September 17th, 2008
Google's mobile Street View: Definitely creepy
Google is out with its Street View for the Blackberry and I’m a bit of a Luddite.
Unlike my pal Sam, who thinks the fact Google puts his house online is wonderful, I’m not to hip to having the search giant show my house. I live in Pennsylvania so I doubt Google is all that interested in my neck of the woods and I’m in no rush to invite the search giant over (Techmeme).
Sam writes:
My house is already there for anyone to see, whether it’s seen from a plane or from a car that drives by in the middle of the night. So what if you saw it on the Internet.
Well that’s just swell for Sam. I’m truly happy for him. My problem: I can’t opt out. I can’t make my house fuzzy online. I can’t put up a no trespassing sign. If I threw rocks at the Google video car I’d get arrested. So what can I do? Not a damn thing. And that’s what’s annoying. I don’t even know why Street View creeps me out, but I do know I’m not thrilled about it. And I’m really not thrilled about the mobile version. Perhaps my Street View phobia is only part of the equation.
Here are the other parts of the equation:
- Google is watching us from the sky.
- Google knows our Web habits better than we do.
- Google isn’t evil, but it does own the ad market in many respects. Yes, I know Google cares about me and is just being helpful with these targeted ads aimed at 200 pound guys who are borderline Libertarian and has two screws in his knee but still.
So maybe I’m a little nutty about Street View, but you have to draw the line somewhere. I’m cloaking my house as we speak. I’d disappear from the Internet and go off grid too, but I kinda need this stuff to earn a living.
Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 09/17/08
