Peeps R Concernd Bout Privacy Wit Street View
August 8th, 2008
Google Street View has finally arrived in Australia and everyone that I know thinks it is awesome. There are however a vocal group that are calling for Google’s blood stating that the internet giant is not respecting their privacy.
Oh I know I’m going to piss off a few people here but I’m going to say it: kooks.
Look I demand my privacy as much as the next guy, that is if the next guy was living in a fortified compound out in the middle of nowhere with an giant pile of canned pears. I’m a huge supporter of the privacy act and of privacy in general.
But the complaints that I’ve heard so far are really just a bit of hot air. People are getting all upset because I can virtually walk down their street and look at a low resolution picture of their house.
Are you kidding me?
I can walk down your street and look at your house if I want to and there is nothing you can do about it. In fact all of those people requesting that their houses be removed from Street View I have half the mind to drive past your house and have a big good old fashioned higher than high resolution real life stare.
Dolts.
I’ve heard crap on the radio like oh my they’ll know when you’re out… must… stop… blood… from… seeping… from… ears… from… exposure… to… stupiditiy…
They’ll know that you were out seven months ago!?!?
It’s not real time and if you took the effort to actually look you’d know that. But no the sky is falling and the terrorists are using Street View to plot their attack on your mail box.
Honestly I just want to know what privacy is being impinged upon that isn’t just as easy in real life to do. Yes I agree on things like private roads etc, identifying people and licence plate numbers.
One last point that I heard, what about stalkers.
The only reason why you would want to use Street View rather than actually visiting the house is either you are the laziest, fattest stalker on the planet and frankly you don’t worry me or you’re stalking someone in an entirely different city which makes you the dumbest stalker and frankly I’d rather have you looking at the one blurry photo of my house from seven months ago than actually visiting.
Viva La Street View.
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Categories: Stuff | Tags: australia, canned pears, google street view, kooks, privacy act, stalker
I iz coming to ur neighbourhood to peek into ur rubbish bins.
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By Lee on August 8th, 2008 | Reply
I iz Laughin Mah Ass Off Rite Nao At Dat Comment!
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LOL
thank you for being the voice of reason
also, why are so many people worried about people looking at where they live - if they are truly being stalked (virtually), where did their stalker get their address from? THE WHITE PAGES in most instances, I would suggest. GET A FUCKING UNLISTED NUMBER IF YOU ARE THAT CONCERNED ABOUT PRIVACY!
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By Lee on August 8th, 2008 | Reply
Yeah it’s not often that I’m THE voice of reason. The news started reporting this as how cool is Google and gradually throughout the day it started becoming more and more OMG they’ve invaded our privacy!!
Just really annoys me.
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omg u totally terrify me with teh Napoleon Perdis shop photo. I find him scary!
I am so addicted to this street view thing. It’s all I’ve done for days now. Looking for funny shizzle..
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By Lee on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
LOL I know I’ve got to stop virtually stalking people and invading their privacy, it’s like a full time hobby!
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I’m one of those kooks and I firmly remain in the anti-street view camp. Hubby also thinks I’m totally and completely nuts.
Somedays I wonder if it is simply a different mind set, once a victim always a victim?
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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By Lee on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
Hi Marita, I was actually hoping that someone who has privacy concerns would raise their hand because I really want to know what the specific concern is.
In all seriousness as far as having a different mindset I’ve had to and continue to deal with a family stalker for a number of years now, I’m not going into any more detail than that but thanks to this guy’s mental health the police can’t do too much more about him than what’s already been done.
So I know about stalkers and again I would much rather he sit at home looking at a seven month old blurry photo of the house than actually be here. He already knows the house address - got that from white pages.
So to me if anyone is going to have problems with privacy then why isn’t everyone up in arms over the white pages that identifies your name, number and address!? Street View doesn’t have any of that and white pages is on the interwebs too.
Mind you Marita we’re not quite writing you off as a kook yet - ya still love Farscape so you can hate on Street View all you want
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By Marita on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
My problem is this was done without my consent.
No is such a powerful word and when people don’t listen to No it causes pain. I wasn’t even given a chance to say Yes or No and when it comes right done to it that is what I object to. Which then leads on to all my other objections because they’ve invade my privacy, my safe home space without asking if it was okay first.
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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By Lee on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
Ah but you have no control over if someone walks down your street and looks at your house, no one has to ask you to do that. And that is all google is replicating.
There was very little problem when satellite view came in on every mapping service (not just google), which shows a ton more information about your place than google street view does.
In fact there’s a whole bunch of information that I can get about your home thanks to the freedom of information laws.
But in street view they have invaded your privacy no more than if I were to walk down your street. Which is why I don’t understand the concern.
You are of course welcome to request it to be removed (you can’t with satellite view or with your house records) so I guess in some way they are giving you some choice.
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By Marita on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
Yeah I’m nuts, never said I wasn’t.
You know why I don’t like it. Because my BIL just emailed everyone in his f’ing address book with each others street views.
I now have a long long list of peoples address with links to the street views and google maps of their homes. AND these strangers have MY home address and the street and google map links.
Once again done without asking.
I use a PO Box for a reason. Bastid.
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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By Lee on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
Once again people ruin a perfectly good technology by doing stuff like that and that isn’t cool!
Hope you took him to task.
We have have a PO box for pretty much the same reasons.
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By Marita on August 9th, 2008 | Reply
Emails have been exchanged and an apology made.
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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I’ll check if they have it overhere yet..don’t really know actually..but I think you can’t see my appartment from a car’s view. You cán find it on google earth though. I have a big pin in my flat saying ‘Home’.
Arjans last blog post..Book addiction of the moment
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By Lee on August 10th, 2008 | Reply
I think we’re like the third country or something so I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re not up and running yet.
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I stumbled across this late last week (I must’ve done a really good job in ignoring the media the day this was all over it) and the first thing I thought was “Oh Cool!”.
I didn’t know that the photos were 7 months old, but I knew they were old as our old car was parked out the front (We’ve had the new one 2 months now) and the front fence wasn’t finished (It’s been finished for 5 months now).
Now, I could get annoyed that my car rego’s being displayed to the world, but I’m not as I don’t have that rego any more. However, if I was photographed (or video’d, ’cause that would be quicker) outside my house, like some of my friends and workmates were, I’d be a little more upset. Sure that photo was taken 7 months ago and I could’ve moved by then, and sure, the person outside the house may not even live there, but still…
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You know it is all your fault my brother thinks I’m a totally psycho internet freak. I had to make a quick trip up to Brisbane on Wednesday and he collected me from the airport at 8.30am. We drove through an eerily deserted Brisbane CBD - peak hour and no cars (Ekka holiday).
Anyways my brother relies on his GPS to direct him and it of course got us really lost. As we wound our way through Brisbane streets trying to find the botanic gardens we drove down Elizabeth St and I saw some places that were very familiar from your pictures. So I had to tell my brother all about it - to make him understand why I was jumping up and down and pointing out the adult shop.
Now he thinks I’m crazy. All your fault.
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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By Lee on August 16th, 2008 | Reply
OMFG!!!!!
That is hilarious, you SO should have stopped and had your photo taken in front of it!!!
Actually Brisbane streets are so ridiculous I am not surprised that the GPS didn’t help
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