L.Michelle Salvant (LMichelleMedia) on Transforming Mental Health Through Camera Glasses

L.Michelle Salvant has been wearing smart glasses daily for years, harnessing their potential to enhance personal therapy, healing, and self-discovery. Her engagement with wearable technology began as a Google Glass Explorer, which sparked her interest in documenting and reflecting on life’s moments through what she developed as “Immersive Journaling”. This approach has not only transformed her personal experiences but also encouraged others to explore their own stories in profound new ways.

Following her passion for technology and storytelling, L.Michelle founded LMichelleMedia. The company focuses on utilizing emerging technologies like AR and VR to support educational and nonprofit projects, integrating innovative media to foster personal development and community engagement. With her company, she continues to push the boundaries of how technology can be used to enhance understanding and growth within communities, always prioritizing ethical use and privacy in development and application.

In this episode, L.Michelle shares her personal journey from experimenting with Google Glass for content creation to developing a new use case for smart glasses: “Immersive Journaling”. She recounts the pivotal moment when using video from point-of-view smartglasses for therapy and healing. While reviewing footage of her son, she abruptly came to a deeper understanding of herself and her interactions, marking the beginning of her immersive journaling journey.

L.Michelle discusses the evolution of her practice into a therapeutic tool, not just for personal reflection, but also as a means to foster self-awareness and growth in others. She highlights the impact of immersive journaling on students participating in her cohorts, revealing how this unique form of journaling has led to significant personal revelations and changes in their lives.

L.Michelle shares her aspirations for immersive journaling to become a widely recognized and utilized tool for personal development, emphasizing the importance of transparency, ethical use, and the transformative potential of viewing life through one's own eyes.

Links from the Episode:

- Google Glass - Early smart glasses by Google - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Glass
- Flip Video “FlipCam” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flip_Video
- Snapchat Spectacles - Smart glasses by Snap - https://www.spectacles.com/
- Florida A&M University - LMichelle's alma mater and a client for virtual tours - https://www.famu.edu/
- Meta Horizon Worlds - A virtual reality space by Meta - https://horizon.meta.com/
- Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses - AR glasses - https://www.vuzix.com/products/vuzix-blade-smart-glasses-upgraded
- Humane Ai Pin – AI wearable - https://humane.com/aipin