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BYOG: Why You NEED A Google Glass Policy

NetApp

Don't look now, but here comes BYOG: "bring your own Glass." Soon enough, employees and executives will be showing up for work wearing Google's innovative new headset.

What are the security, privacy and reputation management implications for a world in which eyeglasses have cameras and microphones, controlled by downloadable apps?

Today, there are probably between 10,000 and 15,000 people in the world who have Google Glass (full disclosure: I'm one of those people, and I wear them every day). They cost $1,500. And they don't exactly look like an elegant designer accessory (although combined with the included sunglasses accessory, they don't look too bad).

Why You Should Care 

It's easy to dismiss Google Glass as an overpriced geek toy that will never go mainstream. But that would be a mistake. In fact, the coming product will be very unlike the current prototype you see here.

Reasonable estimates say that when Google Glass ships into the consumer market—late next year at the earliest—they’ll cost only $300. That price is unlikely. But it will probably cost less than, say, an unlocked iPhone.

We don't know what the future versions of Google Glass will look like, but we can assume they'll be smaller, less obtrusive, and more integrated into glasses than the current version. We also know that Google is reportedly talking with a high-end prescription glasses company, Warby Parker, to integrate Glass into normal prescription eyewear.

One team of designers, illustrators and 3D artists imagine that the Google Glass of the future will look something like this.

Google Glass will never be as ubiquitous as the smartphone, but it will be mainstream. You need to start preparing now for the inevitable introduction of this technology into your offices and inside the firewall. (In fact, since developers were among the first group of people to be invited to try Glass, someone in your Dev department may already be wearing them.)

It’s also important to note that Google is already selling Glass to an unknown number of people—probably a few hundred per day. There are rumors that Google will offer one invitation to each current user, doubling the number of users. By the time Glass “ships,” there may be 100,000 users already.

Is Glass Half Empty Or Half Full?

There are clear benefits and risks to Google Glass in the workplace.

  • Your IT department will use them for alerts and notifications as they used to use pagers and currently use smartphones. They'll be able to see the alert, and in many cases respond to it, while continuing to do whatever it is they were doing, even if they were in a meeting.
  • Drivers, warehouse workers and others who use both hands during work will benefit enormously. Glass will essentially give them the basic tools of a white collar worker sitting at a desk as they are in the factory or in the field.
  • It will prove to be a massive benefit to the visually impaired and other disabled employees.

But Glass will also introduce new risks and challenges.

For starters, it has a camera on the front. It takes only a second to snap a picture or begin recording a video. Because people will wear them all the time while in the office, there may be special problems that arise.

For example, users can record videos of meetings, take pictures of what they see on their PC screens or take pictures in the bathroom.

The biggest wildcard is that, like smartphones, Google Glass runs apps. And you can’t know what app is running on any particular user’s device.

  • Are they recording what they see and sending it to your competition?
  • Are they harvesting equipment serial numbers?
  • Are they watching porn?

There's almost no way to know. (Note that none of these activities requires an Internet connection -- keeping them off the network doesn't eliminate the risk.)

Here's one scenario to consider. Right now, smartphone apps, head-mounted camera systems and car dashcams have the ability to record the past. Apps will give Google Glass this ability. That means after a private conversation involving company secrets, personnel issues or other sensitive topics, a user running such an app will be able to walk away, press a button, and the audio or video of that conversation can be preserved, and uploaded to the cloud.

Right now, email is legally considered an asset that’s completely separate from oral conversations in the hallway. The reason is that email is recorded. But Glass makes any conversation recordable, and without the knowledge of the other people in the conversation.

What are the implications of that for the company's BYOD policies? For regulatory compliance? For reputation management?

The Bottom Line

In the near future, some large minority of employees and executives are wearing Google Glass to work every day—possibly you, too.

The way to approach Google Glass is as essentially an invisible smartphone. It can do most of the things a smartphone can do, but it can be used without anyone knowing.

Ultimately, the benefits will outweigh the risks for most kinds of companies. But BYOD policies, procedures and management tools will need to be upgraded and augmented.

Agree? Disagree?? Weigh in with a comment below...

By Mike Elgan (@MikeElgan)

Image credit: Mike Elgan

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