There’s been a lot of recent discussion about Google Maps Street View, and with good reason.
There’s no doubt about Street View being jaw dropping technology, I for one have spent a good deal of time testing its capabilities. If you haven’t seen Street View yet, go to Google Maps (must be the US site maps.google.com, not maps.google.com.au) and try it out.
There have already been several mainstream media articles with all sorts of interesting stories on what has been captured. I’ll leave finding examples of stories as an exercise for the reader, but here is one to get you started, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/smile-its-googles-candid-camera/2007/06/04/1180809390551.html.
Some individuals are quite concerned about what Google Maps “Street View” allows you to do, but for now here are few of my observations:
- The imagery isn’t real-time
- You can easily make out individuals and objects
(please email webmaster @ this site to correct me if I’m wrong, I’ve only just had time to look at it)
Make up your own mind, but in contrast, here are a few golden rules that security folk follow (mainly for legal reasons) when installing certain security monitoring systems:
- Camera and Camera Housings must be clearly visible
- Clearly display signage that communicates surveillance is being conducted
I have no doubt we’ll hear a lot more about Street View, so stay tuned.