Taking it to the Streets
posted by:Jeremy Hessing-Lewis // 09:55 AM // June 01, 2007 // General
It seems rather futile to report on the latest developments out of Google. In Internet time, the launch of Google Maps Street View has already been relegated to the archives of Boing Boing and the like. So it is that I can do little but sit back in awe of the technology like the day I first received a Sega Genesis. As a law & technology student, my enlightened, techno-savvy critique has been essentially limited to: "Look Ma, I can see our house!"
But what say the privacy advocates? Not surprisingly, they've promptly cried FOUL. Still, Google's predictable response falls back on tried and true techno-rhetoric:
Street View only features imagery taken on public property,” the company said. “This imagery is no different from what any person can readily capture or see walking down the street.(NY Times Link)
Yes, its true, assuming we were God, Street View, presents little improvement over what is already possible. Just your average ability to look at any location within the city without leaving your desk. This development merely confirms what has become increasingly clear "In Google we Trust."
I for one, am done playing the skeptic. Yes, there are privacy concerns at every twist and turn, but... "Look, there's my favorite Burrito Joint."
Comments
What I find odd is that when Microsoft launched their Windows Live Local Virtual Earth service 6 months ago - carrying similar concerns about one’s privacy in public (which I pointed out at the time) - no one seemed to care.....
Perhaps shows how irrelevant many consider MSFT now...
Posted by: Michael Zimmer at June 1, 2007 08:16 PM
