Google Street View has changed the way that people interact with online maps as well as real cities. Controversial and illicit images as well as strange photographic glitches have only heightened the public’s fascination with this interactive panoramic mapping system. The now-infamous Google Street View van has captured embarrassing moments, created accidental celebrities and documented interesting urban changes over time. The following images illustrate this variety.
Lurkers and Gawkers: Google Street View has become notorious for showing people at moments they might rather not have preserved online. The two men above are at least fortunate enough not to be showing their face to the camera. Another individual caught in a compromising situation was not so lucky.
Accidental Celebrities: Some Google Street View pictures show individuals who are apparently aware of (or who even pose for) the Street View camera van. Many images, such as those above, have been widely circulated on the internet - making their subjects into a form of impromptu or accidental celebrity.
Controversial Images: A lot of the more popular Google Street View images in public circulation involve celebrities, from ‘real life’ or from their actions caught on camera. However, while it is apparently true that a knife-sharpening van was photographed outside of OJ Simpson’s house, the individual show in the lower image (despite popular rumors) was simply fixing his bicycle.
Mysterious Street View Van: While it is not provable either way, the above image seems to suggest that the Street View van may have callously knocked over a few flimsy roadblocks. Perhaps they were worried about disrupting the images they were capturing? The Street View van itself has been caught on film a few times.
Changes Over Time: One of the interesting aspects of Google Street View is the impressive way in which it documents cities in time, and their changes over time. The above set of images shows a building under construction, but if a user shifts perspective in Street View the picture shows the finished renovation.
More Google Street View Images: The number of popular images has grown steadily as Google Street View has spread from cities like San Francisco and New York City to Los Angeles and Houston. A number of sites feature additional Google Street View pictures, including Wired: Threat Level and StreetViewFun. More strange splicings and as well as sexy and illicit images can also be found in our archives.
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34 Comments
August 17th, 2007 at 7:54 am
Google is … (what word to use…) funny (this time as regards the street view van). Thanks for sharing the images which are highly entertaining.
August 17th, 2007 at 8:09 am
Cool finds as usual!
August 17th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Frankly, I’m glad I live in an area too small for Google’s van to care about!
August 18th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Me thinks this Google View thing has gone too far. Apparently some images of central Sydney have been “fuzzed” over a little recently - ahead of the APEC forum!
August 18th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
@ Shine and Agent: Thanks and you’re welcome!
@ Al: Yes, the Google van is a bit creepy - it would be nice if there were more people actively and creatively subverting what was caught on film
@John: Street View definitely is on a fine line between ‘useful tool’ and ‘invasion of privacy.’
August 18th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
I find it interesting that people are concerned for thier privacy in public places. It is up to the individual to determine, before leaving a private place, what aspects of thier personal life should remain private, and to then refrain from cultivating those aspects in public. Most people know this implicitly, but it looks like there’s people out there who need that level of explicit instruction on the subject.
August 18th, 2007 at 10:38 pm
I think the flimsy roadblock pics are telling a different story than that which article tries to speculate. It looks like a car ran over that object in the center of the barricades and ripped out its radiator or oil pan, or both. The barricades are obviously there to prevent it from happening again. The object itself was either too heavy for the road crew to move at the time or it is attached to the road somehow.
Now since the object was not moved and the barricades were I doubt the van would have made it over the object without being damaged itself.
The road crew may have returned to work later on in the day, as evidenced by the movement of the shadow on the oil patch, and are simply out of frame. That would be one explanation as to why the barricades were moved but anyone walking by could have moved them. Possibly a mean bastard hoping to see another car get gutted again.
August 19th, 2007 at 12:40 am
While this is a useful too, I don’t really think it’s pushing on Invasion of Privacy. These pictures are of public places, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Sure, you may be in the picture, but if it was a regular camera, you wouldn’t care. Some family photos and you got caught. Why would you care then? But if it was put online, a picture of you in a public place doing something and it was google maps, then it becomes a problem? I can see why people who were ‘caught’ in the picture might be mad, but they knew the risk when they did whatever it is they did in a public location.
August 19th, 2007 at 8:34 am
Unknown said:
Some family photos and you got caught. Why would you care then? But if it was put online, a picture of you in a public place doing something and it was google maps, then it becomes a problem?
Because a family is taking photos for their own use, and generally not deliberately to take pictures of people in unfortunate situations and then profit by selling the pictures (or in this case massively distributing them for free and then selling ads next to them). this is why, for instance, istockphoto will require a model release for anyone in a picture who could be identified, before they will sell it. Sure, it’s legal to take pictures of people anywhere in public. There are stricter rules about profiting from their distribution. because being seen by a billion people, and someone making money off of that, is different from one family having a picture of you.
August 19th, 2007 at 9:56 am
You know why it’s a fucking problem?
These people are all being photographed without their knowledge.
Welcome to 1984, ladies and gentlemen. Let this shit keep happening, and they’ll have our houses wired pretty soon, too.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:51 am
If I am on pictured on google I want $1,000,000.00. If they don’t pay I will sue for $1,000,000,000.00.
August 19th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Models get paid for having their pictures taken since someone will presumably make money from being able to use their image.
Google is reaping in the big bugs with street view. It should fairly compensate anyone whose image they use.
It’s the money, dude.
August 20th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Thanks for another great post
August 26th, 2007 at 9:39 pm
This is a great post. I needed a laugh. Thanks web urbanist & google
September 13th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I agree. The first picture looks compromising, but the fellow could have been tying up his shoe and looked up to glance at the women in the shot. The second shot, the guy is just looking at an attractive young lady’s bum and now they look like pervs.
January 11th, 2008 at 9:12 am
u guys r smrt
June 24th, 2008 at 11:35 pm
google is evil.
August 2nd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
It has its uses, see my location page
November 12th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
ogf32nrk05c5k6pk
November 29th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
what the hell is wrong with you ppl who cares if there is a picture of you no one gives a shit who you are or what you are doing in a public place not like any one will recongize you
January 27th, 2009 at 3:47 am
Hahaha. Cool!
March 20th, 2009 at 6:17 am
Who gives this arrogant Google Company the right to invade the privacy of others and display these images without their consent. This is an invasion of privacy….WAKE UP PEOPLE !!!!!
May 23rd, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Hi !
How many stupid, crazy and primitive ‘think’ !
It’s a ‘web site’ ?
It’s google ? Or google ‘alterego’ , imitator ?
I think : NO !
Too primitive, too stupid !
Nothing ‘IQ’ !
Oh yes !
It’s ‘Adamo Es.z No El’ !
.
June 29th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
What happend please !
I not understand !
Has me ‘nicht family’ !
Im was an single people in everytime ! Now also !!
But to me are some ‘very best friends’ !
Just I not understand nothing, only cca ‘1 percent’ !
You write me ‘mongolian language’ - please !
I wrote many more : tanx !
Please ! Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and others : NEVER !!
Regard !
.
June 30th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Mit kérdezel te Isten mérhetetlen, kretén barma ?
Hogy ‘eredeti-e’ ez a weblap ??
Hát az ! De nem a google mint cégnek hivatalos weblapja !
‘Csak’ a google által biztosított , kív?lállóknak is elérhet? weblap sablon (mint a yooé, msé ) !!
A baj, hogy ilyen debil, támogatás-, ér adócsaló, korrupciózó aljas, sötét, köztörvényes és hazug gazemberek is elérhetik és garázdálkodhatnak a neten is !!
Mint ti !
‘Ici-pici’ primitív, bunkó, tahó ‘map-”vidám” boyok’ !!
Mint mindig - MEGINT HÁNYNOM KELL T?LETEK !! ( És nem vagyok egyedüli !)
Ordít rólad, h. ki is vagy : egy baromarcú, visszatszító, undorítóan bunkó tahó !!
Írkálj tahó ! Arra még képes vagy, ‘többre nem futja’, akárhogy er?lködnél !!
Pápá !
.
June 30th, 2009 at 2:10 am
‘ Ja ! ‘
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