Google Glass, paper presented at a conference in Tokyo

2. Google Glass: Cool, Strange and
Connected
Adam Acar
Kobe City University of Foreign
Studies

3. Difficult to Predict the Adoption of
New Technologies

4. 9 out of 10
new product launches fail in Japan
Source:

5. Focus Group Session (May, 2011)
• Participant 1: I would never use Facebook
• Participant 2: Facebook has a very complicated
interface
• Participant 3: Mixi is just fine for Japanese people
• Participant 4: Mixi is safer and easier to use
TODAY
ALL THESE 4 PEOPLE ARE
HEAVY FACEBOOK USERS!!!

6. Lit Review
GOOGLE GLASS
• Feels socially awkward
• Feels connected
• Has Privacy issues (hospitals, courts, business
meetings, etc.)

7. Survey Question: This is a prototype of Google Glass. Please look at it carefully and read
the features.
Please answer these questions….

8. Survey
Survey Items
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out):
• When I have a good time, it is important for me to share the details online
• I get anxious when I don't know what my friends are up to
• I get worried when I find out my friends are having fun without me
•
Communication Competence
• For me, it is difficult to understand other people
• I experienced communication problems with some people in this university
• I get embarrassed when people compliment me
Google Glass
• I am very interested in Google Glass
• I am willing to pay as much as 40,000 yen to buy Google Glass
• I think Google Glass will be popular in Japan

9. I join the activities of NPOs and NGOs
Communication Problems
FOMO (Fear of Missing out)
Approximately how many times did you comment on others'
blogs in the past 1 year?
APPROXIMATELY How many pictures did you upload to
Facebook in the past 3 MONTHS that shows your face?
How old are you?
Approximately how many times did you leave a comment on a
Youtube video in the past 1 year?
People tell me I am a good listener
I am good at influencing people
Tablet device:Which one of the following devices do you own?
Overall, I am satisfied with my self and my accomplishments in
life
Overall I am a happy person:Please indicate your agreement
with the following statements
Google Glass
.416**
.391**
.319*
.311*
.287*
-0.172
-0.176
-0.19
-0.199
-0.234
-0.244
-.266*

10. Conclusions
• We suspect that Google Glass may have a
considerable image problem if those who are
not competent communicators adopt it first.
• FOMO (Fear of missing out) is likely to be the
biggest driver of the adoption.

11. To cite
• Acar, A. (2013). Google Glass: Cool, strange
and connected. Proceedings of the 47th
Annual conference of Japan Association of
Consumer Studies. Pages 58~59.
http://adamacar.wordpress.com/about/