Google Streetview - Blessing or Curse?

[Zyklop]

Most of you probably already know Google Streetview. A technology which intends to let the user explore cities from a street level. Cars equipped with all-around panoramic cameras completely photograph a city and the results later are published on the internet.

Some examples:
Rome - Colloseum (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=41.889883,12.492678&spn=0,359.989014&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.889262,12.491696&panoid=u0P7hAJQvKUidTkg8qDgAg&cbp=12,31.23,,0,-6.51)

London - Big Ben (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=51.501423,-0.122223&spn=0,359.986181&t=h&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.500973,-0.12413&panoid=eY7qcSjJExev-1-euH6uXQ&cbp=12,220.78,,0,-27.56)

Paris - Eifel Tower (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=paris+eifel+tower&sll=48.859746,2.332535&sspn=0.025919,0.055275&ie=UTF8&ll=48.85856,2.294018&spn=0,359.993091&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=48.859399,2.292726&panoid=C0jcjYQ249pCxBJeA-b0aA&cbp=12,131.41,,0,-30.64)

Although faces and license plates automatically are censored, Google has been criticised countless times for hurting people's privacy or helping burglars and terrorists with spying out possible targets. Recently Google even has been completely blocked from photographing the streets of Greece.

So what's your opinion on this technology? A serious threat to privacy or a useful tool for exploring interesting places?

[Jamt]

I hate it big time.
I even dislike the effectiveness of Google search-engine.
Man is not supposed to know it all.

[Loki]

So what's your opinion on this technology? A serious thread to privacy or a useful tool for exploring interesting places?

There is probably no stopping new and better technology from coming out. It's a battle that cannot be won in the long term. I think we will have to come to terms with living in a much more open and less private world. Not a pleasant thought, but reality unfortunately. Homo sapiens has a natural lust for knowledge and exploring all unknowns and secrets, hence this drive towards invading privacy I guess.

[Skandi]

I don't see how it invades privacy, nothing that is shown on it was not already avaliable for the people present, yes more people can see your idiocy, but hell they won't know who you are.

[Jamt]

I don't see how it invades privacy, nothing that is shown on it was not already avaliable for the people present, yes more people can see your idiocy, but hell they won't know who you are.

You just are not paranoid enough. And the reason is you just do not know enough.

[Ulex]

Privacy seems to be protected, so what's the big deal? A tool for terrorists? Well, terrorists and their sympatizers are all around anyway, due to our insane immigration politics, so they wouldn't even bother to use Google. Why not take a walk down to the Colosseum and plan your strike, when you are living in the neighbourhood anyway?

[Skandi]

You just are not paranoid enough. And the reason is you just do not know enough.

Anything I do on the street I assume is watched, I really don't care who by.

[Beorn]

I think it's amazing!

Tippety-tap into the box and you're suddenly transported to the other side of England to view the area you grew up in and wondered aimlessly round in as a child.
You can point out the pubs you used to waste away your hard earned money. You can show your children the places you will hopefully one day take them to see for themselves just as your parents once did.

It's endless!

It's also good for those who are banned from entering into areas for fear of being arrested *cough* so places like Guernsey and that should hurry up and allow the whole island be done. :D

All this talk of privacy being broken and fears of burglars huddling round the soft glow of their PCs spying the weaknesses of your house and property is ridiculous.

Google map is brilliant! Can't wait for it to come my way.

[Jamt]

Google maps is another thing to worry about.

[Rainraven]

I love it!

It's so much fun to see where people live, and to look up previous houses that I've lived in and see what they're looking like now :)

I just checked out my flat and it's on a great street for it, if anyone wants to see then just PM me, and I'd be interested to see anyone elses places too :D

[SwordoftheVistula]

Google maps (and its predecessors Yahoo maps and mapquest) are awesome, many times better than having to flip through an atlas looking at highways and trying to guesstimate or rely on word of mouth for the best route for long distance trips, and infinitely better than trying to transcribe directions from someone "..and then turn right at the third light past the Shell station, or maybe it's an Exxon station, oh wait maybe it's the 4th light..."

I don't see what the problem with Google street view is, it only shows the outside of the building, what is in public view anyways. It allows for fun things such as my mom showing me the house and neighborhood she grew up in.

[Tabiti]

Satelite photos - OK, photos of big buildings and famous places/streets - OK. Spying others backyards - not OK There must be some censorship of providing personal information, imo. I'm not a supporter of any "Big Brother" activities!

[SwordoftheVistula]

Google maps...awesome

I take that back, it got me lost last night :mad:

[Thorum]

I found it really useful on my last trip. I like it and think it is fantastic!!

[Atlas]

As long as there isn't cam into my appartment, this doesn't bother me much. The concept of camera everywhere in London for example in order to "protect" the people against thugs is not a bad idea, I don't know how well it works though.

I am opposed though to "real-tv" crap that show people shower, kiss, go take a piss or crap like that...

[Vulpix]

The concept of camera everywhere in London for example in order to "protect" the people against thugs is not a bad idea, I don't know how well it works though.


It is bad, you get assaulted, the culprit gets caught on CCTV and yet the police can't find him :mad:.

[Absinthe]

It is bad, you get assaulted, the culprit gets caught on CCTV and yet the police can't find him :mad:.
Yes, dah! :D

I find the idea of cameras as a crime preventing measure to be preposterous, to say the least!

If you want to make neighbourhoods safer, put more cops in the streets. Let alone you shouldn't have imported third world bandits and rapists in the first place.
What exactly are cameras going to solve, distinguish Ahmed among 2486483 similar looking Muslims? :rolleyes:

[SwordoftheVistula]

It is bad, you get assaulted, the culprit gets caught on CCTV and yet the police can't find him :mad:.

Perhaps we should change the punishment for assault to a sizable fine payable to the local governing authority. Then, they'd have no problem whatsoever tracking these people down and issuing fines.

[Skandi]

Perhaps we should change the punishment for assault to a sizable fine payable to the local governing authority. Then, they'd have no problem whatsoever tracking these people down and issuing fines.

Like speed cameras? :)

[Allenson]

I will continue to think that it's pretty interesting until the google car comes rolling down my lane (which it likely won't for another hundred years or so). ;)

I definitely would not like it if my house were visible to the whole world with just a few type-taps & mouse clicks. :cool:

[Æmeric]

In the US, county assessors or whoever the local property tax czar is already has pictures of your property for tax purposes. And some county assessor websites have these pictures uploaded to the web for public viewing as part of the public record.

[Zyklop]

Some negative examples of streetview imagery:

Naked Street View (http://googlesightseeing.com/2009/03/24/naked-people-on-google-street-view/)

The images shown on the site above already have been removed from streetview though.

[Zyklop]

Norc is a streetview clone focusing mainly on Eastern-Europe:


Austria (http://www.norc.at/)
Czech Republic (http://www.norc.cz/)
Poland (http://www.norc.pl/)
Romania (http://www.norc.ro/)
Russia (http://www.mappi.ru/)
Slovakia (http://www.norc.sk/)
Hungary (http://www.norc.hu/)

[Barreldriver]

Google Streetview today, tomorrow t.v.'s that can see everything you do and torture you if you do not follow the exercise program that is programed to appear every morning on the t.v., and the thought police come kicking in you door.

For real though, this is one step closer to the exact shit that happened in Orwell's 1984, Google streetview to me is very similar to the t.v.'s and such in 1984 that "monitor" the citizens.

[Freomæg]

I'm worried about the precedent it sets. It's easy to laugh this stuff off as a far-cry from 'Big Brother watching you', but how far off is it really? In Britain, we're surveilled on every corner and we've grown accustomed to it. When the government announces that they routinely listen in on private phonecalls, or tap into our webcams to make sure we're not building dirty bombs, will we draw a line, or will we brush it off in the same manner we did Google Streetview - saying to ourselves that 'it doesn't matter because we've got nothing to hide'?

Yes, it's a fun tool, but all technology is a double-edged sword. I'd say the tyrants find it very handy in deed that all of the things which help them to maintain state control over our lives are enjoyable, and as such, things we beg for rather than resist.

Google Streetview itself is harmless, but it would worry me hugely if we didn't draw a fat, indelible line right there.

[SwordoftheVistula]

The difference is Google can't come and arrest you if they see something they don't like

[Freomæg]

The difference is Google can't come and arrest you if they see something they don't like
True. But I think we're a little naive if we think google aren't in cahoots with the government, or - at the very least - the government don't have full access to everything 'google'.

They're not using google for law enforcement... yet. It's just a very slippery slope, that's all I'm saying. As long as we're continuously analytical about all this kind of stuff, it's fine.

[Zyklop]

Google Releases Street View in Switzerland, Portugal, and Taiwan (http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2009/08/google_releases_street_view_in_swit.html)

Google releases StreetView for Prague (http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2009/10/google_releases_streetview_for_prag.html)

StreetView also arrives in Canada (http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2009/10/streetview_also_arrives_in_canada.html)