Blog Essay: Wearable Technology

Wearable technology is undoubtedly the future of communication. 

Photo by We Are Wearables

While they have faced a series of setbacks, developing an interactive device that provides information seamlessly to the wearer is the goal for every major tech company right now. 

When Google’s research team realized the potential of wearables, they worked quickly to cause a stir in the tech community. Announced in 2012, Google purposely made “Project Glass” a spectacle. In a post on Google+, Google first introduced Glass with a big claim by stating,

“We think technology should work for you—to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t.” 

A few months later, Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin interrupted Google’s annual developer I/O conference with a live demo of people skydiving into the conference while wearing Google Glass.

Google really sought after the coveted title of being the first player to a new product category. So Google worked to innovate on wearable technology in a large-scale fashion. However, they made a series of mistakes by attempting to mainstream a device that wasn’t quite yet ready for mass attention. 

Aside from the technical shortcomings, such as disappointing battery life and a poor quality screen, Google did not accurately consider the legal ramifications of this new type of technology. A series of legal troubles put Google on the defensive and has consistently challenged the company’s advancing of Glass. Labeled as a driving distraction, tool for piracy, and method of jeopardizing other’s privacy, Glass become a target in the news. 

In January of 2015, Google announced the end of the selling of the “Explorer” edition of Google Glass. While it may appear that Google has sidelined the project, they are certainly going to continue to work to maximize the advances they’ve made in this technology. Based on the success of their Android operating system, Google knows the benefits of advancing mobile technology to the next level.

Google’s not the only big player in wearable tech; Apple is ready to join in with their Apple Watch. Apple is expected to unveil the finalized details of their watch on Monday, March 9th. Based on the preview they’ve provided, the watch allows the user to message friends, check emails, see upcoming events, and pay for items using Apple Pay.

Unlike Google Glass’s questionable future, Apple’s watch will certainly stick around for many years. While a watch does not provide nearly the same amount of interactive abilities that a device like Google Glass provides, the Apple Watch still offers a number of ways developers can make useful third-party applications. 

All in all, wearable technology provides a huge opportunity for strategic communication. Just imagine walking down the street with some form of screen constantly in your line of vision or device in your ear; as you pass a store, the device notifies you that the store is having a flash sale on an item you were looking for a few days prior. This technology is already there and corporate powers are just waiting to tap into it.

This form of communication wouldn’t just benefit corporate interests. Activist organizers could potentially have new and extremely effective methods of effortless communication to boost visibility of their cause in addition to attendance at events. 

For instance, one could develop an application that uses the visuals of Google Glass or the geolocation data of the Apple Watch to suggest nearby rallies happening in realtime for causes that are known to matter to the user. This is just one example of the many ways wearable technology has the potential to completely alter grassroots activism.