We ooh’d and ahh’d when Google Maps announced the satellite view on its mapping system back in 2005, and wasted hours flying the world over with Google Earth. Mapping technology has given us a lot in recent years, offering the opportunity to virtually discover the world from the comfort of a laptop. Last week, when Google released their new Street View feature that allows users to view more in-depth, street-level information on certain U.S. maps, we quickly scrambled to check for real images of our own homes and frequent haunts. In true internet form, it only took a few hours before the new tool became creepy.
Nevermind the detail to which you’re able to zoom (I definitely was able to spot my old boss sitting at his desk in a San Francisco office building), it’s what you’re able to catch people doing that’s making the news this week. Internet surfers far and wide with too much time on their hands are reviewing the captured images from San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami with a fine pick and unearthing some laughable — and disturbing — photos of people caught in the act. Using Google’s Street View feature, people are coming together to collect their own street view sightings over at LaudonTech, a gallery that continues to grow with new submissions posted daily. Next time you’re picking your nose in traffic, just remember: Google may be watching.
I think google street views are pretty damn cool. There are so many weird things on there to see.