Google Street View

As of today, the controversial Google Street View launched in Canada. IMO, this is great — you can now check around your neighborhood, view homes, go into parks, and walk through the streets … all with click of a button. And true to its word, Google has blurred faces and plates on some of the the images to protect our privacy.

The Street View project, which has already been launched in nine other countries, was designed to allow people to see images of streets and locations within maps as if they were physically traveling through the areas. The pictures are the result of a blitz last spring when Google Street View cars with roof-top cameras prowled the streets capturing cyclists in mid-sprint, pedestrians with their shopping and homeowners tidying up. To see the images, you need to pull the human figure at the top of the Google Maps zoom bar onto the map and jiggle it up and down the street for the best view.

I see huge benefits from the Street View feature, ranging from the promotion of tourism, to helping us find local businesses or meeting points, as well as  assisting property buyers and prospective tenants.  The more useful tools we have, the better.

Category: Technology