Is Google Street View Impacting Your Life?

[longknife]

How many of you have used Google to take a look at your home or the neighborhood you live in?


I think a lot of us use Google Maps to find something or figure out how to get there. But, how many even know what Street View is or how to get to it?

Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike.

But researchers have found more insidious uses. In 2017 a team of researchers used the images to study the distribution of car types in the US and then used that data to determine the demographic makeup of the country. It turns out that the car you drive is a surprisingly reliable proxy for your income level, your education, your occupation, and even the way you vote in elections.

And other groups are going even further.


One has to wonder if criminals aren’t using it too. Checking out which neighborhoods are worth visiting for break-ins.


More @ How a Google Street View image of your house predicts your risk of a car accident

 

[beagle9]

Street views should not be allowed to view anything but the street or mailbox in front of the address sought after. It is a privacy invasion to go farther by showing private residences without the express permissions of the owners of such residences. It should work like the old phone numbers worked via private and public listings, where as the owner had to be asked, and therefore agree to be made public in these ways.

 

[Moonglow]

All you can see of my street is tree tops...

 

[beagle9]

Privacy should be a new focus in these times, because in alot of ways it has gone to far by what we have seen or know these days. It is understood that new grounds were being broken all over in the tech industries, but it's time to maybe revisit some of those grounds, and just tighten them back up a little in order to respect the individual's privacy as it should be respected in this country. The thought that all people had somehow turned good is a fool's game being played, and it has since been proven over and over again. Trump should know best, because his rights have been destroyed by the tech industry being used by opportunist trying to manipulate the election for political reasons, and that was tragic.

 

[Pogo]

Happy to say, my house is invisible on Google Street View. I know right where it should be. Under those trees somewhere.

In fact Google Earth won't even take you up my street.

 

[Pogo]

How many of you have used Google to take a look at your home or the neighborhood you live in?


I think a lot of us use Google Maps to find something or figure out how to get there. But, how many even know what Street View is or how to get to it?

Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike.

But researchers have found more insidious uses. In 2017 a team of researchers used the images to study the distribution of car types in the US and then used that data to determine the demographic makeup of the country. It turns out that the car you drive is a surprisingly reliable proxy for your income level, your education, your occupation, and even the way you vote in elections.

And other groups are going even further.


One has to wonder if criminals aren’t using it too. Checking out which neighborhoods are worth visiting for break-ins.


More @ How a Google Street View image of your house predicts your risk of a car accident

I uh, think there's a sllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiightly easier way to determine local voting patterns than perusing people's frickin' cars.

 

[james bond]

More insidious and nefarous ways to use Google Earth than providing directions. If you subscribe to their upgrade, then someone can send a drone to missile attack you at your doorstep.

 

[Wuwei]

Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike.

I use the street view all the time.
Here is a fun thing to do.
Go to Google satellite view. Search for Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. Zoom in a bit. Then click Crtl and click the mouse in the center of the image. Keep the Cntl key down while you move the mouse around. You will see everything turn into a 3-D perspective and you can "fly" around the tower. Do the same for the Empire State Building, etc.


.

 

[beagle9]

Google Street View has become a surprisingly useful way to learn about the world without stepping into it. People use it to plan journeys, to explore holiday destinations, and to virtually stalk friends and enemies alike.

I use the street view all the time.
Here is a fun thing to do.
Go to Google satellite view. Search for Eiffel Tower, Paris, France. Zoom in a bit. Then click Crtl and click the mouse in the center of the image. Keep the Cntl key down while you move the mouse around. You will see everything turn into a 3-D perspective and you can "fly" around the tower. Do the same for the Empire State Building, etc.


.

Such things are cool like you say, but are things being taken to far without the proper safegaurds put in place in order to protect the google user experience without the users being harassed later on etc ???

 

[Wuwei]

Such things are cool like you say, but are things being taken to far without the proper safegaurds put in place in order to protect the google user experience without the users being harassed later on etc ???

I agree with you 100%. Everyone probably remembers the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell published in 1949. In the year 1984, the world is under omnipresent government surveillance and propaganda. Orwell was prescient. It happened later than 1984. But nobody could predict it would not be the government, but it would be the electronic communication industries furnishing the surveillance and propaganda.

My wife is paranoid about safeguards and rips out our address from all mail before recycling it. I am paranoid in that I use duckduckgo.com as a safe browser. On my android tablet I always sign out from gmail before I do any browsing.

I saw statistics that the millennials are much less concerned about privacy than us older folks. Unfortunately for them, they are the ones inheriting the world and are going to be calling the shots.

.

 

[Votto]

All you can see of my street is tree tops...

So you are into tree porn, eh?

Sicko!

 

[beagle9]

Such things are cool like you say, but are things being taken to far without the proper safegaurds put in place in order to protect the google user experience without the users being harassed later on etc ???

I agree with you 100%. Everyone probably remembers the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell published in 1949. In the year 1984, the world is under omnipresent government surveillance and propaganda. Orwell was prescient. It happened later than 1984. But nobody could predict it would not be the government, but it would be the electronic communication industries furnishing the surveillance and propaganda.

My wife is paranoid about safeguards and rips out our address from all mail before recycling it. I am paranoid in that I use duckduckgo.com as a safe browser. On my android tablet I always sign out from gmail before I do any browsing.

I saw statistics that the millennials are much less concerned about privacy than us older folks. Unfortunately for them, they are the ones inheriting the world and are going to be calling the shots.

.

The tech industry problem or delema that we might be seeing today, is actually the very same delema or problem that we have all been facing with the government in the past years that has gone by now.

Otherwise it's all in who is controlling it, and using such an ominus power whether it be in a weaponized way (i.e. the same with our system that was turned on Trump in a trial run of such a thing).

As we have just seen in that situation, where as the weaponizing of systems for ominus purposes is a very bad and enslaving thing. As bad as it is, people should be jailed if found out to be weaponizing our systems for evil intent and purposes.

 

[Wuwei]

As we have just seen in that situation, where as the weaponizing of systems for ominus purposes is a very bad and enslaving thing. As bad as it is, people should be jailed if found out to be weaponizing our systems for evil intent and purposes.

Weaponizing is one grave problem that people are beginning to be aware of.

Another insidious problem is that is caused by data sharing between companies via the internet. Google et al build a profile of you largely for advertising focus, but they also use your profile when you do a search. If you have a conservative profile and search "Trump" or "taxes" or "guns", Google returns conservative perspectives. But if your profile is liberal, Google returns liberal perspectives. This causes confirmation bias. Neither side gets a broad view of the issue.

The end result is a great philosophical divide between people.



.

 

[Zorro!]

Such things are cool like you say, but are things being taken to far without the proper safegaurds put in place in order to protect the google user experience without the users being harassed later on etc ???

I agree with you 100%. Everyone probably remembers the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell published in 1949. In the year 1984, the world is under omnipresent government surveillance and propaganda. Orwell was prescient. It happened later than 1984. But nobody could predict it would not be the government, but it would be the electronic communication industries furnishing the surveillance and propaganda.

My wife is paranoid about safeguards and rips out our address from all mail before recycling it. I am paranoid in that I use duckduckgo.com as a safe browser. On my android tablet I always sign out from gmail before I do any browsing.

I saw statistics that the millennials are much less concerned about privacy than us older folks. Unfortunately for them, they are the ones inheriting the world and are going to be calling the shots.

.

Orwell was a prophet. How did he know?

EVERYTHING IS PROBLEMATICAL: Having Siri, Google Assistant & other intelligent assistants female by default is sexist, says UN.

I guess the UN has to find something to do, having secured world peace and all.

 

[SandSquid]

No. And if I'm blaming street view for the problems that arise in my life I have some major projection issues.