Google is continuing its PR push to promote its Google Glass head gear, which it hopes to be accepted by society despite a backlash against wearers of the controversial accessory here in the San Francisco Bay Area.
On Monday, Glass at Work was announced by Google which officially formalizes new strategies for the product that a number of first users had already established and discussed in the pilot phase.
Google did not speak to the controversies, instead, it has pursued a positive approach to the ongoing debacle over Google Glass in public spaces and says it has noticed how some of Glass Explorers have used Glass to advance business goals and that several companies already have begun working with enterprise software developers to create Glassware relevant to their business processes and customers.
It comes on the heels of a number of cafes and bars in San Francisco formally barring "Explorers" from entering their spaces with the glasses on, causing frustration and controversy over the new technology.
Tech Times spoke to over 15 cafe, bar and restaurant owners and managers in San Francisco who all agreed that they would ask customers wearing Google Glass to remove the glasses inside their premises. They argue that it makes their other guests uncomfortable and is a privacy issue.
"What we are speaking of is not about the technology or how cool it is, but how it can be used without another person's knowledge," said Jonathan Murmett, a bar manager in San Francisco's Financial District. He argued that there are worries that "people could be using them to record conversations or events in the bar without others knowing about it and then putting it online. That's not fair."
But Google keeps trucking ahead on the promoting the technology. Google has seen the Glass used in sporting events to give fans an eye-level view of what the players are seeing and have promoted it as a way of going beyond simple eye vision. While Glass at Work is going forward, dealing with and converting much of the public towards the new technology seems to be an uphill battle, but one Google hopes it can overcome through education and speaking directly to the public.
Google says it plans to sell the Glass to the public this year for around $1500.
