Will Google Glass Elevate Citizen Journalism?
What’s the Latest Development?
Last week, documentary filmmaker and PRServe founder Chris Barrett was on a New Jersey boardwalk testing the video recording feature of Google Glass when he happened upon what appeared to be the aftermath of a fight. He continued to record and ended up with what he says may be the first-ever arrest of an individual captured by the device. Not surprisingly, he says, “I’ve always been about capturing stories and being a story-teller, so having a device that will change the way people capture stories is unbelievable.”
What’s the Big Idea?
Recording events using mobile phones is no longer uncommon, but when the phone is held up, at least it’s obvious to passersby — and perhaps the people being viewed — that recording is taking place. This isn’t the case with Google Glass, at least not while it’s still months away from decorating the local Best Buy. Barrett himself admits that he might not have gotten so close to the action had he been using a regular smartphone. However, he believes that the potential for citizen journalism is huge: “[E]veryone’s going to have their entire life captured … first words, first steps … but also people getting shot, and natural disasters.”
