How do you say '@'?

What is the English word for @'?

Tweeting from Glass is a quick way to share the moment. No need to pull out a device and type a message. It can all be done with voice commands. However, I have not been successful in mentioning someone using the '@' symbol.

Hashtags work surprisingly well. Simply saying "hashtag frozen" will result in '#frozen'.

However when attempting to use '@', just saying "at discover MATC" results in 'at discover MATC' instead of '@discoverMATC'.

Also, saying "at symbol Sendiks" will result with 'at symbol Sendik's', instead of '@Sendiks'.

Had the same problem when I tried using "at sign Heritage Print" that resulted in "At sign Heritage Print", instead of '@HeritagePrint'.

'@' was created as representation for value or pricing of goods and services. Aside from commercial usage, the symbol was not widely used or understood until the development of Unix and internet in the 1970's. The symbol is widely used today for email address and Twitter.

Twitter uses '@' to 'mention' someone directly in a tweet.  '@' allows users to tag someone in a tweet. This tag allows for the tweet to be found when users are checking who has tagged them. '#' can be used for general words and terms, whereas '@' can be used to get a tweet noticed by those being tagged. It is also used when replying to another person or when wishing to get more people into a conversation.

This is all easy to do if you are using a keyboard, but there does not appear to be any consistently recognized word for '@' that is understood by voice recognition software with Glass or Google for English speakers.

Besides being called the 'at sign' or 'at symbol' in English there are several different ways of referring to '@': 'commercial at', 'atmark','asperand','ampersat'. These are all words that have appeared when I search the web for '@', but none of them have any specific claim to being recognized as '@'.

Interestingly other languages have given '@' different names. The French use arrobase and the Spanish use arroba. The Germans refer to it as the 'monkey tail', Affenschwanz, and the Russians refer to it as the 'dogs tail', sobaka. Since I am not fluent in any of these languages, I am not sure if these words will produce '@'.

The utility of Twitter is limited if one cannot mention others using '@' using voice recognition software. What appears to be the problem is that Google either recognizes a specific word or it attempts to interpret what is said. With '#', it will first spell out the word 'hashtag' after it is stated, but then convert to the symbol when the word has been recognized. Since 'at' is a common English preposition used in many contexts, Glass is not quickly recognizing the word as '@' needed to Tweet.  The solution resides on selecting a specific English word to represent '@'.

So, what word will be best used to say '@' in English and be recognized by Google voice recognition software?

How did my wife get Hoffed?

On April 1st, my wife received an Auto Hoffsome'd picture in her G+photos that she did not take, nor was tagged in. How did the picture arrive there?

The picture was taken at an event using my Google Glass. The picture was not shared with G+ or any other social media service. The original picture uploaded to my G+ photos that night while Glass was charging. A few days later, on April 1st, she received a notification about the Hoffed picture.

No harm done with the Auto Hoffsome photo as we both thought it was quite funny and appropriate for the event.

We were both dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing for a silent auction fund raiser for a German language school. Coincidentally, one of the auction items was a collection of David Hasselhoff memorabilia. Adding Hoff to the picture was in context with the theme and added to the fun we had at the event.

Some of the fun:

What is intriguing, is that my wife did not have a profile picture of herself for her account at the time, nor did I have pictures or reference her in my G+ accounts. Further adding to this mystery is that we have different last names.

How did G+ know that she was in the picture and find her account?

If anyone has an idea or the official word on how my wife got Hoffed, let me know.

Feed Me Product Information

Nutella is a staple in our household. Something I discovered on a business trip to Germany about thirty years ago. Like PB&J, Nutella is a quick hunger fix that goes great with graham crackers or any type of bread.

The US market for the product has been growing. As a result, major US brands have been attempting to grab some share of this growing market. As such, I am always inclined to buy the new product and test it out.

The other day I discovered that Hershey's came out with a competing product. There was an end cap in the supermarket that featured the Hershey product as well as Nutella. Almost as if it was a dare to compare.

I had not heard or seen of the Hershey product and was curious about why Hershey's thought their product would be better, however, no further information was available.

As I stood there looking at the product, with my Glass on, I realized it would be nice to be able to scan the barcode to obtain more information about the product.

Are packaged goods manufacturers or any consumer goods manufacturers considering using the barcodes to communicate not only with POS systems, but also with consumer devices?

Is anyone going to look at how to develop this with Glass?

Well, this will be one of the apps that I will definitely look into. Anyone want to help?

Glass + Frames = Iwear

It's been little over a week since prescriptions lenses were put in my Frames. A new experience of wearing Glass every day.

It has been a positive experience.

Beyond all the negative press about the appearance of Glass in public places, I have not had any negative response.

People are noticing. Everyone is looking.

As with all abnormalities, everyone acts a little differently when they notice Glass. Many are afraid to stare or ask questions. Some just stop in their tracks and ask if it is Glass or what is it that I am wearing. Others, quickly look away when I look at them, or try to appear that they do not notice.

What I do see are a lot of smiles.    

I smile back.

When I am meetings with co-workers it is fun to briefly demonstrate Glass. Amazing how quickly those that know me are able to forget and accept that I am wearing Glass.  They remember it is 'just Larry' they are dealing with.

This does not mean that people have reservations about me wearing Glass. The other day a colleague stopped me in the hallway to say, "Larry, I know that there are a lot of positive uses for Glass, but it still kind of 'creeps me out' a little."

As my colleague and I stood there and giggled about what was just shared, the president of the college walked by escorting a group of dignitaries. One of the people being escorted stopped in their tracks and asked what I was wearing. After a brief couple minutes of introductions and Glass demonstration all in the escorted group were smiling and enthused as to what they just experienced about Glass. My colleague just turned to me, smiled, and reminded me of the meeting we needed to be at in the next half hour as we parted company. Business as usual.

What I am learning about as I wear Glass, is that you have to provide a positive experience to others.

Polite, professional, and unafraid to positively engage others is the best way to wear Glass.

I wear Glass.

Becoming a Glass Explorer

I really did not expect it.

"Your Chance to Buy Google Glass" was the subject of the email.  The email concluded with "Happy Thanksgiving". The invitation was to join the Google Glass Explorer program. An opportunity to explore a new concept product before it is marketed. I was shocked and honored.

As an educator and developer, the potential of Glass is very exciting. A couple of months before the invite I filled out an online application for obtaining Glass. When I filled out the form, I thought I would just get more information sent to me about the product. Never really thought I would be able to obtain Glass before it was commercially available.

I was not prepared for this.

My life is very full. Beyond my classes, there are already a lot of projects, and now Glass.

My experience with Glass to date has been very positive.  Haven't had any problems to date with social acceptance. People have stopped me to ask what I am wearing. Some recognize that it is Glass.

Wore Glass to the Winter commencement exercises. Was able to take pictures and Tweet live during the ceremony. Before the ceremony all the Deans got a chance to look at them. Several faculty members indicated that they wanted a pair.

My wife invited me to show her third grade class, which was a very uplifting experience that will be in a future blog.

Glass does not fit well with my prescription glasses. Therefore I do not wear them as much as I would like. Just ordered the new Frames for Glass that will allow me to get prescription lens. My commitment is to wear Glass everywhere with the Frames.

My professional life has been filled with looking to the future while understanding the past. Glass does represent an aspect of the future. What Glass will really do or end up looking like will be dependent upon those who explore the technology, discover its uses, and develop its applications.

As an Explorer my interest is as an educator and developer. Exposing people to Glass, understanding the development environment, and discovering how can be used will be my focus. I will use this blog site (dominele.blogspot.com) as well as my professional G+ account (+LarryDomine) to document what I discover.

Follow me in my journey and become a Glass Explorer with me.

Handles: Creating a name for yourself

You all have a 'given' name, but what do your friends or family call you?

If your name is Robert, people at work may call you Rob, your friends may call you Bob, and your family may call you Robbie.

These are all names or 'handles' that others use to identify you based on the persona that you represent with them. It is something that is easy to say or use and clearly is recognizable as you.

What about on the web or social media? Who are you? How do people find you, specifically? What is your handle?

A username is used to identify a unique person in a network or within a software system.  This is the primary security method companies implement to identify users within their systems and networks. Typically, companies assign usernames. With the public use of the internet and the web, individuals have been required to create their own usernames for the different web services, such as email accounts that they have setup.

The difficulty is that a person may end up with many different user names. This can create confusion for not only the user, but also for those attempting to connect with that individual. The advent and growth of social media has made this an even more daunting task as there are many different social media tools to be used.

Ideally, there would be one identifier that could allow an individual to move between all systems and networks. This is where our digital life is all headed, a unique identifier represented by avatar software that carries the identity. However, this will take awhile as the technology and social recognition of a complete digital persona becomes accepted.

Today a person could create a domain name for which to own an IP address associated with themselves. This can be used to create a website or blogsite where others can view information about an individual. What this does not do, is to identify a person within the social networks such as Twitter, Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or Instagram.

All of the social media accounts allow a person to be identified by a unique, alphanumeric identifier, or simply a 'handle'. This 'handle', as Twitter refers to this identifier, allows individuals to create a nickname by which it is easier and quicker to identify someone uniquely within a social network. It allows an individual to create something unique by which to be found within a social network. The key is to establish one 'handle' that can be used on multiple social networks.

Social networks require the association of an email account with access to their social network. Setting up a 'handle' begins by creating a username within a web email account, such as Gmail. The username then becomes not only the name by which people can send you email, but also how they can find you in a social network. As an example, if you want to send me an email or find me in a social network, you can simply use 'dominele'.

The quandary that many people have is finding the 'handle' that will work on different social networks. The first item is to consider how you want to be identified. Is it related to just your name or is there another element of your life for which you want to build upon, such as your profession. The second item to consider is wether this 'handle' is available on the social networks. Doing both takes some time. Recommend coming up with several different 'handles' that could be used and investigating their availability at namechk.com.

Establishing an effective professional persona in social media requires that an individual be able to control how they are discovered. For now, this begins with an individual creating a name for themselves as a 'handle' that can be used in multiple social networks and as an email address.