Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is having problems with its financials today, and the firm’s stock has lost around 3% of its value on today’s market. The company’s marketeers have something else to worry about as they head toward the public release of the Google wearable, Google Glass. According to a recent survey, people in the United Kingdom don’t really know what the device is, and most of them are afraid of it.
Glass is, right now, a product made for developers and early adopters. It impacts the lives of the coastal United States, and that is going to continue until Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) decides the piece of tech is ready for Prime Time. Until then the company doesn’t really have to care about the state of public perception, but it’s clear that the tech will face some challenges that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) marketing chiefs will have to grapple with.
Everybody’s afraid of Google Glass
The survey, which was carried out by Gorkana, involved the questioning of 1,000 UK adults about Google Glass. Just 32% of the respondents knew what the surveyors were talking about when they brought up the piece of wearable technology. the survey was carried out on April 15, the one day that Google Glass went on sale to the public in the United States.
Of those who were at least dimly aware of the Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) head-mounted computer, about half were concerned about its implications on personal privacy. About a fifth of those aware of Glass said they would support a public ban on the technology. An uphill battle awaits the advertiser who tries to develop a campaign for Glass.
People don’t like being filmed most of the time, and Google Glass involves users pointing a camera at whatever they’re looking at. Whether or not a user is filming seems not to matter. The uncomfortable feeling of standing in front of a camera appears to be enough to make most people resist the hypothetical introduction of Google Glass, and that should be a worry for the company’s product managers as they develop the device.
Bitcoin is still a mystery to many
A second survey, this time performed by YouGov, asked 2,052 UK adults about Bitcoin, the virtual currency. It seems that the asset has even less support among the public than Google Glass. 43% of respondents said that they did not understand what Bitcoin was, while 71% said they would prefer not to use the instrument while shopping online.
Just 5% said they would willingly adopt a virtual currency like Bitcoin. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has, at the very least, a department of people that can try to change the minds of those unappreciative of Glass. Attempts to change perceptions of Bitcoin are certain to be more fragmented, and they may never be able to counter some of the negative perceptions stemming from the currency’s history.
