Woman Attacked For Wearing Google Glass at a Bar in SF

On the frontlines of the Google Glass wars: A tech reporter says she was attacked outside of San Francisco punk bar Molotov's because she was wearing the nerd-approved technology. Sarah Slocum, who writes for a variety of publications, posted on her Facebook that "I got verbally and physically asaulted and robbed [sic] last night in the city, had things thrown at me because of some wanker Google Glass haters." Slocum managed to get the Glass back, but the assailant took her purse, cell phone, and wallet.

UPDATE: Additional eyewitness accounts added, below.

Here's the full text of Slocum's Facebook posting:

She also managed to videotape the attack with her Google Glass, and has turned over footage to the police. Not coincidentally, this is what the crowd at Moltov's was concerned about: a witness told local news KPIX 5 the crowd was yelling, "'You're being an *** take those glasses off."

While the bartender at Molotov's told KPIX he was "shocked that this sort of thing happened here," people who were on the scene that night tell Eater it's maybe not the first place you'd expect to see someone wearing Google Glass. An eyewitness of the fight tells Eater, "At that bar of all places? It's this gritty punk rock bar. I definitely saw her in the bar and remember commenting on how wack that was, we weren't at that type of bar."

Google is actually aware that their technology makes some people feel uncomfortable. They have published a guide to Glass best practices, which includes the instruction to not be a Glasshole (they use the word Glasshole):

Be creepy or rude (aka, a "Glasshole"). Respect others and if they have questions about Glass don't get snappy. Be polite and explain what Glass does and remember, a quick demo can go a long way. In places where cell phone cameras aren't allowed, the same rules will apply to Glass. If you're asked to turn your phone off, turn Glass off as well. Breaking the rules or being rude will not get businesses excited about Glass and will ruin it for other Explorers.

Some bars and restaurants have even begun to ban patrons from wearing Google Glass. Lost Lake Cafe and Lounge in Seattle kicked out a Glass-wearing diner in November because of their policy that "kindly ask[s] our customers to refrain from wearing and operating Google Glasses inside Lost Lake. We also ask that you not videotape anyone using any other sort of technology."

Here's KPIX's coverage of Slocum, which includes video taken on her Glass inside the bar:

Video: Woman Wearing Google Glass Says She Was Attacked In San Francisco Bar

UPDATE: Eater has heard from a number of people who were at Molotov's that night. Here, in their own words, are two additional accounts of the evening.

Account #1:

Right before we left, a guy grabbed her arm and dragged her outside while she was yelling. It was hard to tell if it was violent at this moment or if they were just friends and drunk. When we got outside, I saw them a little further down the street (still on the same block), hitting each other and yelling. She stormed back to the bar, yelling "fuck you" along with some other undecipherable comments. Then another guy (I'm assuming her friend) got into a fight with the same guy (not sure who started it), and they were locked in a holding pattern/bear hug, stumbling all over the sidewalk, trying to get punches in. At that point, they came very close to us and I told my friends we should leave. I heard some yelling about "tech" from the onlookers during the fight.

We suspected that the fight was over Google Glass (because you don't normally see a male/female bar fight), and with some of the yelling from the other patrons, but weren't totally sure. The bar was your typical SF old school establishment with loud rock music and a pool table. Definitely not a place where you'd expect to see someone wearing Google Glass.

Account #2:

When we left the bar there was some commotion on the corner of the block and she came running back toward the bar yelling. She was wearing her glasses. Then two guys started aggressively embracing. I didn't see any punches thrown, just a lot of bear hugging and dry humping. It seemed to be escalating though when when two or three other dudes joined the scrum and we decided to get out of there asap.

Molotov's is described as a 'punk rock bar' but I'm not really sure what that means other than there's a lot of rock n' roll on the jukebox. It's kind of dingy, the floor's a bit sticky, they have a pool table, and pin ball machines. I'm a small, yuppiesh Asian dude and I've never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome there. It's also the only bar on the street with a full liquor license so maybe people get rowdier than usual.

· Woman Claims Attack at Molotov's Over Google Glass [Eater SF]
· Woman Wearing Google Glass Says She Was Attacked In San Francisco Bar [KPIX]
· Sarah Slocum [Facebook]
· All Google Glass Coverage on Eater [-E-]