Earlier this week, Google Street View went live in Toronto and it's surrounding areas and many people think it's as if "1984" has finally come to life. They be live that Google has invaded their lives and privacy. My response to this - SERIOUSLY??
Honestly, I think these people are just a little too paranoid. Yes, there are people who have been captured by the camera and are visible on Google now - but it's not like it's live. They've been captured in a moment in time. How is this an invasion of privacy? Google did not snap pictures of people in their homes. They drove down streets and took pictures of houses and buildings. I wouldn't say that is an invasion of privacy.
I actually think this Google Street View is a pretty clever idea. Unfortunately I have not been able to see it for myself yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to checking it out. I think it is going to be such a useful tool to people in the future.
Imagine you're moving to a new city, or visiting a new city. You have an address of a particular place you need to go to and now with Google Street View, you can actually see what the place looks like. The ability is now there to find landmarks at a corner you might have to turn at. You can find your boundaries long before you even arrive in said city. I think it's brilliant!
Say you move to a new city and want to find a certain store? You can just browse around and find one using this feature.
I think this new way of mapping is genius and it's only going to be a matter of time where those who think that they whole thing is too Orwellian are going to need to use it to find something. Only then will they realize that their original opinions might now be different.
To my readers: what are your thoughts on this? do you think it's an invasion of privacy?
Comments
2 Responses to “Was George Orwell Right?”
I go back and forth on it. On one hand, my knee-jerk reaction is that its too survellience like. But realistically, I don't think anyone cares enough about what I'm doing to spend a ridiculous amount of time going through Google Street View to see if I've been captured doing something. So while I would prefer it didn't exist, I'm not concerned that it does. This also might be because its a company doing it, for commericial purposes, rather than direct government survellience, but that's a whole other set of issues.
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As for this google street view thing, I don't think it's such a huge deal. For a directionally challenged person like myself, this could prove to be extremely useful!!
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