Google 360 Degrees Street View is Live for London
After months of legal discussions, Google’s innovative streetview photography is now available for London. London is possibly one of the most popular tourist hotspots in Europe, and now would be tourists can check out the area before jumping on a plane.
There has been, and still is, a lot of opposition to the 360 degree view of every street. Some believe that it is an invasion of our privacy, some scaremongers go so far as to suggest that criminals could use it to learn about areas (as if it is difficult to walk around London without being noticed) and many worry that they may be recognised in a photo getting up to no good, chatting to the wrong people or doing business with street characters,
Google have dismissed all these fears, with all faces being blurred out, and car registration plates also blanked out.
In addition to this any user can flag an image for removal, and Google are still striving to gather better photos for all areas.
However this is not stopping the campaigners from carrying on with their fight to stop street photography, kindly fighting for the rights of others to remain hidden and secretive, even when in public places.
Snapshot of a London Street View:
Moorgate, London
I think this is a great innovation, and really fun, but interestingly Google were not the first!. Seety released street level views in London last year even managing a commercial implementation within NovaLoca.com the UK Commercial Property Listing Site four months ago. On NovaLoca this fun tool is put to work helping to sell and rent offices, industrial, retail & other commercial property throughout the capital. Hopefully there will be lots more applications of this great technology to come! (Other than just looking for places & people you know – which is always fun)