Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

TonyzTone t1_jdg2oe5 wrote

Google Glass was kind of amazing. Hard not to look like a douche wearing them, but given how far app infrastructure has come, it was probably just ill-timed.

149

FormerKarmaKing t1_jdh5iz8 wrote

I managed a team of Google Glass developers - meaning not for Google, but external. Not even they could really find a use for it. And after the first couple of weeks, they wouldn’t even wear it around the office or at their desks.

There are use cases for a HMD but they are very few and far between. Microsoft just axed their division of developers working on their AR division because not even the military, their biggest contract, was finding much use for them.

56

DutchBlob t1_jdhkh5f wrote

Mark Zuckerberg: I’m gonna leroy jenkins my entire company into AR

39

C_bells t1_jdj5e55 wrote

I'm a product design & strategy lead (agency-side), and it's actually unique to get a client who is open to being told "you shouldn't make this."

Or even a client who is open to having us find out why we should make something, what it should do, how it should work etc before actually going to make it.

It's truly incredible how most major companies just decide to make something out of thin air pretty much. I'm working with a major airline right now who has never done any kind of strategy or discovery.

I do actually think Google tends to be pretty good at quickly and seamlessly scrapping things that don't have a high use rate. I've also been hired by them to do *just* discovery work, so I think they're way better than most.

But yeah. It's wild out there. It seems logical that making a new product would start with the question, "what do people want? What problems can we solve?" But most of the time, it does not.

Edit to add: I know Ford's famous quote of, "if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse."

But before anyone says that sometimes tech needs inform people about what they want, it doesn't. I'd argue that Ford did exactly that -- made a faster horse. It's still what people wanted.

6

atheros t1_jdjunbs wrote

A trivial amount of follow-up fixes that.

"Why do you want a faster horse?"
"So that I can get to my destination faster."
"What if I sold a machine that was faster than a horse that could be maintained like a tool rather than an animal?"
"That sounds good so far.."

People are bad at expressing themselves but it's easy to help them.

4

C_bells t1_jdmxig2 wrote

Exactly! When I'm doing research, I design it all so that it's analytical and not literal.

So, if I'm doing a sketching session with people about a pet care app, I have them draw a fantasy physical space that would allow them to provide amazing care for their pets. Then break it down -- are there people there? Is it big or small? Outside or indoors? Etc etc.

You end up getting super interesting elements that could be turned into digital features. Like someone says that in their space, there's a group of friendly pet owners they can talk to. That leads me to realize we should create and test a social component in our app.

I still have other designers complain that sessions like this don't help them directly inform what to make.

But it's like, so you wanted random people to design an app for you? lmao

It's our job to find creative ways to address people's needs. That's literally what good design is.

It doesn't come from a random idea that seems cool, and it doesn't come from directly copying interfaces and features that already exist elsewhere (which is what most people are limited by in terms of ideation).

It's sad that so many people in tech don't think about core needs. It should be the basis of all our work.

2

sonofaresiii t1_jdhg725 wrote

iirc they were immediately met with tons of privacy concerns and were banned from a lot of places with the indication that if they actually became widespread, they'd be banned pretty much anywhere.

To my recollection, that's what actually killed it. I mean there were lots of factors, but that's the trajectory I remember, because I was really interested in them and thought they were cool, then I started seeing articles about all the different places you couldn't take them without massive privacy violations, which made them effectively useless.

Like, say someone bans them in bathrooms. Reasonable, but now imagine having to take off your glasses every time you go to the bathroom. The usefulness starts wearing down.

21

TonyzTone t1_jdhlgej wrote

Ah yeah, that’s a good point. I do remember that was what effectively killed them.

9

justpackingheat1 t1_jdhzz3e wrote

If I'm not mistaken, it was because the things randomly took pictures every 5 seconds or something ridiculous and sent that info to Google so they could "have a more accurate" Google street view or some dumb shit.

Like, yes, THAT'S the world we want to live in. Tech companies need to pull their heads out of their asses

6

Talktotalktotalk t1_jdhrj6d wrote

I wonder what Apple plans to do about this when they release some kind of glasses down to the line

1

hornyjacks t1_jdi84o4 wrote

They don't have to do anything about it. When Apple releases one, everything will think it's the coolest thing ever, and forget about privacy concerns.

4

sonofaresiii t1_jdhuwqt wrote

Yeah man I don't know. I remember a similar thing when they integrated the camera into their macbooks, and all of a sudden macbooks were entirely banned from secure places (like government facilities)

and apple didn't really seem to give a shit. But I think the glasses ban would be way more widespread, since they're always on someone's face.

Maybe they'll market it as more specialty items, rather than always-on items? Like, "Put them on while driving for AR navigation enhancements!" or something

1

good2goo t1_jdi6owp wrote

Whatever company made the rayban partnership probably had it right. It was a limited use case but at least it looked normal.

1

flamingllama33 t1_jdh1yg2 wrote

I think up until recently it’s been used in a lot of specialized jobs like shipping and construction, just didn’t hit for the general public.

14

Sybertron t1_jdhcxmz wrote

I was one of the first adopters, I remember taking them into the bar next door to the google studio and people were all interested in talking about them. But one girl was like "ya know though just kinda looks douchey once you have them on"

So I dunno what it was but even back then in the first early days that was the opinion.

6

TonyzTone t1_jdhlt9s wrote

Absolutely. My two interactions with Glass was (1) seeing a dude wearing it at a friend’s wedding. At first I was like “whoa, cool!” Then I realized he just looked kind of douchey for some reason. This could’ve been fixed with better hardware design.

(2) A worker had them and I got to try it on. Again, “whoa, cool!” until ultimately I realized how there wasn’t really anything it was adding. This could’ve been fixed with a more robust app infrastructure.

4

StOlaf85 t1_jdfry6x wrote

I can’t wait to go to the Mayor Adams exhibit!

143

Captaintripps t1_jdfukob wrote

Is that in the Giuliani Annex?

60

paulwhitedotnyc t1_jdfx5yl wrote

The De Blasio wing I believe.

48

Foremotion t1_jdfykms wrote

Right across from the Hochul exhibit

17

werdnak84 t1_jdg3iuj wrote

Cuomo Basement is to the left.

31

OmegaBean t1_jdhgcz0 wrote

Through the Adams Atrium

6

werdnak84 t1_jdhpdmy wrote

(lol Cuomo can't even get a regular room in a Museum of Failure like it has to be the basement)

5

JF0909 t1_jdhq6vd wrote

Like the one his brother was hiding in?

5

h-thrust t1_jdk9ivi wrote

Should Papa be the basement and Jr. be in the sub basement? Vice versa? Hobson’s Choice

2

cokakatta t1_jdhar4v wrote

Giuliani was a pretty good Mayor at his time. I think he lost his mind afterwards. I was a child when he was a mayor but I noticed many improvements. I was delighted to explore my city that was safer and cleaner.

−8

Captaintripps t1_jdhbi52 wrote

I was an adult when he was mayor and think he was pretty shitty. A lot of our problems today can be traced back to his administration, either by policy choices he made or problems he ignored.

10

ScenicART t1_jdhgjf9 wrote

We have him to thank for all of the community gardens in the LES/ Alphabet city.... without him trying to demolish them and sell them off to his real estate buddies they prob wouldnt have been codified and kept as important green spaces.

7

elizabeth-cooper t1_jdi377a wrote

I was an adult when he was mayor and think he was pretty good. Most of our problems today are due to Michael Bloomberg's policies who was an even autocrat than Trump. The law said term limits, so he said, I'll just change the law for myself.

0

n3vd0g t1_jdhd17c wrote

Absolute garbage take. You’re looking at the past with rose tinted glasses

6

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdg5ex6 wrote

This is amazing actually, people don’t realize how many times people/things had to fail before becoming world changing and that failure is a normal part of the process

69

whateverisok t1_jdg88m1 wrote

Not just "failure" in the literal sense, but also public perception of "failure".

The most recent and major example I can think of is Apple's AirPods: when the original AirPods product was announced, everyone made memes about it like Apple's wired headphones with the cords cut off.

I'm pretty sure Samsung even made an ad about that.

I was one of the early users (bought it ASAP), loved it, and showed it to my friends who originally thought it was a bad product, but then were actually surprised at its quality.

Now, Apple's AirPods (and competitors Bluetooth, in-ear pods) are ubiquitous.

Went from meme and "who would buy that" to who wouldn't buy that

32

BeautifulVictory t1_jdh1x4w wrote

I feel it Bluetooth is more ubiquitous because they did away with the headphone jack. It makes it harder not to use them when you have to have a dongle to use your headphones.

14

whateverisok t1_jdhh6vk wrote

They made direct lightning cable ones, but agreed - you can't charge and listen to music at the same time.

I still occasionally see people in NYC walk around with wired Apple in-ear headphones (the old/classic one) and I think it's either they're on calls for a majority of their day (battery degradation) or they're worried about getting bumped or tripping and having an AirPod fall down the sidewalk grates.

Or ear shape. Mine fit pretty well, but I'm sure if some big guy is running/hustling and hits me, it'll go flying and then I won't use it until I can clean it - don't want an ear infection from something on NYC streets haha.

8

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhe1pk wrote

Haha I was one one of the people that bashed AirPods and iPad when they came out, but now it’s a part of daily life for me lol

Ye perception is definitely a big one. A lot of time you create something expecting it to ‘fail’ because you want to learn/test from it. Creating something that doesn’t exist or improving on an existing design is such a fascinating process

4

whateverisok t1_jdhijgj wrote

Agreed! I love joining those focus groups.

There's a site called UTest that actually pays you to try out company products or apps, and be a part of that whole development process.

I was selected for a couple, but it's nothing crazy like in the movies/TV shows where you go in a room with a 1-way window, everyone's sitting in a circle, and are asked those questions haha - it's entirely remote (at least the ones I did).

Aka. It's not like this: https://youtu.be/Sx1J3S6vUJ8

https://www.utest.com/

3

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhsycm wrote

Oh awesome, thanks, I’ll have to check it out, always good to have someone else subsidize my device addiction lol

1

HombreDeMoleculos t1_jdi5eyt wrote

That's the entire history of Apple. The Lisa was an expensive failure, they reworked it into the Mac. The 20th Anniversary Mac was an failure, they reworked it into the iMac. The Newton was a failure, they reworked it into the iPod. I'm not sure the company has had a single success apart from the original personal computer that wasn't built on a past failure.

3

whateverisok t1_jdi6z3k wrote

I think 1st gen Apple Watch was a good success and was not reworked from another product - sure there were other smart-ish wearables (like Pebble and FitBit), but Apple's first launch was really successful.

Same goes for Apple AirTags: first iteration (no reworking) and they're a complete success - people are using them for pretty much everything. (I do know the privacy concerns that come up, but Apple's semi-addressing them).

Regarding the Watch, obviously they've now iterated and improved on its features, but the first release was a pretty big success and continues to be so.

1

paulwhitedotnyc t1_jdg6h3s wrote

I worked on an ad campaign once where that was the whole idea, all the almost great inventions throughout history. Researching them and the people who created them was so interesting, really made you realize how hard people work even to fail sometimes.

15

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdg6w6y wrote

Precisely!! Almost everything we have would’ve never happened if someone sat there and said ehhh I’m not gonna try this cuz I might not succeed

Who was your favorite inventor/story from that campaign?

9

paulwhitedotnyc t1_jdg7zap wrote

For sure this guy Russell E. Oakes, an amateur American inventor, he invented spikes on his arms to enable him to push his way through a busy department store, a wind-up spaghetti fork and an automated hat that used a leaf to fan the wearer, Along with a million other failures, but he always kept trying.

13

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhdaof wrote

Wow so I googled the guy, definitely interesting inventions lol and a perfect example. Like I like at his 2 inventions barbecue king and the bed light switcher. Rudimentary leads to infrared oven and hue light bulbs if you think about it

Not gonna lie I kinda want the spaghetti winder lol

3

sonofaresiii t1_jdhgd88 wrote

And I'm sure that's a major part of the museum, but the article sure makes it seem like the museum is taking the piss out of major, already-established companies. Coca-Cola, Google, Heinz, Bic... these are not companies displaying early failures that preceded their greatness.

2

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdht55a wrote

Ye typical news lol

2

djdjddhdhdh t1_jdhtrm8 wrote

Actually it does say it has google glass and coke 2, I definitely remember the coke story back in the day. Google glass is fascinating actually, in Atlanta they had a wearable exhibit at the design museum that showcased all the prior art leading up to google glass, apparently people have been trying to do that since like the 90s, interesting stuff

1

Charlieethetuna t1_jdhf666 wrote

Went to this last weekend. Felt like a buzzfeed listicle come to life, with the same amount of production value. I’d just check the instagram for it vs go.

53

SafetyDanceInMyPants t1_jdhu5sk wrote

So this museum is a failure?

Are we still doing "meta?"

Wait... are we still doing "are we still doing?"

22

Red__dead t1_jdg90yi wrote

$30 for a couple of rooms that take about 40 minutes to see.

42

961402 t1_jdh9pe4 wrote

I was thinking that it was probably going to be just another one of those "museums" where you pay a bunch of money so that you can post on social media that you're there.

26

SP919212973 t1_jdfrfdo wrote

Thank you for posting, I have to go to this

14

eldersveld t1_jdhcc1y wrote

So I assume we'll have exhibits about:

  • failure to execute major subway expansions since 1967
  • failure to containerize trash collection
  • failure to have social services better than rattletrap
  • failure to have a police department that isn't an unaccountable rogue gang
  • failure to build affordable housing without relying on the willingness of private developers
  • failure to properly fund the NYPL

... oh.

10

werdnak84 t1_jdg3ccw wrote

....

... is there a daily membership?

7

Tsquare43 t1_jdhfqt3 wrote

Are we greeted by an animatronic Bill DeBlazio when we enter?

7

SolitaryMarmot t1_jdhtrxm wrote

we would have been if he wasn't immediately followed up by Mayor Adams

4

Renegade_Butts t1_jdhoirv wrote

I'm shocked EZ Squirt was a failure. I used so much green ketchup in Middle School. I thought it was a game changer for the ketchup world.

7

SolitaryMarmot t1_jdhto77 wrote

Weird they didn't ask me to be a permanent exhibit.

5

xundecided t1_jdfzbyy wrote

Nope, definitely still feel like a failure.

4

JohnQP121 t1_jdhd0bm wrote

Aim low and you will never be disappointed! A motto to live by!

4

Gay_Lord2020 t1_jdhh4sx wrote

Bring back Heinz EZ Squirt, I want green ketchup

4

darrylzuk t1_jdhl7pj wrote

Is the new WE NYC ❤️ on display?

4

HombreDeMoleculos t1_jdi5ip1 wrote

"Well the failure museum called, and they're all out of you!"

"I hear you're their main exhibit, George."

3

Clark-Kent-76 t1_jdge7bz wrote

Guess I’ll go and turn myself into a display. Or a living statue.

2

sonofaresiii t1_jdhfvln wrote

> “My research is focused on helping organizations to be more innovative. And one of the big obstacles to innovation is the fear of failure,” said West told CBS New York recently. “So I was playing with this idea: How can I communicate the research findings and the importance of accepting failure?”

Oh my god someone telling me that my failure might end up on display in a museum dedicated to failure for everyone to come and laugh at how bad it failed

is the exact opposite way to get me to accept failure.

2

drecklia t1_jdhpv15 wrote

Why wasn't I invited to give the opening speech?

2

l3mmyCaution t1_jdhrrye wrote

Imagine being the guy who didn’t get the job as director.

2

marishtar t1_jdhth7n wrote

Yeah this'll definitely be incorporated into my shit-talking with the boys.

2

my_metrocard t1_jdhtq39 wrote

I like this. It’s like the Museum of Bad Art but for products!

2

MrMorphine1 t1_jdjgbcq wrote

So where do I sign up to be an exhibit?

2

AutoModerator t1_jdfnb8m wrote

Users often report submissions from this site and ask us to ban it for sensationalized articles. At /r/nyc, we oppose blanket banning any news source. Readers have a >responsibility to be skeptical, check sources and comment on any flaws. You can help improve this thread by linking to media that verifies or questions this article's claims. Your link could help readers better understand this issue. If you do find >evidence that this article or its title are false or misleading, contact the moderators who will review it.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

blackjacked644 t1_jdhn0to wrote

Yoooo a Nokia N gage was my first cellphone as a kid! Was like a GBA and a phone in one!

1

bruhchow t1_jdiadyq wrote

EZ squirt was a failure?? I feel like i see people reminiscing about that all the time. Looks gross as all hell but still

1

j4321g4321 t1_jdipwgq wrote

I can’t believe Colgate lasagna was a thing. That just couldn’t be more random.

1

JustFerd t1_jdj6i8w wrote

To everyone who is interested I'll be on display as my parents greatest failure No flash photography please ,I'm shy ☺️

1