Imagine for a moment that you’ve just become a proud Google Glass owner. Now imagine that you’ve gone to a restaurant, your mind filled with all the exciting ways you could use Google’s wearable device. What would you do, in that scenario, if you were asked to take the device off by the establishment’s management.
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Well, if you’re anything like one New York Glass owner, your idea of reasonable course of action would be to refuse to take them off, leave and write a scathing review.
According to Mashable, Katy Kasmai was asked to remove her device at a restaurant called Feast.
After leaving the establishment, she posted a review on Google’s restaurant reviews page, which reads: “Got denied service on a Sunday afternoon for wearing Google Glass.”
She also posted a follow up on her Google Glass page, which explains that this was the first time this had happened:
“For the first time ever this place, Feast, in #NYC just asked that I remove +Google Glass because customers have complained of privacy concerns. Never has happened to me before in the one year I’ve had Glass.”
A number of other Glass users then started posting reviews based on the request made to Kasmai, despite many not being from New York and a number having never actually eaten at Feast.
The incident has raised fresh debate around what constitutes acceptable use of Glass in public. Despite multiple attempts by Google to prove that technology doesn’t infringe on privacy and encourage “douchey” behaviour, there’s still a sense that many are uncomfortable with it.
Indeed, in the wake of the incident, a number of other reviewers started commenting on Feast’s Google restaurant page, saying things like “Any restaurant that stands up to the Google Glass bullies deserves 1 000 stars.”
Perhaps the people opposed to such bans could listen to some of the advice given out by Google on how not to be a “Glasshole”:
Respect others and if they have questions about Glass don’t get snappy. Be polite and explain what Glass does and remember, a quick demo can go a long way. In places where cell phone cameras aren’t allowed, the same rules will apply to Glass. If you’re asked to turn your phone off, turn Glass off as well. Breaking the rules or being rude will not get businesses excited about Glass and will ruin it for other Explorers.
