40 people, 40 ideas #1: Sights and celebrity spottings in NYC

Liz Sipley, Assistant Account Manager, was the first person to take Google Glass out for a spin for "40 people, 40 experiences." She was traveling to New York City and thought that it would be the perfect opportunity to use Glass. Her mission? Figure out ways Glass could be useful while traveling in general, and traveling to NYC specifically. We recently caught up with her to report on her impressions and ideas.

Hey Liz, so what'd you think of Glass?
Liz: It was strange to wear around NYC. In a city that sees it all and ignores most of it, I definitely felt like a celebrity sometimes. People would come up to me and ask me about it. Other times I would just see people staring. Glass worked pretty well for the most part, but sometimes it was difficult to access the internet.

What was your Glass mission?
Liz: Well the first time I wore it was in the airport. Our flight was delayed, so we decided to get a wine flight at Surdyk's. A great start to vacation, right? Wearing it while drinking wine was fun. It'd be awesome if Google Glass could have some sort of wine tasting app. It could give Wine Spectator ratings of the wines on the list, analyze the color of wines, and maybe even determine what my blood alcohol rating would be.

Once I got to NYC, I mostly wore Glass while walking the streets. It was fun to just wander and look around. I also used it in a typical New York City bagel shop and at the 9/11 memorial.

What were some of the ideas you had for how Google Glass could be used in the future?
Liz: There were a ton of things... While touring the 9/11 memorial, I thought it would be nice if Google Glass offered guided museum tours. Google Glass would recognize pieces of art, galleries, or exhibits. Once it recognized something, it would give you relevant information about the artist and other historic information. It could even translate information into other languages.

I also caught myself staring up at the buildings all the time. It'd be sweet if Google Glass could give me architectural information. Users could "scan" the building from top to bottom and Glass could identify the name, purpose, or height of the building. This could be useful for engineers or the curious tourist.

I love the idea of using Glass as a tour guide. What else?
Liz: One day while I was sitting eating a bagel in a park, I noticed all the chess boards on the tables. I have no idea how to play chess, so wouldn't it be cool if there were a "Teach me" app that could teach users how to play chess or other games? I could either ask Glass to tell me exactly what to do or have it let me play my own game but jump in from time to time with suggestion of what would happen if I did X, Y, or Z. It would be like having your own personal chess coach in your ear.

Another favorite idea is to use it as a Celebrity spotter. I was visiting friends in NYC, and they had a bunch of stories about seeing so and so out at lunch or at the next best bar in town. Google Glass could be a guide to "NYC hot spots" around town for celebrity spottings. It could even identify celebrities in a crowd while you're out walking around.

Thanks for all the great ideas, Liz! Google, take note!

Stay tuned for our next "40 people, 40 ideas" post!