Ep. 2: SmartGlasses: XR's Last Hope for Mainstream Adoption? Pt. 1

Who Are Tech Conferences Actually For? Google I/O '26 Smart Glasses Analysis | Episode 6

Tech conferences used to solve real problems for everyday users—think back to the original iPhone announcement. Today, keynotes target investors, creators, and competitors instead of regular people. How does that shape what gets built? In this episode, host Former Big Tech Product Manager, and XR Start-Up Founder Clorama sits down with XR producer and Zero to Start podcast host Siciliana Trevino. Together, they analyze Google's latest XR glasses demo (or more aptly 'intelligent eyewear'), question who the core user really is, and debate what it will actually take for a new product to feel genuinely revolutionary again. ---------------------------------------- 🎙️ Guest: Siciliana Trevino — XR Producer, World Builder, Host of Zero to Start Podcast 📺 Previous episodes: * Smart Glasses: Can They Overcome the Social Challenges?? (Episodes 2 & 3) * Who Was Horizon Worlds Actually For? (Episode 5) ---------------------------------------- Opinions expressed are entirely our own and do not represent any current or former employer. This episode was recorded shortly after Google I/O 2026 — some product details may have evolved since recording. Some industry terminology used throughout reflects our professional backgrounds in XR and product development; when we say "use case" (a lot, we know) we mean "what would someone actually do with this, and does it solve a real problem for real people." * 00:00 - The Problem With Modern Tech Keynotes * 00:21 - Have Tech Conferences Stopped Talking to Us? * 01:15 - Chasing the Original "iPhone Moment" * 02:30 - Meet XR Producer Siciliana Trevino * 05:03 - "Smart Glasses" vs. "Intelligent Eyewear" Branding * 07:50 - How Apple Spatial Computing Changed the Rules * 11:33 - The Elephant in the Conference Room: Privacy & Data Security * 16:48 - Google I/O Reveal: Gemini Wearable AI Demo * 19:15 - Who is the Google AI Glasses Demo For? * 20:47 - Why This Tech Fails Outside the US * 22:54 - Did Marketing Politics Ruin the Announcement? * 24:39 - Why Tech Companies Ignore Real Use Cases * 28:43 - What a Perfect Smart Glasses Feature Looks Like * 33:35 - The Problem with AI Hardware Dependencies * 39:38 - How Devices Change Human Behavior * 40:39 - Mo' Technology, Mo' Problems: Who's Going to fix the Battery Life & Storage * 42:55 - Google Undersold Its Best Smart Glasses Feature * 44:50 - Google's Warby Parker & Gentle Monster Partnership * 50:16 - Smart Glasses: Fashion vs. Function * 51:26 - The Underhyped Smartwatch UI Feature * 54:54 - Will Google Glasses Ever Go Mainstream? * 58:44 - Where Does XR Go From Here?

Who Was Horizon Worlds Actually For? The VR Reset is Here | Episode 5

Meta delivered Horizon Worlds VR users a 90-day eviction notice...then walked it back to soften the blow. Days later, Rec Room announced its own shutdown. And the social VR community is left managing an unexpected but very real grief over virtual identities, digital worlds they built, and communities they called home with no other (virtually) real place to go and rebuild. In this episode, Clorama sits down again with Siciliana Trevino, a decade-long veteran of social VR, to ask the question the industry keeps avoiding: why does a technology with this much genuine potential keep falling short of what it could be and who it actually ends up serving? They cover: * Why the Horizon Worlds collapse hurts even for people who never used it * The sunk cost fallacy and what it really costs to believe in a virtual platform today * Why VRChat survived when Horizon, Rec Room and AltSpace didn't * Why "VR is dead" is misunderstood according to it's team member Siciliana (and possibly liberating) thing the community can hear right now * What a healthy relationship with unstable, unproven but genuinely exciting technology actually looks like * The reality of who actually uses it and why it likely hasn't reached its fullest potential as a result The Existential Crisis of a Tech Enthusiast is a 6-episode series examining the widening gap between XR's biggest promises and the people who believed in them most. (Recorded on March 29th, 2026) ---------------------------------------- 🎙️ Guest: Siciliana Trevino -- 3D designer, world builder, former PM at AlcoveVR 🎙️ Host: Clorama Dorvilias -- Creative Technologist, Former Founder, and Former PM (at Meta Reality Labs and Google XR) 📺 Series: The Existential Crisis of a Tech Enthusiast (Available on YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-NnYe7Gny-zkcrpC-FMh8sAiSp0lZm8A&si=1PjtmaC9xAbmlKAL], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/4b2Bb0tCpPgvTEK0y5Bwtn?si=hyaLmg6iTZS9dbl5LGbRlA], and Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-existential-crisis-of-a-tech-enthusiast/id1878085366]) 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes covering the latest in XR, emerging tech, and the thinking behind the industry's biggest swings and misses.

Why AI Scaled Faster Than XR: The Community Problem Big Tech is Missing Today? | Episode 4

Why did AI take off so quickly, while XR, despite years of promise and investment, never quite caught the same fire? And where have all the community led VR/XR Developer communities gone? In this episode, I chat with Neilda Pacquing Gagné, former XR founder turned AI ecosystem builder, she shares her experience growing Ottawa’s AI community from just 3 to over 1,500 in two years. And what becomes clear is this: strong builder communities act like fire starters for scaling new tech If new tech is the spark, developers and creators keep the fire going--helping it catch, spread, and burn long enough to turn into something real. We talk about what helped AI catch that fire, easy ways to get started, tools people could actually use, and a culture of learning together (and why XR, in many ways, struggled to build that same kind of shared momentum despite the hype.) This conversation is also a reflection on something many tech platforms still overlook: ensuring communities have ease to developing together is vital part of the roadmap strategy. We discuss: • Why XR felt more fragmented and harder to build within • Why AI feels more open and easier to experiment with • What it takes to build a healthy, active builder community • What platform leaders can learn from these differences • Why community isn’t just support (Hint: it’s what drives growth) If you’re thinking about where technology is headed, this is really a conversation about the invisible forces that decide whether something grows...or fades out. Host: Clorama www.linkedin.com/in/clorama [http://www.linkedin.com/in/clorama] Special Guest: Neilda Gagne, AGI Ventures: Ecosystem Architect •⁠ ⁠https://www.neilda.com/ [https://www.neilda.com/] •⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/neildapacquing/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/neildapacquing/] •⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.agiventures.ca/ [https://www.agiventures.ca/] 00:00 Hook: Why AI Is Scaling Faster Than XR *Part 1: Neilda's Journey into Architecting an Ecosystem* 04:10 Intro to Neilda 11:09 From Silicon Valley to Ottawa 12:54 How Tech Meetups Led to a Career Breakthrough 16:12 Why Real Connection Beats "Networking" 18:36 The Unexpected Start of a Community Builder 19:56 Biggest Mistakes When Starting a Community 23:34: Building a Thriving AI Ecosystem 28:18 From 'Community' to Company' 28:41 How a Community Grows From 3 to 1500 People 33:01 Struggles with Building Communities in Silicon Valley 33:17 Tech Ecosystem vs Builder Community 35:25 The Problem With Leader-Centered Communities 37:08 The 8 Values That Keep Growing AGI's Community Health 42:41 How Leaving Silicon Valley can be advantageous for innovation 43:26 Building In Isolation vs In Community 47:28 The Hidden Link Bt Diversity and Community Values 49:42 Creating a Hacker House 52:56 Turning Community Into a Sustainable Ecosystem 54:03 Real Success Stories From the Community 55:43 How to Select the Right Builders for Your Ecosystem *Part 2: Why XR Struggles to Maintain Momentum? What is Big Tech Platforms missing?* 58:09 Structural Challenges of XR Communities 01:03:39 Why XR Communities Fragment 01:07:41 The Role Big Tech Plays (and Often Misses) 01:08:46 Managing Conflict in High-Performance Communities 01:11:25 If Communities Drive Innovation… What Must Big Tech Change? 01:20:44 What keeps Builders consistent? 01:21:28 Creating Spaces Where Everyone Can Contribute 01:23:06 Claude vs ChatGPT?

Why AI Scaled Faster Than XR: The Community Problem Big Tech is Missing Today? | Episode 4

Why did AI take off so quickly, while XR, despite years of promise and investment, never quite caught the same fire? In this episode, I sit down with Neilda Pacquing Gagné, former XR founder turned AI ecosystem builder, to explore a simple but powerful idea: it’s not just the hardware technology that makes something grow, it’s the people and communities who build for it. Neilda shares her experience growing Ottawa’s AI community from just a handful of people to over 1,500 in two years. And what becomes clear is this: strong builder communities act like fire starters. If new tech is the spark, developers and creators keep the fire going--helping it catch, spread, and burn long enough to turn into something real. We talk about what helped AI catch that fire, easy ways to get started, tools people could actually use, and a culture of learning together (and why XR, in many ways, struggled to build that same kind of shared momentum despite the hype.) This conversation is also a reflection on something many tech platforms still overlook: tech roadmaps on their own doesn’t create lasting impact people do, when they’re connected integrated into that planning in the right way. We discuss: • Why XR felt more fragmented and harder to build within • Why AI feels more open and easier to experiment with • What it takes to build a healthy, active builder community • What platform leaders can learn from these differences • Why community isn’t just support (Hint: it’s what drives growth) If you’re thinking about where technology is headed, this is really a conversation about the invisible forces that decide whether something grows...or fades out. 00:00 Why AI Is Scaling Faster Than XR 04:10 Meet Neilda 11:09 From Silicon Valley to Ottawa: The Unexpected Start of a Community Builder 12:54 How Tech Meetups Led to a Career Breakthrough 15:13 Breaking Into Tech: UX, Networking, and Learning Fast 16:12 Why Real Connection Beats "Networking" 18:36 Discovering a Passion for Building Communities 19:56 What Many Get Wrong About Tech Communities 21:23 XR vs AI Communities: What’s Different? 23:34: Building a Thriving AI Ecosystem 28:18 From 'Community' to Company' 28:41 The Real Challenge: Making Communities Sustainable 30:18 Why Collaboration Beats Competition in Builder Spaces 30:38 The Difference Between “Idea People” and Builders 31:35 What Makes AI Tinkerers Different 32:29 How a Community Grows From 3 to 1500 People 33:01 What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About Community 33:17 Designing an Ecosystem (Not Just a Community) 33:57 How to Know If Your Community Can Survive Without You 35:25 The Problem With Leader-Centered Communities 39:05 Why Fun Is a Serious Strategy 42:41 Why Innovation Thrives Outside Silicon Valley 43:26 Individualism vs Community: What Actually Works? 47:28 The Hidden Link Bt Community and Diversity in Tech 49:42 Creating a Hacker House 52:56 Turning Community Into a Sustainable Ecosystem 54:03 Real Success Stories From the Community 55:43 How to Select the Right Builders for Your Ecosystem 58:09 Structural Challenges of Creating XR Builder Communities 01:03:39 Why XR Communities Fragment 01:05:43 What It Takes to Build Sustainable Tech Communities 01:07:41 The Role Big Tech Plays (and Often Misses) 01:08:46 Managing Conflict in High-Performance Communities 01:11:25 If Communities Drive Innovation… What Must Big Tech Change? 01:13:34 Builder Ecosystems vs Startup Ecosystems 01:17:55 Mistakes That Kill Communities 01:20:44 What keeps Builders consistent? 01:21:28 Creating Spaces Where Everyone Can Contribute 01:23:06 Claude vs ChatGPT?

Who Asked For This? Smart Glasses Pt 2: AI, Cameras, and... Facial Recognition? Oh my! | Episode 3

As smart glasses become more recognizable in everyday life, early signs of social backlash are already emerging and they resemble the same kind of reactions that led to sinking Google Glass. However, nearly every major tech company is preparing to launch AI-powered smart glasses at full speed ahead, combining wearable cameras, AI assistants, and potentially facial recognition. All this, despite the higher cultural stakes of social risks posed by social media, shaky political climate and a culture of ubiquitous online sharing. In Part 2 of this conversation, XR experts Clorama and Siciliana unpack the technology’s biggest “killer features” and the social challenges they may bring. Topics discussed: In this episode we explore: * Who are the target users for smart glasses today? * The Role AI might play to driving mainstream adoption * The growing backlash around covert recording and surveillance concerns * The psychological and cultural implications of wearable AI companions * And the biggest question of all: can smart glasses overcome the social resistance they may face? As wearable technology becomes more powerful and accessible, the path to mainstream adoption may depend less on what the technology can do, and more on what society is willing to accept. Let's talk about it. Host: Clorama Dorvilias www.linkedin.com/in/clorama [http://www.linkedin.com/in/clorama] Twitter: @creativeclo Special Guest: Siciliana Trevino Linkedin: /siciliana Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/860002 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/860002] Chapters 00:00 Hook 01:08 Big Tech's Vision and "Superintelligence": Who is this for? 12:53 Why Smart Glass Adoption #s Can Be Misleading 17:06 Evaluation Product Market Fit 19:06 Who are Smart Glasses for today? 22:08 The Trust Factor in Smart Glasses 23:17 AI as the Game Changer for Smart Glasses 25:00 Will Smart Glasses Appeal to Struggling Middle Class Americans? 26:56 AI Companionship and Emotional Connections 30:45 Can Smart Glasses overcome Social Resistance to "Surveillance" 33:29 SmartGlasses we're excited for as enthusiasts! 34:22 Clo's Afterthoughts