Two years ago Google Maps began peering into our back yards from space with its Satellite view feature. Now it's looking at the fronts of our houses with its new Street View thing. Street View has been live for only a few days, and people are already getting freaked out about its privacy implications.
Friday's New York Times tells us the story of Mary Kalin-Casey, an Oakland, Calif. resident whose cat appeared in one of Google's Street View shots. Here's Kalin-Casey's cat, Monty:
Here's what Kalin-Casey told the blog site BoingBoing Thursday:
"I'm all for mapping, but this feature literally gives me the shakes. I feel like I need to close all my curtains now."The cat had no comment. Kalin-Casey even posted an actual link to the Google map page, which gives even more information about her. Jeez, is she running for president?
Anyway, Kalin-Casey is asking Google to take down the picture. Sure, that's gonna happen. Google says that its Street View shots were taken from public property and contain nothing that can't be seen by somebody just walking by on the sidewalk. Perfectly right.
But I don't think that it's Street View by itself that's getting people concerned about the privacy implications of Google Maps. It?s the combo of Satellite and Street View, and the feeling that Google's view is getting closer and closer to our personal space.
I can understand this, but let's not start seeing Black Helicopters yet. Call me when Google Maps launches its Bedroom View feature. For now, Google could head off any privacy-related backlash by simply announcing when and where it plans to photograph streets for the Street View service.
I took a long look down my street here in San Francisco with Street View, looking for something, anything, interesting. All I found was some guy standing on the sidewalk staring stupidly at the camera.
OK, it's me. So what?
Several blog sites are already collecting interesting Street Views shots from Google Maps users. The most interesting one anybody has found so far is a shot of this guy hopping a fence in San Francisco.
That's a good start, but there must be better shots from among the millions taken during Google's drive-by's.
I call on all PC World readers to do the right thing and look at the Street Views of their own neighborhoods in search of neighbors (or their pets) caught in dubious or otherwise interesting behavior. Send screen shots of your results here, and we'll put the really good ones in a Top Ten List.
First, brilliant article! Second, I cannot imagine how Google can accomplish this type of service without getting people or objects into the image. A bigger problem would be the license plates you can read on the cars parked in driveways etc.... BTW, the US government is prohibited from snapping pictures of the US at the resolution because it's considered spying on the citizenry. In the big picture, pardon the pun, this is a great product and Google needs to move ahead and do it!
www.danmosqueda.blogspot.com
Take a look at this hughe list of Google StreetView sightings:
http://www.laudontech.com/StreetView/streetview.html
I don't see what's so great about it. I learned how to read a map a long time ago and use every opportunity I can to exercise my brain cells. The last thing I want is a camera in front of my house logging anything I do in my own personal space. As for spying on citizenry....government has been doing that for a long time, but how would we know?... spying and secrecy go hand in hand do they not?.
I'm not happy at all with Google blocking out police actions and such. When something happens in public view, it is completely legal to photograph. If the police and Google remove the images from the website, censorship becomes the name of the game. Think about this, if I can see a drug deal in an alley, but cannot view a "bust" in progress, what is the difference? As a photographer, I have the legal freedom to photograph what I wish in a public area. Cops do not have the right to override this freedom. Period. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars. Leave the pictures as they were.
Is "Big Brother" really here now? Are our freedoms at risk?
everyone who can should make it a hobby and quest to photograph/ spy on Google executives, whenever they're in public, as much as possible and continuously post the stuff online,,, i'm sure they would be placated by the argument of it being in public so it's ok.
Peeping Tom or voyeurism and add that along with many states new photo laws it?s a court case waiting to happen? By the way about the comment; ?As a photographer, I have the legal freedom to photograph what I wish in a public area.? That?s wrong, so wrong maybe one needs to check some of the more recent laws. Plus the photograph itself is usually not the main problem it?s what one does with it afterwards.
Google's official response to Kalin-Casey: "All ur catz r belong to us."
too friggin' funny bro...