A handful of helpful Google Glass Explorers gave me insight into their own experiences with the now-defunct wearable. Here's what they had to say:
Cecilia Abadie
Google Glass driving ticket recipient, app developer and director at APX Labs
Glass Explorer Edition was a completely new product category reaching customers, it started a new era in computing, now many other companies are on the space and it's a viable outlet for the enterprise, should be for consumer too soon. For me personally, it was an amazing experience to be part of an active passionate community of Glass Explorers, meeting and speaking with people around the planet.
Spencer Kleyweg
Google Glass Writer
Hands down Glass really helped me make great connections and lifelong friends from a single tech product, which simply doesn't happen with other products.
JR Curley
Founder & Creative Director at panagram.
It gave me an incredible opportunity to explore and understand how Google Glass could make a positive impact in our world and day to day lives. Glass continues to help me live in the moment while still leveraging technology to streamline my personal life and business.
Ian Tang
Student
I think the Explorer program helped me realize just how much we rely on technology and, sometimes, aren't able to fully live in the moments that matter, whether it's because we have our hands tangled up with holding technology or because we have to stop what we are doing to send a message back to someone. The Explorer edition of Glass showed the potential of wearable technology and that wearables won't only come in one shape or size (e.g. watch). There's so many possibilities and I think the Explorer edition made all of us, Explorers or not, think a little bit about technology in our lives.
Thomas Schwartz
Photographer
I am a photographer and Glass has made a huge impact on my art. It allows me to capture spontaneous hands free works of art that I otherwise wouldn't be able to capture. Over the past year, I have also really loved opening peoples eyes to technology. Glass has been a piece of technology that has fascinated people from all different age groups. My first demo was for a 70-year-old woman in a parking garage who saw me wearing them. And they really fun to demo to kids as well. So while, currently it might not be consumer-ready, I think it really opens peoples eyes.
Chara Kelley
CEO & Founder of SignforGlass.com
Winning Glass helped me to create and show myself what I am capable of. Before winning Glass I had no idea what a MP3 player was. Now I build glassware and have 200 beta testers of my own SignForGlass.com. I also just attended my first CES and pitched on Shark Tank. When I won the Glass two years ago, I retired and became a humanitarian for technology by sharing my Glass with the world.
Liza Gere
Founder & CEO at Gere Tech, LLC
I have never been a person to whip out a cell phone for pictures so what I would end up with was limited. Having Glass I have been able to capture moments that would otherwise pass and be forgotten.
Glass has also been amazing on the social level as well. It is the best ice breaker. I have met so many wonderful people that I never would have if it wasn't for Glass. I still use mine every day and hope to see it in the consumer market in the future.
Carms Perez
Employee at T-Mobile
For me personally Glass was amazing at concerts. I was able to record what was in front of me and dance and party without excluding myself from the experience since I didn't have to hold on to a camera. It definitely helped me grab attention from strangers and meet other "geeks" like me who were intrigued by the concept. My favorite feature will always be Hangout video calling which was great for cooking and showing my friends what I was up to in real life. I look forward to what's coming next and I will most likely be rocking it when it does release.
Brian Buquoi
Systems Engineer
I came into the Glass Explorer program due to a love of technology, I'm not a developer. If I had to pick what Glass helped me do the most, it would be that it helped me to connect. The social aspect of Glass, whether it be via the Hangouts Glassware, the Livestreams, the communities - these are the things that drove me to connecting. One of the things I can truly thank Glass for is the experiences it has led me to have. Without being a part of this community, I wouldn't have been able to speak with and meet such amazing people, including the awesome Glass Team I was so excited to meet up with. It truly has been an amazing conglomerate of people from all over the world that have been a lot of fun to talk to and spend time with.
Ari Adler
Works in the office of a current U.S. governor
The Explorer Edition of Glass provided me with some amazing opportunities in the first year that I have owned it. (I received my first unit in December 2014. I'm on my third due to the foil bubble issue. I suppose if I have any concerns about the program shifting gears it is over what happens to Explorer editions that develop the dreaded foil bubble).
Joshua Masterson
IT Support Technician
What Glass helped me do most was to capture moments in my life through the camera, where I would otherwise use my smartphone or DSLR camera. It helped keep my hands free and my head held high.
JoEric M
Web developer
I remember the days of the Walkie Talkie era on Nextel. Communicating was simple and instant. Now with text messaging/chatting it requires authentication, loading, typing, all while disconnecting from the world. Glass definitely has streamlined that process for me. All my friends and family mocks me for saying that thinking that it's just as easy to just do it the old way. Sure. But then it's just as easy to wash your clothes by hand instead of using the washer and dryer, or ride a horse to the store instead of a car.
Reading my news has also changed for me. Prior to Glass I relied on Google Reader for my news outlet. With Glass I configured Google+ to notify me of my news sites I frequent. It instantly shows up in my HUD. Click it if it's interesting and have time, ignore or swipe away if it's unimportant, or simply hang Glass around my neck if I don't want to be disturbed.
Jen Vargas
TV, Film and Social Media Producer
Being a Google Glass Explorer helped me share a little of my world with the rest of the planet. I'm not a developer. I'm not a celebrity with a large platform. I'm one person, who lives in one town, in one country on planet Earth.
What I think Glass helped me do the most was challenge people to think beyond the tech and examine how a device like this could help others in their community, family, social circles and more. Perhaps I inspired someone to get more involved locally through volunteerism or abroad via voluntourism? Maybe something I posted encouraged someone to just pay attention? Regardless of the hows, the whys and whats are the win.
When Google invited me to be a Glass Explorer (via Twitter, of all things), I had no idea what to expect. Not being a developer, I was very excited and a little shocked to even be a consideration. And hats off to the Google Glass Guides and Glass Team! They never once made me feel insignificant or lesser because of this. With every phone call, every visit to a basecamp, every email; I have always felt like a valuable member of the original Glass Explorer team. Any time I had equipment issues, a replacement arrived on my doorstep virtually overnight. If this kind of high quality customer experience continues through to the next generation of Glass, any hiccups that may happen will certainly be eclipsed,
My goal with Glass from the beginning was a project I called #Glass4good, now #Wearables4good. Through Glass I would share what I normally do in and around my community (volunteering, working as part of Florida's film and tv industry, covering events, etc) with the hope of inspiring others to do the same in their communities. Almost two years later I'm still regularly sharing (and hopefully) still inspiring others to get and stay involved, whether it's #throughglass or otherwise.
Jeris JC Miller
Dakini 3 Media, Executive Producer
What the Explorer Edition of Glass did most for me is acted as a launching point for developing the first generation of computer-mind interfaces. I have been talking about the technology with the Seattle SeaHawks developers discussing how Glass could be utilized as a visual/mindfulness aid in training environments. The ability to record information from narrative first person point of view and immediately review has numerous applications in a variety of settings, including providing immediate sensory biofeedback for training purposes as well as novel ways of storytelling.
Glass breaks the 4th Wall and integrates viewers directly into the first person experience. It is also very intimate and requires trust in the recording process. You see what the person sees through THEIR eyes and feel what they feel in the moment. This is very very powerful and we as Explorers are just beginning to scratch the surface of this emerging form of visual communication and visual immersive aesthetic. Glass was the first shot across the bow. Oculus and Tony Hsieh's project will extend the immersive environment that Glass launched. I would love to see Glass take this kind of experience to the next level.
Marc Konchar
Network Engineer
Most importantly it helped me meet some really great people both locally in person and online from all over the world. I'm not a developer but I've always loved to be on the forefront of technology using products that most people have never even heard of and this has been one of the best experiences of that so far. I wear Glass with prescription lenses all day every day and I've never had a bad experience in public so far. Obviously I get a lot of strange looks and questions but I'm always happy to give demonstrations and I love to see how excited people get once they see what it can do. Other than that I appreciate how Glass has helped me stay in the moment more instead of pulling out my phone to either check notifications or to take pictures. I don't believe for a second that Google is abandoning the product and I can't wait to see what comes next and to be a part of it. It's been a pleasure and I can't thank the Glass Team enough for choosing me a year ago.
Ned Sahin
Cognitive Neuroscientist and CEO of Brain-Power.com
Google Glass helped me help people with Autism. The Explorer Edition, which has been part of my daily life since July/August 2013, has helped me channel my neuroscience expertise into making practical tools for the challenges of autism, using the unique features and form factors of Glass.
