Open office? No thanks.

Crowdfunding/sourcing is amazing. I'm a fan of this alternative fundraising because it has launched some really cool products (see Nomiku for an awesome success story). But every now and again something wacky comes across my desk.

Open offices are the "Bane" of most user's existence (this will make sense in a minute, I promise). I'm not a fan of them. Call me old school. Call me a luddite. Call me what you want, I just don't get much done in that kind of environment. It's not that I'm trying to hide anything. I just get distracted very easily and I'm less productive.

And now the open office is creating new categories of products that we never needed before. Like the Bloxvox Kickstarter campaign that recently launched.

"Designed to work with a pair of headphones, BLOXVOX is placed over the mouth, and the microphone slips in the side compartment. Your voice is substantially blocked from reaching people nearby, but perfectly audible to the person you’re calling."

All I can think of is "Bane" from the Batman movies. Or maybe an airplane that has depressurized and the oxygen masks have been released. I think this product probably does a great job but it looks absolutely ridiculous. Do you think people will actually use this? Or do you think they'll find a quiet spot in the office like they always have? I think vanity will prevent most people from giving it a try. So I'm a skeptic... What do you think?