With the recent launch of Google Glass here in the UK, many people have been asking how they can start monetising apps for the device.
In the last month, Google announced that many of its devices would start getting the ad treatment, from the Glass platform all the way to the smart thermostat, Nest. Advertisements have even been slated for the latest in-car technology, with Google’s self-driving car open to placements too.
This is a fairly logical step as Google is an ad-driven company, but many of the products aren’t implementing these options any time soon, with Glass being one of them. That hasn’t stopped many companies from experimenting with future apps for the device.
With companies such as Blippar, an app that brings such things as magazines and cereal boxes to life when the phone’s camera is pointed at them, experimenting with Glass, Google might bow to the pressure sooner rather than later. Google also have previously filed a ‘Pay Per Gaze’ patent, allowing them to charge per impression on each device, something advertisers are keeping a keen eye on.
Let us also imagine that Google restricts the use of ads on the device to only real world spaces, such as billboards or bus shelters. Wearers could see completely personalised commercials instead of ones that were meant to be on the screen. On the other hand, an app may be developed that blocks these out completely, like Ad-Blocker but in real everyday life.
What will happen with the platform remains to be seen. But if Google gives advertisers the green light, it won’t be long before they start to capitalise on the technology, and online marketing companies everywhere will have to watch to see what happens next.