Make mobile communication disappear

Maybe “disperse” is a better word than “disappear,” but futurist Mike Walsh thinks mobile communication already is disappearing. “When you look at new technologies like Google Glass, like Fitbit, things that are tracking our motion and steps, you are actually seeing the idea of mobile fragmenting, breaking up, and disappearing into our clothing, our eye wear, into our everyday lives,” he said.

Source: Ecourterre, Fittersift

“This is more than just about being cool or having new technology. The disappearance of the mobile phone is actually about a total integration between the digital world and our real world. And that’s going to change everything.” 

Everything? That includes how we communicate and how we behave. Communication is not about putting words, images or sound on any number of screens. Communication at work helps people understand and succeed. What if you receive an infographic with this hour’s purchase uptick after your new product introduction, exactly at the time you are delivering a presentation to your sales executive, sent to your aural or visual field simply because you are in a conversation on that topic? 

For one thing, you wouldn’t be heads-down in a digital screen to retrieve your most current numbers. And for another, you’d be out talking with people, having a conversation—the richest communication. How we communicate and how we behave will be different when smartphones, tablets, watches and glasses are truly contextual—aware of where you are and what you are doing—not a conveyance method driven by someone else’s delivery routine.

That’s been a problem employee communicators have faced from Day One. We can deliver messages, but their relevance depends on the receiver, not the sender trying to capture attention and drive engagement.

Employee communicators are trying out company-to-employee apps on smartphones, practicing limited context even as very early adopters are practicing integrated context in wearable computers like clothing or tattoos. Since more than half of adult Americans said in the recent Pew Research Internet Project it would be “very hard to give up” their cellphones, we as communicators have a path to bridge real life with smartphones into future, on-the-job, context technology.

Also from the Pew study, both the Internet and cell phones were more important to respondents than television, email, and even social media. In real life, people experience how cell phones connect them to others, and maybe intuitively they understand it’s the Internet that helps them find, create and share information, not to mention organize work, learn skills and do our jobs better.

So when you think of mobile communication, think of context, not merely delivery. Appreciating context, not just delivering information, is a good practice for any workplace communication.

Is Google Glass a fading blip on the technology screen?

At the end of 2014—the proclaimed Year of the Wearable—where is the consumer release of Google Glass? Epic failure? 

Naturally, I’m inclined to say no. As a Glass Explorer I have spent my own time and money testing the beta eyewear for a year and a half and researching wearables. There is no failure in this learning opportunity for me or, I’m sure, for Google and others in the wearables market.

What worked

Having information suspended in front of your eyes feels more futuristic than holding a smartphone in your hand or wearing a band on your wrist. I like the fact that Glass tethers to multiple branded phones, not only Google or Android phones. What really fells different is being hands-free.

I certainly don’t know if Google will make a wide consumer release of Glass. But I am sure the company has learned from all the input about how people use and develop applications for wearables.

What didn’t work

The “killer app” for consumer acceptance evades us, except perhaps eyewitness video—photographing your baby’s first steps or a first-person view of an extreme sport attempt. Google offered the means for developers and users to come up with applications for real life. Some interesting ideas emerged. I’m not counting games that require you to move like a bobble-head.

The hands-free advantage of Google Glass almost disappeared as more smartphones recognized voice instructions and talked back. A phone-as-personal-assistant seems friendly, or at least not as unnerving as the person next to you wearing Glass. Besides, snooping via Glass is harder to ignore at this point than surveillance cameras or surreptitious phone cameras. Google continues to explore, with some success, the use of Glass in niche business markets where hands-free is useful.

The initial audio interface didn’t achieve what I’d hoped. Transmitting sound through bone vibration just didn’t work on different-shaped heads. Given the input choice of speaking to air or tapping the side of Glass, I usually end up tapping.

Why I did it

What could wearables do for future improvement of employee communication? Here was a chance to test a promising technology, just in case I didn’t live long enough to see wearables change lives for the better. I remember testing the Internet, even before the World Wide Web, and piecing together ideas for interconnected networks for average workers. Yet it took decades to evolve into intranets.

Wearables will take a while to evolve as well, and probably into a form that will make Google Glass, as cyborg nouveau, seem primitive. Let’s keep gazing further in 2015.

A keyboard in the hand is worth…

I remember what a challenge it was to learn to type. I took a course taught at my high school in summer school because I couldn’t imagine a whole semester of typing exercises. Now, of course, I type constantly, and I’m pretty fast at it, if not perfect.

I even look forward to conducting telephone interviews when distance prevents face-to-face research, because I can type a transcript as we talk, capturing quotable responses efficiently via my desktop keyboard. I learned that skill decades ago to replace audio recording, because I seldom had time to have to listen to the whole conversation again.

I still have a Chiclets BlackBerry, though I’m all thumbs—in a negative, slow way. I much prefer my iPhone and one- or two-finger mobile typing. Yet for speed, it’s back to my full-sized keyboard.

That kind of input won't work with wearable computing. Some innovators say gestures in the air are enough. With Google Glass, its trackpad-at-the-temple will feed in motion instructions. Tap once to open or play. Swipe down to close. Swipe forward with great speed to get Glass to identify the song you are listening to at the moment.

Samsung, which makes smart watches among other things, has reportedly applied for a patent for an intricate approach for thumb-tapping different sections of your fingers to represent different characters. And I thought learning QWERTY over the summer in an un-air-conditioned classroom was hard.

Nonetheless, I’m sure I’ll take time to learn that, or Twiddler. In the category of devices called chorded keyboards, a Twiddler is a one-handed alternative that has been around for years and is getting renewed interest. Instead of tapping parts of your fingers representing different characters as in Samsung’s vision, using Twiddler is more like playing a guitar. Different finger combinations on the Twiddler play a chord that represents a character or command.

We seem to want an input method other than our voices. Imagine how distracting it would be for everyone around you to be talking into wearable whatevers. People seem grateful that on most airline flights, passengers can’t use cell phones, because no one wants to sit next to that chatty passenger, or even worse, a talker on each side. Imagine a workplace full of people talking into their shirtsleeves or…wait a minute. That describes a busy office with people talking into headsets.

What we need is not only a path for quietly inputting our thoughts so much as for computing power that truly understands what we’re saying and what to do with that information, in common language, when we do talk out loud. Now, for example Google Glass’s spoken menu must be repeated word for word, like “make a call to…” or “send a message to...” I might be inclined to say “send a text message to…” instead of “send a message to….” It doesn’t work.

And as for me and my typing, I will miss the opportunity to go back and edit what I’ve written before tapping “send.”

Wearables point to distinctive communication for productivity

With wearables and sensors,
we know now that people with
more face-to-face interaction
had lots of experts to turn to
when they had questions,
and they completed tasks more quickly.

Especially when it’s more than flashy eyewear taking cool videos, and when it measures more than steps taken or stairs climbed, wearable technology has landed squarely in the workplace. And it has everything to do with communication.

I had the truly exciting chance to talk with Ben Waber of Sociometrics Solutions about a year ago, and since then, I’ve seen his name and his work pop up in business publications all over, recently in Bloomberg Businessweek and the Financial Times.

ID for productivity (more than security entry)

This sociometric story starts with your badge or ID card that hangs around your neck at work, not a digitally connected watch or titanium face frame. A sociometric badge can, as an example, record how you move through your workday, how much time you spend in a meeting, who is talking, and how that affects decisions, using microphones and transceivers. The badge also measures your energy, specifically how you lean it to a dialogue, with an accelerometer noting posture and movement. Collectively, the data point to productivity—or not.

“All the things we think are soft can now be measured,” according to Waber. People’s interactions are quantified with 0s and 1s, the data of personal dynamics, though not exact words that specific people use. Sociometrics Solutions doesn’t record content of conversations but the type and length of interactions. That, with energy metrics, tells a useful behavior story.

By looking at what seemed to be soft skills now backed up by data, Waber has been particularly fascinated by the value of promoting people who help others do their tasks more quickly and who provide people with answers, as opposed to promoting the highest-producers themselves out of producer jobs. “These are the people who help others be more productive. Never before could we quantify this.”

Useful behavior counted in interactions (not surveys)

Sociometrics also quantifies peoples’ networks—how many people you actually talk with during a day’s work. At a major financial company’s call center, Sociometrics Solutions determined that the people with highest efficiency had the most cohesive networks. Simply put, people with more face-to-face interaction had lots of experts to turn to when they had questions, and they completed tasks more quickly.

Eighty percent of the time those call center employees were talking was when lunchtimes overlapped. So what did the financial firm do to take advantage of this insight? It synched more break times as well, essentially a no-cost improvement for more productivity. “A 10 percent increase in crossover interaction and exploration raises the return a bit more than 10 percent. Even a shared, central coffee area where people bump into each other works,” Waber said. 

Conversely, cutting into break time can cut productivity. Reigning in travel budgets for meetings is a short term, line-item fix that could affect long-term employee engagement as people’s networking takes a hit. “Work is getting so complex, that dependency on others is more important," Waber said.

That seems to be stating the obvious, but it raises the urgency for employee communication professionals to enable interactions instead of generating more posts or paper.

So while I walk around with a Fitbit and wear Google Glass, Waber’s wisdom reminds me that lagging or cutting-edge technology is not the problem or the solution for communicators. How employees interact and collaborate, or don’t, is what we need to measure and act on.

Yes, we can ask the right survey questions to measure engagement, but that doesn’t completely define what to do to improve collaboration, maintain culture across offices, or manage change. There’s a reason to pay attention to the sensors popping up on people at work.

Google Glass becomes “glamorous” to enhance communication

Admitting it's a long road to adoption, Virgin Atlantic airlines is testing Google Glass for customer service at London’s Heathrow airport.

Virgin Atlantic says the test is based on research that shows the experience of flight is not as exciting as it used to be for customers. Google Glass might turn that feeling around. In fact, Virgin Atlantic says a customer greeted by a Glass-wearing customer service representative might find flying to be a glamorous experience again.

Virgin writes in its press release:

“From the minute Upper Class passengers step out of their chauffeured limousine at Heathrow’s T3 and are greeted by name, Virgin Atlantic staff wearing the technology will start the check-in process. At the same time, staff will be able to update passengers on their latest flight information, weather and local events at their destination and translate any foreign language information. In future, the technology could also tell Virgin Atlantic staff their passengers’ dietary and refreshment preferences–anything that provides a better and more personalised service.”

Galactic-style publicity aside, the real possibilities come with the disappearance of the ticket counter with a big computer monitor that divides the staff from passengers. Virgin Atlantic representatives can step out from behind the counter to talk with the passenger and still have instant access to the check-in process and flight updates. Notice the absence of any mention of taking pictures. It's like a natural conversation. And, while keeping eye contact, the representative can translate information into another language, given the capabilities of Glass. 

This could be a breakthrough for Google to see how quickly people will become comfortable in conversation with someone who is wearing Glass—someone who is engaging and helpful, not creepy. It’s about delivering information, not sneaking a photo or video. 

The best use of your Google Glass could be to give it away

“Journalist Nilay Patel wanted to tell the story of Indiana University shooting guard Victor Oladipo in the moments leading up to the 2013 NBA draft, but he didn’t want to get in the way.” So begins the retelling in the American Journalism Review of how basketball star Oladipo became a first-person experiential journalism trendsetter.

It’s journalism, but it’s also storytelling. And that’s what we do every day at work. We tell stories to share experiences and ideas related to the work we do to reach our goals.

I can envision sharing my Google Glass with someone at work on a typical day or for a special event, to see how the day or event unfolds before his or her eyes. And then, I’d post the video (edited, as appropriate) for people throughout the company. What an extension of what we already know—that people relate to other people as we communication about work. I usually talk about the “potential” of Glass. This, I could do tomorrow. And I just might!

Be sure to watch the story of Oladipo’s experience.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ-WDW9AY8k#action=share 

Face to face may not mean side by side

Mentoring newcomers to the strategies and practices of communicating to employee communities—is that something we’re improving now that we have social media and wearable computing all around us? Not me. Not yet.

I’m the person more likely to ask a summer intern, as I’m rushing off to another meeting, to take a stab at Project A or Tactic B while I’m gone, and we’ll talk about it later. I have an acquaintance who does just the opposite. She takes her intern with her to every meeting. Listening and observing a business meeting may not directly add a sample to a student’s communication portfolio and is possibly just confusing to a newbie, but surely it adds business know-how. And I suspect it creates a master-apprentice relationship that benefits both.

Question for the day: What’s the best way to be mentored by someone far away, and can technology actually make it better than in-person coaching?

Photographers and artists have a way to enter that master-apprentice path online now that intrigues me. Take a few minutes to watch the video to see how it works—or just to enjoy the great photography.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDL58aJSr28

I know some of you have been following the lengthy ongoing conversation in the IABC group on LinkedIn over the past couple of weeks. The master of employee communication asked a simple question about “intellectual laziness” in our field. Response has been passionate, disruptive, heartfelt, rowdy, embracing—all positive lessons for people pushing into the master category themselves and those just starting to explore.

Yet, as in all human communication, words sometimes fail us. One person’s deep belief didn’t seem relevant in another person’s workplace as we tried using words to describe our situations. Conversation spiraled in a confusing direction. The truth is, we come at discussions like this one from different worlds with different daily experiences even though we have similar interests and skills in business communication. In this instance, what qualified as intellectual laziness and what represented the right curiosity and research? That answer isn’t the point of this commentary. The point is to ponder whether multi-sensory exchanges of knowledge and insight might improve how we learn from masters, as in the mastery video. And also, can contextual exchanges that are part of wearable computing help make our points?

Just as the telegraph made the world smaller and television helped us share a culture, wearable computing may be a turning point in how we learn to better communicate at work by sitting side by side, so to speak, in the meeting room with a master far away. Think it could happen? If not, just watch.

* * * * *

Want Google Glass? Give someone or yourself the adventure of testing Google Glass. I have a couple of invites to become a Google Glass Explorer. Let me know by Dec. 20, 2014, why you want to be part of the beta testing and, in particular, how you would explore using Glass at work. The rules are set by Google, not me, and they include your having to purchase Glass at $1,500 plus tax and shipping. (I don’t work for Google or get any remuneration at any time.) Also, you must be a US resident, at least 18 years old, and provide a US shipping address or pick up Glass at a Google location in New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles.

Using Google Glass to measure internal communications in the age of context

By guest blogger Katie Delahaye Paine. Katie, a highly regarded communication measurement expert, blogs regularly at http://www.painepublishing.com/measurement-in-the-age-of-context/. She recently had an opportunity to try Google Glass and said “it took about 30 seconds using Google Glass to really grok what they were talking about—in short, a world where companies, the government, your computing device and the objects around you will ‘know’ you better than you know yourself.”

With luck and Glass, scenarios like the following will never happen again: Years ago, when corporate video was all the rage, a well-known research laboratory approached me to measure the success of its internal communications. My contact was the person who was running the corporate video program at the time and the real reason for the research was to justify its cost. We proposed an employee survey to understand where they got information, what they found most useful, and what communications mechanism they preferred. We also asked the usual employee engagement questions like, how committed you are to the organization? do you feel this is an organization you can trust? And do you trust the information you are receiving?

Just as we were fielding the survey, the company announced that it was being restructured and put up for sale, so naturally we were worried about our findings. The client decided to forge ahead and when the results were in, they were surprisingly positive. They felt that, under the circumstances, the company was doing as good a job as they could in keeping them informed. However, when we got into the specifics of which types of communications were most effective, it turns out that they HATED the video program. Naturally the client was upset, so we dug into the data together.

As it turns out the most negative responses came from one department, which was comprised primarily of very highly advanced programmers. The fact that they were not happy was obviously a big deal. I reported my results to the client who responded: “Oh them. Those guys are such nerds. They are so focused on their work and their computer screens that they actually hooked up a ‘coffee cam,’ because god forbid they should ever get up from their desks for a cup of coffee and find that the pot was empty. Instead they checked the coffee cam and only left their desks when they saw there was coffee there. “

I pointed out that it was hardly surprising, if they were that reluctant to leave their desk, that they would enjoy being forced to walk all the way to the conference room to watch a video, even if it was just a 3 minute walk.

I see Google Glass as the ultimate answer to that problem.

Essentially with Glass, those programmers would carry their computers with them wherever they go so they will get information wherever they are, and whenever they want it. And, when employees can chose the time and form of message delivery, employee communications teams will know immediately which messages of all the myriad ones they receive, they actually pay attention to, and which they ignore. With metrics like that, all decisions will be based on data not on the internal political clout of the requestor.

Imagine a world without “how useful do you find the newsletter” surveys. No more relying on employees reluctantly filling out questionnaires about what they recall or feel. That world will be populated with communications teams who will be able to measure what is most effective at engaging employees and tailor delivery and content accordingly.

But that’s just the first step. Ultimately, however, it’s not about whether employees got your message. It’s about whether that message yielded any benefit. The beauty of measurement in the age of context is that you’ll be able to analyze how employees work, rank them from most to least efficient or effective at any particular task, and then correlate that data to their message consumption and engagement level.

Augmented reality in my dreams

Google Glass wormed its way into my dreams last night. Or, at least something like Glass—a number counter in my field of vision. In my dream, I was preparing to go out to dinner with my family, even as I was thinking about all the things I had left undone. As one of my thoughts about a particular To-Do task entered my conscious, the counter would visually count up from 0 to 8 then back down to 4. That told me that I didn’t have to do that task for up to eight more days, so I really didn’t need to start thinking about it for four more days. Forget about it for now; go have a good dinner it seemed to be telling me.

Now if only I could stop dreaming about all the things I need to be doing. Let my “spare brain” on a computer chip keep thoughts about my tasks prioritized. In the light of day, it isn’t really such a far stretch to imagine that kind of mind-to-machine power working with wearables listening to us talk about things we're doing.

Pinpoint necessary data to appear right in front of your eyes

Your pocket isn’t convenient enough and data is too monstrous to scan. Those are two reasons why Google Glass is “inevitable” in the workplace, according to analytics author Chris Taylor, who blogs at Successful Workplace.

“It’s only a matter of time before ‘line of sight’ becomes the primary place for everything we care most about,” he writes. “It’s only logical that we’d put what matters most in the place where we can digest and use it immediately…continually in front of our eyes.”

The most immediate example he uses in his blog is in the health care arena, also the topic of a previous Gaze Further blog post.

Besides being visual and hands-free, wearable computing, Taylor points out, meets our expectations of getting information we need or want anywhere, anytime. He says that especially at work, a phone in your pocket isn’t convenient. Powerful analytics provide the capability to deliver what matters most, rather than manually scanning large amounts of information to glean important data.

Those views are through the eyes of a data cruncher: Don’t give me too much information; give me what I need. And, don’t make it so hard for me to get to. That sounds an awful lot like the feedback employee communicators hear: There’s too much information for me to pay attention to. And please deliver it by the channels that appeal to me.

How does it look through the eyes of a digital creative agency? Purple, Rock, Scissors put together a demo about Glass in daily life, including shopping, exercise, entertainment, instructions, and home security—even how to find where you parked your car. This short video answers the question: What can Glass do for you?

What would you want Glass to do for you as you go through your day?

• You could ask how many employees so far have viewed your morning post on the intranet and receive the count every minute, five minutes, 30 minutes, or whatever you chose.

• You would get a notification that you’ve just typed “that” instead of “than”—something spell check didn’t catch but Glass can see.

• You’re on a conference call with half a dozen people from your company’s regional offices. You don’t know them that well, so sometimes it’s hard to distinguish their voices and know who is speaking when. Glass can flash the photo with the name and job role for each individual each time he or she speaks.

• You could get a notice when someone shares your Yammer or Facebook post on a particular topic, even as you are walking back to the office with coffee in one hand and a donut in the other.

• Get the camera out of the way. As you interview someone as part of your content creation, go ahead and get photos at the same time while the individual is relaxed and conversational. For that matter, leave the tape recorder behind if you are still using one.

• Wondering if your favorite user experience analyst is in one of the pods on the collaboration floor? If so, please provide visual instructions through the maze of modules to find her.

• As you’re making a presentation to your professional association peers and you mention a book title, the author’s name appears in your line of sight just to make sure you remember it.

• While you’re driving home and wondering if you really need to stop by the dry cleaners, too tired to remember what’s on your calendar for tomorrow, you can ask out loud and get an answer as to whether you need to wear a suit tomorrow because of any high-level meeting.

I’ll be thinking about it over the next few days. You think, too, and share your ideas. What would be totally awesome for Glass to do for you? Glass is in development stage, and Google wants input on ways people would really use it as part of their workday. 

(Reminder: I do not work for Google or receive anything from the company, not even a free T-shirt.)

“Active shooter”: Communicating more than a breaking news statement

“Active shooter.” That’s what an email sent to people on Capitol Hill said, or so the mass media first announced about reported gunfire yesterday. “Active shooting” might have been a better term we know now. “Active shooter” has quickly entered the vernacular as a crazed gunman in a place of business, a school, or a shopping mall. This time, though, shots came from police who, it seems now, may have been appropriately responding to a 2-ton bullet on gasoline-powered wheels—an automobile.

Again as a news consumer, I have read that the second message, “All clear,” flashed on video screens in federal government buildings about an hour later.

Active shooter. All clear. In this instance, those two phrases may have been sufficient communication, because the tragedy didn’t escalate to involve bystanders. But for corporate communicators who practice crisis exercises, perhaps this is a timely opportunity to ask, What if?

What if an active shooter in the workplace threatens the lives of employees? And what if that shooter is going office to office or floor to floor, outside the scope of surveillance cameras? If Google Glass were prevalent in that workplace, in even its current beta format, wearers could capture and feed a visual report to help responding officers assess the situation and secure employees from harm.

In addition, crisis teams could deliver instructions through Glass to people who most need to know what to do next. Notifications, updates, information cards—those are the kinds of terms we use to define succinct messages delivered by Glass. What general, quick messages can we script in advance so they are ready to adapt to a specific situation if needed? What if communication to a Glass wearer could unobtrusively provide instructions in how to respond to an active shooter?

What if we help shape the development of wearable computing to take advantage of built-in sensors to better handle crisis incidents. In the case of a shopping mall shooting, for example, sensors in wearable computers could pinpoint where innocent shoppers are hiding, and whether they are imminently threatened. Officials could give specific directions for taking cover. If the situation allowed escape, a map could appear in peoples' line of sight with arrows pointing the route to safety.

Much Google Glass hype seems to revolve around extreme sports videos and unposed baby smiles. Glass for crisis situations may be gloomy by comparison, but it’s worth thinking about to be well prepared.

Name that tune on Google Glass

Google Glass has a new trick, and it has turned into a game for me—name that tune. It’s simple. Ask Glass to identify the song you are listening to right now.

Yes, Glass can name the tune and artist and display the cover art often in four seconds or less. Sometimes, obscure songs take a few seconds longer, but those are the ones you could never come up with yourself at all. It’s impressive. The technology is Google’s Sound Search, an Android offering that recognizes music playing around you.

After the novelty wears off from asking Glass to listen to the music, what’s left? A deeper appreciation of contextual sensors. Cell phones have taught us that computers we carry around with us at all times can sense our location. Embedded GPS tells us where a photo was taken, which direction to head for a burger, and how to avoid traffic.

Glass will build on that concept with not only the ability to listen but also to see your surroundings from your point of view, knowing exactly where you are. It’s that complete context that will bring us a whole new level of computing power.

Wow. Whoa. That’s a lot to get our heads around, considering how easy it is to wrap Google Glass itself around our heads with a powerful computing device resting at eye level.

Thanks, VentureBeat, for showing Glass at work

Since the point of this blog is to consider how wearable computing like Glass will change the workplace and the way employees communicate in it, it’s an exciting time to just imagine what that might mean. Could Glass hear a conversation with a customer and offer prompts or reminders about a product feature for a salesperson to mention right then? Might Glass recommend someone who could answer a question that two people are discussing? Imagine an audio and visual roadmap that guides you through a cubicle maze, where everything appears the same to you, so you quickly reach the exact spot you will find the person you’re looking for.

Listing possibilities…this could go on all day, and we still wouldn’t think of them all or the long-term, valuable ones, for that matter. We have an early opportunity to start shaping wearable computing uses. Think how can it be developed at your company so that it contributes to the way employees understand company goals and news, work with colleagues toward innovation, and celebrate how the work they do each day contributes to success. Let’s name that tune.

Your company may equip you with Google Glass for your job

Business use for Google Glass—as opposed to personal perspective video of sporting events or your baby’s first steps—is gaining momentum. Google even held an event for interested businesses recently, recognizing that manufacturers like the idea of Glass for inventory programs. Glass could easily read serial numbers or barcodes with the eyeglass camera on an employee’s face, and that data could go directly to a central computer to monitor stock of just about any kind of product.

Hospitals are interested as well, not only to keep track of medicines, but also to aid in on-the-spot training, to send urgent notifications to staff, and for physicians physically present or at a distance to participate in surgery and care. Information, instruction, or notification pops into the field of vision of the Glass wearers, even as their hands are free to continue their work. It’s a new playing field for creative people, who are suggesting and developing apps, called Glassware.

Fidelity Investments has already jumped in. It has developed an app for its customers who wear Glass—granted, a limited group—to monitor the stock market in their field of vision as they go through their day. Do watch the video from Fidelity Labs that previews what it sees in your near future. And then watch it again, paying attention to the voice interactions and Glass notifications. Visually, it’s stunning, revealing to all corporate communication professionals what Glass-type technology can bring to our craft.

For workers always on the go, or hands-on something other than a keyboard, Glass offers completely new employee communication opportunities—especially if companies bring in Glass for other purposes, and employees become used to its features and delivery of content. Tool use does progress. Do you remember email before anyone was doing email newsletters?

3 ways to improve content creation with Google Glass

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That’s right. They’re blank—for you to fill in. Haven’t given much thought to how Google Glass can make any difference? Kristin Bassett has.

1. Expedite research.
2. Make tasks easier.
3. Skip unnecessary processes.

Bassett works as a marketing content specialist at a tech startup, and for fun, she is editorial director for BeautyXpose.com.  Either place, she’s surrounded by blogs and videos and technology—and now she’s testing Google Glass.

“We’re working to come up with some great plans for how we can utilize and leverage the Google Glass to create new content and expedite our content creation for the marketing department,” she said about her tech startup role.

“Currently, it takes a lot of effort to make videos about what our CEO thinks,” she explained, something marketers and communicators can identify with. Glass may become an effective way to videotape a conversation, as the interviewer/wearer can maintain eye contact with the CEO throughout—one on one, not one in front of an interviewer, a camera operator, and technicians.

Yet it’s not only streamlining CEO interaction that has Bassett thinking. Could Glass help with efforts to get content from people that can be used as blog posts? “We see it being easier to sit down with them and just have them talk to us and just report it, without having to have someone come in and set up video cameras.”

It just might work there, because the company’s CEO is the one who suggested the idea for applying for the #ifihadglass program in the first place. “Our CEO had sent out an email when the Glass Explorer program had launched. He said, hey everyone, I think this is an awesome program. I think everyone should enter. If anyone gets picked, the company will pay for it. You just have to bring it in so everyone can play with it, because we want to see it,” Bassett recalled. And, yes, everyone wants to try it out. “I’m much more popular now at the office,” she joked.

Outside of work, Bassett has used Glass for sending a quick email to friends. She’s also hopeful it will help her develop video blogging—vlogging—for her “for fun” work on BeautyXpose.com.

“Right now a lot of our entries are written. Photography and videography just take up so much time normally. Having this Glass on makes it much easier to record videos than it has ever been before. I think that will help us ramp that up,” she said.

Go ahead—tell us the three ways you would want to use Glass for content creation.

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