A little over a year ago a friend of mine emailed me, along with a few other friends, somewhat freaked out after realizing the amount of information someone could find out about him - online. Orwellian rants came out as he realized someone could simply type a phone number* into Google and find his name, address and other websites that may have talked about him.
The technology had been out for a while and with the type of mission statment Google has - it’s not suprizing. In fact, since then, the world has opened up even more. I’m can now zoom around the world and take a look into other people’s backyards; both personal and corporate.
If I want to take a peek at Alcatraz Island, all I have to do is type in the address and there is is.
I don’t have to stop there, I can also check out the White House, Uffington White Horse, Pima Air & Space Museum, Area 51, Disneyland, Dead Horse Point State Park in UT and salt ponds in the San Francisco Bay.
Of course this is really cool but the fact that we can see so many things may result in us bumping into something we shouldn’t. Right now this isn’t a big deal for those of us that live in areas that don’t attract a lot of attention, but for folks living in heavier populated areas, a boss might be able to zoom in and check to see if you’ve left for work or not. Just by typing in your address and seeing if your car is in the driveway or not.
Who knows, things may even get more powerful and your boss will actually be able to zoom in an see where exactly you are.
* For example sake, I used my parents phone number. Mine isn’t listed because I use a cell phone.
posted on April 9, 2005 | 5:24 PM EST
Add to the discussion.
Well, if you look at the images, the White House is obviously photoshopped in and the U.S. Capitol is pixelated heavily… This imagry has been available free for the public for years, it just wasn’t as accessible. I’m not worried one bit that this technology will harm our privacy. Further, these images are sometimes 20 years old, and rarely represent land use in the current year. Unless we launch hundreds of new satellites, we’ll never be able to zoom in each day to see if our car is not in the driveway. Now, if we all had GPS attached to our cars… then our boss might find us.
Sure - most places have rather old images and don’t take very close pictures because there is nothing happening there (example - Holland, MI). However, in heavier populated areas, I think there are shots taken more often and I could be led to believe at least weekly shots (if not daily in specific areas) are available.
What I can’t seem to find (in 2 seconds of research) is information about the Google results. What information are they allowed to show and what can’t they show - along with how often places are commonly updated.
As for your point of GPS system (I’d like to add RFID tags), you’re definately right. As a new parent/geek/web developer, I’m very interested in these 2 pieces of technology.
Overall, I’m not worried and usually find myself being the last one in the room worried about people watching and knowing what I’m up to.
Well, the images Google uses are from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and they are federally controlled. So, even in urban areas, they are rarely up to date, believe it or not. It costs about $150,000 to do a three color image of a lightly populated county… Now, I’m sure the Dept. of Homeland Security has more recent shots, but that’s most definately classified. The satellite images we see are used for geographic and planning analysis, not much else.
Still, the maps are Currently a snapshot in time, not daily tracking (like the government might have available on us right now).
Paul Says:
Well, if you look at the images, the White House is obviously photoshopped in and the U.S. Capitol is pixelated heavily… This imagry has been available free for the public for years, it just wasn’t as accessible. I’m not worried one bit that this technology will harm our privacy. Further, these images are sometimes 20 years old, and rarely represent land use in the current year. Unless we launch hundreds of new satellites, we’ll never be able to zoom in each day to see if our car is not in the driveway. Now, if we all had GPS attached to our cars… then our boss might find us.