Style as the distractor?: newsletter no.62 (Patreon)

This week, I was invited to a Meta event with no context as to what it was for. The PR team basically said, "We got something new in the glasses space, be here at this time".

So I went, obvi.

It had all the usual tech event... stuff. Some security checking bags, a desk where you pick up a name badge, a coffee/juice bar, a bunch of journalists and creators making small talk, and then a head PR person yelling "welcome, we're just about to get started" before finally revealing why the hell we were all there...

drum roll plsssss

"We're happy to announce three new frame styles of the world's best-selling smart glasses!"

crickets

I looked around, wondering if everyone else was as underwhelmed as I was. They were. A whole damn event for new styles? Huh.

Let's read between the lines.

First, look at the calendar. Exactly one week before Meta corralled us into this event space, Snap held its own massive event to open preorders for its standalone AR "Specs" that will cost a whopping $2,195.

Next, notice what wasn't featured at the Meta event... a Ray-Ban logo. Meta completely dropped the premium branding for this new line. While EssilorLuxottica (makers of Ray-Ban, Oakley) is still manufacturing them, ditching the luxury branding/name allowed Meta to lower the price. These new Meta-branded glasses start at $299, $80 cheaper than the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarers.

It's clear that Meta is trying to make AI wearables accessible to the masses, and lower prices put glasses on more faces, and more faces are exactly what Meta needs to prove its massive AI spending is paying off.

Which brings us to the final piece of the puzzle~ the frames themselves.

The biggest hurdle for selling smart glasses has never been the tech- it’s that people don’t want to look goofy when wearing them. To get regular people to buy into AI wearables, these glasses have to be treated like clothes, not computers.

But is all of that enough to distract people from the fact that Meta is a horrible keeper of personal data? And that, increasingly, its glasses are modified not to show when they are actively recording??

What do you think?

Side step before I get to everything else I have been thinking about! A quick thought, a quick moment of gratitude~ I saw this post on Instagram yesterday:

And it got me thinking about all the people who have, in some way, "counted down" for me. I'm talking about the folks who saw my courage when I didn't, the folks who were willing to wait, shivering, start the countdown again and again, and the folks who were still cheering, cheering even louder, once I did jump. You know who you are, I know who you are. I wouldn't be here without you, and I love you so much. Thank you <3.

Who were those people for you, bud?

📖 What I read:

The Mom Who Runs a Household With a Staff of AI AgentsPart of me thinks "couldn't be me, but clever" and another part of me thinks "you are letting AI teach your children?!!?"

An analysis of Barack Obama's dedication speech for the Obama Presidential Center in ChicagoMay no one ever do this for one of my scripts 😅

South Korea invented fake shopping sites where you can browse, fill a cart, and track a "delivery" but nothing ever ships.Best comment: "A good idea would be this concept, but the money you spend is real money that will automatically go towards any debt or savings account."

📺 What I watched:

smalltalk.worldwideI cannot get enough of these kids' thoughts and the incredibly well-framed shots.

A Zara Kids x Jeep Ad.... (lol)Fashion films, man. Always the coolest shots, sound effects, looks.

Make art not data centerscapturing the beauty of a place before a data center comes to destroy it

The Power of SIMPLE Editingandddd of course this video is well edited

🎶 What I listened to:

Brandi Carlile - Life On The Run (Live At The Gorge)Mix a little home video into a music video, and I'm hook, line, and sinker.

SZA - CtrlSame to say this is a top-five album of all time for me.

DeBarge - I like ItI cannot stop with this one~ smooth vocal harmonies and a groove that I can't NOT dance to.

Alright, bud. That is all I got. I'm cooking up my Insta360 Luna Ultra review this week, so if ya got any questions, please drop 'em down below! Hope you are so well, hope the sun is shining bright just 4u.

I appreciate the hell outta ya, thanks for counting me down <3Becca