear Guide" blog posts.  Also, with a larger group, there will be more opportunities for group training, which should make for some fun "Expedition Update" and "Adventure Report" entries.

Watch for more updates as we ramp up our training and planning towards Expedition 2014!