Backlash against Google Glass was a known risk, but worth it, says marketing head
Google Glass hasn’t always enjoyed the best of public images. There can’t be too many products that have found themselves banned in everywhere from bars to workplaces to cars (that one later reversed), with governments raising privacy concerns and even noted fans wondering whether the product may be doomed.
Forbes staff writer Jeff Bercovici wondered whether early Glass advocate Robert Scoble was right in accusing Google of having botched the PR. Marketing head Ed Sanders, perhaps predictably, says no.
The backlash is a result of the way Google decided to roll out Glass, he says — but it was a deliberate decision to do it that way, with a limited public beta surrounded by a nimbus of hype and curiosity. “Yes, it was an unusual step of doing it so exposed, and risks come with that,” he says. “We knew there would be downsides, but we also knew and know there would be tremendous upside” …
