Smile: You're on Google camera
Buffalo seems ready for its close-up in Google's Street View program, which arrived in this area last month.
The impressive program links panoramic photos to the search engine's popular Google Maps feature, a boon to anyone looking for a house, restaurant or museum.
Users can search for a specific address, or just browse through the Buffalo region on Google Maps, and pull up photos of streets and buildings that can be rotated 360 degrees.
Google's cameras … which automatically take photos from every angle as a Google car drives through a community … captured area landmarks, geographic features and, most likely, your house and place of employment.
They also caught a lot of people walking around the area who didn't know their image was captured for posterity.
Privacy advocates say Google went too far with Street View, catching photos of people as they walked into an adult book store or as they laid out in the sun in swimsuits.
Google argues it is on safe legal footing because its cars only shoot photos from public roadways.
However, one husband and wife from Pittsburgh did sue Google in April because they say their privacy was compromised after the company posted photos on Street View taken when a camera car drove down their street … which is a private road … and turned around in the couple's driveway.
Does Street View go too far in intruding on our online privacy? Or is the value provided by Street View's searchable photos worth the potential loss of privacy?
And have you found any interesting or embarrassing photos from this area on Street View?
-- Stephen T. Watson
ARE ALL THE CAMERA VEHICLES MARKED WITH ID?
Posted by: ERIK | July 18, 2008 at 05:28 PM
I wonder how many pictures of crimes will show up in the nation's #2 poverty hole. Good concept, poor choice.
Posted by: Frank S. | July 17, 2008 at 12:56 AM
This is nothing new ... several real estate sites already do this.
Posted by: bos75 | July 16, 2008 at 09:57 PM
Upon viewing my house and the neighbors, I noticed my neighbor's 3 small children playing in the front lot,as well as some small children elswhere in the neighborhood. This made me outraged! Now child preditors can have access to seeing where children play, out in front of their houses, seemingingly unsupervised and give them reasons to drive around and stalk these children. What an easy way to find young victims! Also, I know i dont want people viewing my house, looking at what i drive, etc. The aerial view was plenty for people to get a glimpse of where they were going. This is creepy, ridiculous and has gone way too far!
Posted by: KAREN | July 16, 2008 at 09:55 PM
You know what is really amazing about this whole thing? They are doing it for free!
Nobody asked them to go to these lengths and no one has to pay to use the service - one click and you are there! You don't even need to log on!
It is an incredible use of technology, extremely innovative, and it is an amazingly useful tool - all provided free of charge!
I wish more businesses would operate with such a civic mindset!
As for the privacy issue, has anyone ever taken a picture of a crowd of people or a New York City street? Do you go to each and every one of those people and ask them if they want to be edited out of your pictures? Of course not. And the guys at Google Maps aren't doing anything different.
The only caveat I can think of is that when you take a picture yourself it's generally not placed on a massive information exchange site...unless you post it on the internet!
"Google Maps is the best"
"True dat!"
"DOUBLE TRUE"
Posted by: Glenn W | July 16, 2008 at 08:21 PM
I never had a Big Brother before so I will let you know how I feel when he picks on me by showing where I've been or what I'm doing when I least expect or want him.
.
Posted by: 1984 | July 16, 2008 at 05:11 PM
It's a free country; it's a public space. No photos of the interiors of the houses were taken. The system is awesome, especially for rentals and sales. When our rental property was listed on Craigslist, the neighborhood showed favorably, and we were delighted. The house had recently been painted, and we were thrilled that the new colors were on it prior to the Google photographers passing through!
Posted by: Lydia Bezou-Hojnacki | July 16, 2008 at 12:46 PM
the pictures arent real time so who cares? My house's picture has the for sale sign on it from 18 months ago.
Posted by: Anti Obama | July 16, 2008 at 12:33 PM
I think this is great. I used Street View when I was going to be in Manhattan in January and it helped a lot to see the restaurant I was looking for before I got there, and to know how long it would take me to walk there from the hotel. My house is on here, and it looks great!
Posted by: Sue | July 16, 2008 at 12:24 PM
I absolutely love this! I left Buffalo 35 yrs. ago and now I feel like I can go "Home" and visit any moment in any day. It's a great feeling!
S.
Posted by: Sheila | July 16, 2008 at 09:43 AM
I know it sounds dystopian, but it might help create a more transparent society where individuals are urged to always "do good". It's making the public spaces > more public, while reminding us to make private space > more private.
Posted by: Kevin | July 16, 2008 at 09:36 AM
I've found that the best policy is to look both ways for a van covered in cameras before I step out of the porn store. But hey, that's just me being practical, I guess.
Posted by: Rust Belt Catholic | July 16, 2008 at 09:24 AM