Personal Privacy: Google Glass targeted as symbol by anti-tech crowd - Doug Gross

Glass, Google's high-profile entry into the world of wearable tech, may help launch a revolution if it's released later this year as expected. But test models already on the street have begun playing a more unlikely role -- as symbols in a simmering fight over Silicon Valley's impact on the city of San Francisco.

It's a local story, but one with ramifications everywhere as Google on Tuesday made the connected headsets available to the public for the first time in a one-day sale.

While our smartphones drop easily into pockets and tablets get zipped up in cases or backpacks, wearables such as Glass are, quite literally, in your face all the time.

The $1,500 device, which displays Web content on a tiny screen, signals its wearer as a likely member of an affluent tech elite. And Glass also can discreetly shoot photos or video, which some people view as invasive.

Recently, protesters picketed in front of the private home of Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg and now a partner with Google Ventures. The protesters, who posted signs calling Rose a "parasite," claimed his group, which helps Google decide which startups to invest money in, has helped to inflate prices in the city.

Read more: Google Glass targeted as symbol by anti-tech crowd - CNN.com