Of course you don’t look like a rich dork: Google tries to bust some Glass myths

The Google Glass Explorer program seems to be faltering. So much so that Google has taken the unprecedented step of dispelling the top 10 myths around Google Glass in a blog post.

“In its relatively short existence, Glass has seen some myths develop around it. While we’re flattered by the attention, we thought it might make sense to tackle them, just to clear the air,” the post says.

The myths address some of the privacy concerns around Google Glass such as “Myth 2: Glass is always on and recording everything”, “Myth 5: Glass does facial recognition (and other dodgy things)”, “Myth 7: Glass is the perfect surveillance device” and “Myth 10: Glass marks the end of privacy”.

Appster director Mark McDonald says privacy is a big issue for people and would continue to be. He notes that anti-surveillance software is becoming increasingly popular.

McDonald says its Google’s unusual approach to distributing the Google Glass with its exclusive explorers project that seems to have backfired.

“They pretty much limited it developer communities and they’re the ones who have now turned against it,” he said. That might explain “Myth 8: Glass is only for those privileged enough to afford it”, which says:

“The current prototype costs $1500 and we realize that is out of the range of many people. But that doesn’t mean the people who have it are wealthy and entitled. In some cases, their work has paid for it. Others have raised money on Kickstarter and Indiegogo. And for some, it’s been a gift.”

McDonald says some of the early prototypes were pretty underwhelming, when people were expecting something along the lines of 3D augmented reality.

Despite that, he’s a huge fan, though he says he’s yet to wear his out much as people just think it’s geeky.

“Even if Google Glass doesn’t become a product, the exciting thing is the potential for wearable technology,” McDonald says.

In his own company, which develops Google Glass apps,  McDonald says most of the current interest comes from enterprise, but Google Glass will become cool when the trend is driven by fashion.

“Technology is becoming more and more commoditized and the challenge for Google is how to make Glass fashionable,” he says.

Perhaps then the Google list is still missing Myth 11: Google Glass is not fashionable.

 This article first appeared on StartupSmart.