Whenever a new thing comes into existence, it seems like the Internet starts tripping over itself to churn out neologisms about it. Such is the case with the forthcoming release of Google Glass later this year. We couldn’t leave well enough and accept that someone who is being a jerk while wearing Google Glass is just being a jerk. The world did not need a separate word to describe the inevitable deluge of jerks with Glass, but sure enough, someone made one. Here’s the story of how and why “Glasshole” is a thing now.
First, let’s look at why I even have to tell you “Glasshole” exists. John Doerr is a venture capitalist and Glass enthusiast. He likes to use his Google Glass to cheat at Scattergories against his family. Claire Cain Miller is a New York Times who questioned whether what Doerr was doing was ethical or not. Bruce Schneier is a computer security expert, who publicly answered Miller’s question about Doerr on his blog. Schneier called Doerr out for cheating, but then went out of his way to make the world a slightly worse place by adding, “We’re seeing the birth of a new epithet, ‘glasshole.'”
Language evolves with technology. We use “google” and “tweet” as verbs without really thinking about it anymore, but “glasshole” is an unnecessary stretch. If your friend is using their Google Glass to cheat at a board game, they’re not being a “glasshole.” You get your point across just as well without the “gl”.
Culturally we all went through a similar situation when smartphones came into fashion, and the answer to any Trivial Pursuit question could be found in seconds by googling it. (We also use “google” as a gerund.) People who cheat at games are the terrible, but so are people who use silly made up words like “glasshole”. So let’s nip this thing in the bud before it gets out of hand.
Gretchen, stop trying to make “glasshole” happen.
(via Business Insider)
- Google Glass should use an EEG scanner so we can control it with our thoughts
- Google killed the Swedish word for “ungoogleable”, and they should kill “glasshole” too
- West Virginia lawmaker wants to ban using Google Glass while driving
