Blog #4 Google Glass A Discovery and Learning Story of Disruptive Innovation - Eduardo Fuentes (efuentes)

“Markets that do not exist cannot be analyzed. The strategies and plans for confronting disruptive technological change should be plans for learning and discovery rather than plans for execution.” (Christensen, 1997), reads principle #3 of disruptive innovation. Has Google listened to this principle in the Google Glass innovation journey?

Google Glass was launched in 2014 as their first effort to enter the wearables market, in the pervasive computing market; the idea that computing is made to be used everywhere and anytime. The first iteration provided functionality such as: voice-controlled video recording, picture capturing, live video sharing, email and text messaging management, web searching and Google maps, all within your field of vision.

The product was first launched without a clear explanation of what it was meant to be used for, the marketing seemed to suggest it was all about bringing technology to your lifestyle; a 24x7 connection of the human being with data.  Did Google have an idea on what use the product would ever have? How about the consumers that would buy it? I doubt it, and still they launched the product but with a twist: they created an Explorer Program that allowed early adopters to get a prototype version which seemed more like a social experiment for many experts, to me, after learning about innovation this week, it looks this was Google’s learning and discovery phase of their attempt to bring disruptive innovation. In the words of Jeff Bercovici, the executive in charge of marketing for Glass: “I see it (the product rollout strategy) as quite a necessary symptom of a company trying to be disruptive”.  In January 2015, just a year after, Google Glass left the shelves for the public and was moved into a product division with a focus toward business uses that brought it back to the market early 2020 in the form of the Google Glass AR headset.

This story of disruptive innovation, yet to be decided whether successful or not, shows the power of learning and discovery in the disruptive innovation journey. Google realized, through Google Glass, that the general public wasn’t quite ready for this product, and their rollout strategy allowed them to repurpose the product to be used into a now growing market, Augment Reality, without financial failure. Today this product is already seeing some adoption, for example, DHL just expanded the use of this product to have enhanced warehouse logistics.

References

Chicowski, E (2019). DHL Expanding Use of Google Glass for Augmented Reality-Enhanced Warehouse Logistics. Retrieved from https://digirupt.io/dhl-expanding-use-of-google-glass-for-augmented-reality-enhanced-warehouse-logistics/

Gale, A (2014). Google Glass: Changing How We See the World. Website Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.websitemagazine.com/blog/google-glass-changing-how-we-see-the-world

Statt, N. (2020). Google opens its latest Google Glass AR headset for direct purchase. The Verge. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21121472/google-glass-2-enterprise-edition-for-sale-directly-online

Wadhwa, T. (2014). Google's Glass Explorer Program Was A Social Experiment That Backfired. https://www.forbes.com/sites/tarunwadhwa/2014/04/24/the-google-glass-explorer-program-was-a-social-experiment-that-backfired/#d956ed15d959