Does Pamplona look different #throughGlass?

Running of the Bulls 2013 had a new addition… out of the 1 million people who descended on Pamplona, two of them were wearing Google Glass, the bleeding edge wearable technology from Google. Even though you couldn’t buy the device in stores, that didn’t stop members of Google’s test group, the Google Glass Explorers from signing up for two free trips to Pamplona.

Two Americans, Liza Gere, from Napa, California and Noble Ackerson, from Alexandria, Virginia were selected as the winning candidates in the #ROTBthroughGlass contest, hosted by RunningoftheBulls.travel. Noble, coming for the first half of the festival and Liza for the second half. Each brought their own unique perspective to the Running of the Bulls, reflecting their personalities and backgrounds.

The City of Pamplona rolled out the red carpet for these high-tech celebrities. The Mayor of Pamplona, Enrique Maya, invited Noble to view the Txupinazo Opening Ceremonies from the balcony of the Ayuntamiento (town hall) where he was mobbed by the Spanish press. Noble reciprocated by inviting the Mayor to try Google Glass, while Mayor Maya showed Noble around the Casco Viejo (old city center).

Liza received press credentials to film the bull run from atop the first barrier along the bull run route – about as close as you can get to the bulls without actually running. Here’s a video of Liza’s experiences around town. Having come to Spain once before to talk the Camino de Santiago, Liza felt a strong bond with the region of Navarra, the city of Pamplona, and the hospitality of the people who welcomed her.

Since this was the first use of Google Glass in a tourism promotion, the contest received a lot of attention. #ROTBthroughGlass was mentioned over 30,000 times – even Forbes wrote a story about it. http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2013/07/09/run-with-the-bulls-google-glass/

The San Fermín Travel web site, RunningoftheBulls.travel used much of the footage from Google Glass to produce a webcast. Watch Episode 3 of the #ROTBthroughGlass Pamplona Webcast.