Canadian Google Glass enthusiast selected as part of ‘Explorer’ program

There are 8,000 very happy tech-heads out there today, as Google has begun contacting the people who will be part of its ‘Explorer’ program for Project Glass.

Those who wanted the chance to be part of the largest test group yet for Google Glass submitted their reasons why to Google via Google+ using the hashtag #ifihadglass, and were then contacted by Google if they were selected as part of the lucky group.

[ Related: Google picks 8,000 winners to test Internet-connected glasses ]

Lindsay Munro, a Toronto-based Digital Communications Strategist for Kanetix, was one of the lucky ones to get a response from Google, telling her that she had been selected to participate in the program.

“It was a total shock to get the message,” Munro told Yahoo! Canada News in a phone interview. “The biggest one being the fact I was Canadian.”

Munro wasn’t sure what her chances would be of getting her hands on Glass, since the initial requirements stated that you needed to be a U.S. resident to participate. But she decided to apply anyway, explaining in her entry how she wanted to showcase the Toronto tech scene, particularly on how women are getting involved.

As an active member of Girl Geeks Toronto, a group designed to facilitate discussions about technology between women interested and involved in the field, Munro proposed that she could use Glass to showcase the good work being done by the group and others in Toronto. And as an avid tech user herself, she just wanted to try out the latest gadget.

“The prospective of getting my hands on the technology before anyone else was really exciting,” Munro said.

An avid social media buff, Munro says that she’s excited to use Glass as one more way of integrating technology into her everyday life.

“I believe we’re moving towards a world that’s overlaid with technology… and I think Google Glass is the first step towards that notion,” Munro said. “I do it regularly on social media already.”

Munro says that while she’s looking forward to getting her hands on the product, she does have some reservations. Some people who were initially contacted by the Google staff and told they were in the Explorer program have since had their offer rescinded. According to a Project Glass Google+ post, some entries ‘slipped through the cracks’ and were found to not meet all of the requirements of the Explorer program. Munro fears that despite being upfront about being from Toronto, she may still find out that Google has changed their mind regarding her participation.

[ Related: Three potential pitfalls in the new Google Glass technology ]

Her other concern is the expense: in addition to the anticipated $1500 price tag of Google Glass (which may actually end up as low as $700, according to some reports), Explorer participants need to pay their own way to New York City, Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay area to get their device and training in the form of a promised “Google experience.”

Nonetheless, Munro remains hopeful that she’ll receive the private message she’s hoping for from Google, explaining all the details on how she can start putting in motion the process for getting Glass.

“The second I hear, I’m going to let everyone now,” Munro said, assuring that her Twitter and Facebook followers will certainly not be left out of the loop.

For those of us not lucky enough to get chosen as an Explorer, it is expected that Google Glass will be made available to the general public late 2013 or early 2014.

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