According to an article from Reuters, Google co-founder Sergey Brin showed up at a recent event minus his ever-present Google Glass headset.

O the horror.

Of course, he dismissed any concern that such a change wasn’t a big deal, which is weird after he’s showed up consistently for two years donning the wearable technology. Yeah, I suppose he said he left it in the car, along with his wallet and ID . . .

If you read this blog consistently, you know that I’m not a fan of Google Glass. I find it an invasive and rude technology, even though the headset basically does everything an Android phone can do, just without being as obvious.

In a world where people think nothing of telling their 700 Facebook friends that li’l Petunia is at the doctor’s office due to pertussis, many people found Google Glass a gross invasion of privacy. Perhaps it is.

Regardless, the Google Glass device itself has always existed in an odious fog of doubt. Put succinctly, it’s a want, not a need. That doesn’t mean that all wants are instant failures. In the world of technology, many wants can become needs, but only when the customer base demands it.

Case in point: the Apple Watch.

No one needs a smartwatch. in fact, the Apple Watch practically demands an iPhone for it to do all the wonderful things it supposedly does. That’s pushing the device heavily into the Want category, but Apple knows its customer base and — more importantly — how to manipulate them. Google doesn’t.

The Apple Watch is set to become the ultimate status symbol. The other day, a yuppy gal I know just couldn’t wait to show me her surfboard-sized iPhone 6. I’m sure when she gets her first Apple Watch, she’ll flash it around with eager glee, like it were another engagement ring. That’s because she’s the ideal Apple customer. Want becomes Need.

To put it another way: No self-respecting, iPhone-toting, Starbucks-drinking, busy mom with an $800 Zooper stroller and matching child is going to be caught dead at Yoga class wearing the ugly, bulky bit of awkward fashion that is Google Glass.

I could use the same argument for the bulky Apple Watch, but Apple understands their customer base. They have crafted the device to be a thing of desire. It’s technology crack! Google Glass isn’t. Never will be.

So the question at this point is really whether Google Glass was just an idea that didn’t work, or an idea that would work if Google made it somehow desirable. It’s all hindsight, of course. That’s because, regardless of what Mr. Brin says, I think Google Glass is an experiment that’s over.

Figure 1. About a year ago, a friend showed me his Google Glass. I had to take a picture of myself. Yep, that’s what it looked like.