A simple hashtag led several members of the Syracuse University community to be selected to test one of Google’s most anticipated products.

At least five SU students and one SU professor were chosen to test Google Glass, which will be released in 2014. Google is allowing 8,000 pairs to be tested for the cost of $1,500. The SU representatives were chosen through a competition on Twitter and Google+ to test Glass before its official release, according to a School of Information Studies blog post.

Google Glass is a pair of glasses that weighs about the same as a traditional pair of sunglasses, with a single translucent glass screen in front of the right eye. The glass screen will allow for the projection of travel directions, viewing pictures and video consumption, according to a June 29, 2012, Wired Magazine article.

The participants were picked to test the product after sending a tweet with the hashtag #IfIHadGlass, said William Ward, the professor who was chosen.

“I saw the hashtag was trending first thing in the morning and I thought it was kind of cool, so I tweeted it right away,” said Ward, an S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications professor of social media. “I shared it on my social media sites so all my followers could have the same opportunity to win.”

Amanda Claypool said she was excited to be one of the few people selected for the tests.

“I’m an avid Twitter junkie and I always check what’s trending globally,” said Claypool, a senior international relations, political science and history major. “I thought everybody won a pair, but then I realized that only 8,000 of us won.”

Alexandra Steinberg, another one of the students chosen, said she hopes to incorporate the Google Glass technology with the iSchool curriculum.

“I think it would be really cool to do ‘A Day in the Life of an iSchool Student’ or walk on top of the Carrier Dome. But I might have to talk to the dean about that,” said Steinberg, a sophomore information management and technology major.

Winners were messaged by an authenticated Twitter account run by Project Glass, but have yet to be informed when they will receive their test glasses.

“I want to receive the glasses as soon as possible because I want to integrate them into my social media classes,” Ward said. “Everything is text-based in social media, but these could really open the door to a new form of social media.”

Google Glass will be navigated by voice commands similar to Apple’s Siri. Since this accessory will be worn in an active setting, there will not be any keypads or touch screens, according to Wired.

“I think this has a lot of potential for global implications,” Claypool said. “Back when iPods came out, no one ever thought that would lead to an iPhone, so it is cool to test out the glass and see what is next.”

Published on April 10, 2013 at 10:08 pm

Contact Kelvin: kbread@syr.edu