Google Street View
Google street view In Belgium
Finally it happened, Google Street View is launched in Belgium.
There were some indications yesterday (there seems to be an official Google press event at Brussels city hall later today).
The street view pictures are taken in 2009, but because of legal issues the launch was postponed. Legal issues because Google was also collecting data on wifi networks. This drew the attention of the Privacy commission that took legal action.
There are of course quite some privacy remarks related with this product. So it isn’t a surprise to notice that google dedicates a specific page on the privacy topic.
http://maps.google.be/intl/eng/help/maps/streetview/privacy.html
I must admit that tough I saw it happen in other countries, I didn’t expect to have such strong emotions when experiencing Google Street View in my own neighborhood. I still felt quite surprised about the level of detail shown.
And yes, my first thoughts were about my privacy. And I didn’t feel at ease. I felt more at easy when I noticed you couldn’t see any details of my apartment. Strange reaction when you come to think of it. I shared my complete interior with all my Facebook friends…
Street view Antwerp
We live in a world were our privacy is redefined, and having images of the houses and streets we live in accessible to everybody, is something we will have to accept. And I must admit it, I like it. Who wouldn’t.
This new world of ours makes information available in ways we could have never imagined 10 years ago.
And while we entered this world where we are not only making all sorts of information available to everybody, but we are making our voices noticed. The next step should be to make them count.
