Virtual Reality, of course, is the latest buzzword in the consumer technology industry, and you couldn’t possibly miss all the hoopla surrounding it even if you wanted to. With leading multinational corporates like Sony, Samsung – and most importantly, Facebook – throwing their hats in the ring, how can Google possibly be far behind? Having already created a whole new VR division within the company late last year, Google now seems to be doubling down on the sector, having hired Emmy-nominated television content producer, Mr. Scott Broock, who has now left his position as VP of content and content deal development at California-based tech startup, Jaunt VR, to join the Mountain View, CA-based company as its ‘Global VR Evangelist’.
Now, what that job description entails is anybody’s guess, but in his previous avatar as the VP of content at Jaunt, he led partnership deals for the company. The news itself was announced by Mr. Broock himself, who took to Twitter on Friday to declare that he is “Thrilled to plug in with the team @YouTube as Global #VR Evangelist. Hitting fast forward on the future of immersive content. VR everywhere”. As for that unique, wacky designation, mum’s the word from Google right now when it comes to actually explaining the title to the media and the public at large. It remains to be seen what his role at YouTube really is, but the video hosting service has recently been betting big on virtual reality, having already launched VR videos on its service last November, and making its YouTube app Cardboard-compliant.
As mentioned already, it’s not just Google that has started to bet big on the emerging virtual and augmented reality sector. Some of Google’s biggest rivals – Facebook, Microsoft and Apple – have all been investing their time money and energy behind the fledgling sector that’s expected to be a major money spinner over the next several years. While virtual and/or augmented reality is not yet mainstream, with more companies joining the bandwagon, many commentators and industry watchers seem to believe that it is only a matter of time before the sector hits primetime and mainstream consumers start spending big bucks for high quality, immersive content. Google, apparently, wants to be ready as and when that day finally comes.