Google’s testing a “Street View” feature in select US cities, where you can get a 360 degree pedestrian-eye view of the street. Here’s what it looks like standing on the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.
However if you’re anywhere but within the United States while browsing http://maps.google.com, you won’t see the Street View feature as an option. Thankfully a handy tip shows how with a bit of URL string manipulation, Street View is available for all of the world to see.
I still haven’t found pictures of the vehicle that is used to capture all of this street-level footage, but the premise is just like the Tele Atlas van, which simply drives every street it can, capturing 360 views every 10 meters. Others have tried to capture the van’s image in the reflection of its own photos.
This is undeniably an incredible feature. Between Google Maps, Google Earth, and now Street View, Google really is mapping the entire world, in all 3 dimensions. But is it too Big Brother? Imagine all of the UK’s CCTV footage made freely available to search, browse, download, and share? Where is our privacy then?
Google has also added in facial recognition into its image search. Which, for now, is simply an innocent way to refine your search. But what will it do in 5 years time? Will digital anonymity be a thing of the past?
The potential line that Google’s Street View is crossing is being considered by lots of everyday people. What do you think? Are you equally as excited and nervous as I am?