Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conferences bring together the world’s top innovators, including Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Steve Jobs and Ken Robinson, and challenge them to give “the talk of their lives” in less than 18 minutes. Google co-founder Sergey Brin made an appearance at this week’s conference in California, who showcased Google Glass and revealed what he thinks about smartphones – they’re emasculating.

Think about how many times a day you look at your phone. During this morning’s ten-minute talk, Brin looked down at his phone, and commented that, like many, this is how he spends most of his time. "We often question if this is the way you want to connect with the people in your life," Brin said. "I feel it's kind of emasculating. You're just rubbing this featureless piece of glass."

You know the moment – if you’re not doing something that immediately demands your attention, the cell phone is the go-to to avoid interaction, kill time or look busy. Weneverlookup.tumblr.com is a perfect example to highlight just how common this is today.

“The cell phone is a nervous habit,” said Brin “I whip this out and look as if I have something important to do. It really opened my eyes to how much of my life I spent secluding myself away in email.” He says the ideal search technology would surface information before a person had to ask for it. 



Image via Wired

Google launched a campaign to seek out early Glass Explorers by encouraging people to use #IfIHadGlass to tell the company the what, when, where, why and how if Glass was in their life. The campaign ends today, so if you are interested in becoming a Glass Explorer be sure to let Google know why by the end of the day.

Brin and Google’s belief is that technology should work for you when you need it. Take a look at how it can be used below.