Streetview in Google maps has been a very popular addition for a lot of users, however the recent introduction of streetview in Manchester has caused a lot of controversy. For those that haven’t heard of streetview, it is functionality within Google maps that allows the user to explore around the map at ’streetview’. This isn’t available on every location, only those which have been captured using a special camera. I have used this a few times for exploring locations such as Manhattan which I’ve found very interesting. To try it for yourself, go to Google maps, enter Manchester as your location and you should see the icon (picture below) light up when streetview is available. Click on this to begin exploring!
Streetview allows you to look all around the location due to the way it is captured with it’s multiple angle cameras mounted on top of a Google car. A lot of people now recognise the camera on the car, and lot’s of people can be seen waving as the car goes past!
Although a lot of people think that streetview is fantastic, a lot of people are concerned about security and privacy issues now that the Manchester has been added. Some people think that it is a great tool for potential burgulars to scope out areas and houses online looking through the residential areas, whereas others are concerned that it may be a tool to aid potential terrorist attacks.
One feature of streetview, is that you can send any view to another user as a link, and the recipient can see exactly the view you’re looking at. This caused controversy last year when links were being sent around showing a drunk man asleep outside his house, and even a man leaving an adult bookstore!
Google stresses that it is not showing anything that people could view by simply walking down a street. Although I think that this is a great tool, I agree that there are potential implications with the technology.
