The “Who’s Getting Google Glass” List, Including Geordi La Forge & Mythbuster Adam Savage

Want to know who will get early versions of Google Glass, Google’s forthcoming smart eyeglasses? There’s an awesome new list out with lots of names you’ll know. Last month, Google announced it would expand its “Explorer” program beyond developers and invited people to apply through submissions via Google+ or Twitter, with 8,000 openings up for […]

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Want to know who will get early versions of Google Glass, Google’s forthcoming smart eyeglasses? There’s an awesome new list out with lots of names you’ll know.

Last month, Google announced it would expand its “Explorer” program beyond developers and invited people to apply through submissions via Google+ or Twitter, with 8,000 openings up for grabs.

The Google Glass #ifihadglass Winners list from Andrej Karpathy (spotted via BetaBeat) looked for confirmations that Google began posting to winners on Twitter this week, then backtracked to show what their entry was.

The list is ordered by the number of Twitter followers each person has, so it’s easy to spot celebrities that will be sporting the new eyewear. It doesn’t include those who entered via Google+.

At the top of the list is Neil Patrick Harris, who promised that if he won, we’d go behind-the-scenes on his TV series:

Next up, Soulja Boy, who entered saying we’d see them in a music video:

Alyssa Milano came third on the list, with this promise to use them on humanitarian missions:

Kevin Smith was fourth saying he’s use them to show how he’ll write Clerks 3:

In the fifth spot, Brandy Norwood said she’d just be really excited:

I was excited to see that in seventh place, Levar Burton made it with his awesome and much retweeted joke about Google Glass being a downgrade:

Geordi La Forge

Geordi La Forge, picture Wikipedia

Burton, for the few who may not know, played Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Born blind, La Forge had his own smartglasses, a VISOR, that gave him enhanced vision.

It was a surprise to me to see former US Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich make the list at number 10, but apparently we’ll be seeing visits of zoos and museums now:

Another person I was happy to see make the list was Adam Savage of Mythbusters, who entered with:

Further down the list, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley will be checking into the glasses, having said:

WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg made the list with his promise to somehow let you perhaps blog from the eyewear:

I was surprised and happy to find that I made the list. Guess I’ll be figuring out how to waterproof my pair, because I tweeted how useful they’d be while paddleboarding:

And yes, I was paddleboarding when I made that tweet. I’m thinking maybe cellophane to protect them? Or just don’t fall off.

So is the list only people with lots of followers? That was one of the criteria from the content, as The Verge noted, and which you can see on the contest’s FAQ page:

An independent jury will look at all of the applications (including any photos and video) to see if they meet the application requirements. Applications will be scored based on how creative, compelling, original, useful, and influential the applications and their proposed uses for Glass are, and how broad a spectrum of user interaction they would provide.

However, there are a huge number of people without massive followings that also have won a chance to purchase early versions of the glasses. At the bottom of the list, weighing in with seven Twitter followers, here’s a shout-out to Alex McAlpin, AKA @galacticboy2009, who entered with:

Again, this list doesn’t include people who entered via Google+, such as our own news editor Barry Schwartz who won. He talks more about his experience in our separate post, How I Got Accepted To Google Glass.


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About the author

Danny Sullivan
Contributor
Danny Sullivan was a journalist and analyst who covered the digital and search marketing space from 1996 through 2017. He was also a cofounder of Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land, MarTech, and produces the SMX: Search Marketing Expo and MarTech events. He retired from journalism and Third Door Media in June 2017. You can learn more about him on his personal site & blog He can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.