Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: They can see your house from here

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  • Shep Cheyenne,

    We've had a million dollars spent on making our street look prettier since the photo was taken last Christmas (advantage of having a Councillor in the Street ;)

    Since Oct 2007 • 927 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Note to any Googleistas in these parts - do check local Councils for timing and avoid immortalising streetworks, if that's possible. Some neighbourhood changes just aint attractive.

    One strange side-effect of Street View is how rough so many neighbourhoods end up looking - even ones without roadworks.

    I'm guessing it's because normally when we see a photo of a place, it's usually taken on a nice day and in a flattering way. Street View is out there on shitty overcast days, taking the street equivalent of a passport photo. Lawns are unmown, blinds are crooked. Houses have messy hair and aren't smiling. It's the opposite of the immaculate of the real estate photo that we're used to seeing.

    And in a strange way, this roughness captures far more than just "a photo of what a street looks like".

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    Wonder if, on that basis, if real estate agents will add google streetview links to their own photos.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Joe Wylie,

    Wonder if, on that basis, if real estate agents will add google streetview links to their own photos.

    Some pertinent discussion at Techsploder:
    http://www.geekzone.co.nz/juha/6000

    flat earth • Since Jan 2007 • 4593 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    In some shots you can look straight down....it's quite a strange car they were using to take the shots.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Upthread, I wondered if anyone was slightly nervous about this development, is there really no one else who finds it slightly odd that their backyard is now public? I'm not losing sleep, and the novelty value is still high, but this is an evolution beyond public phone listings. Notions of privacy seem to be steadily eroded but only some cause concern - the discussion in the database nation thread is rich with examples of personal information being needlessly collected, how come not here? Maybe I'm being paranoid.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Upthread, I wondered if anyone was slightly nervous about this development, is there really no one else who finds it slightly odd that their backyard is now public?

    My backyard isn't public. What's public is the view from the street, which was always public. Now, okay, the house we just moved from looks like this (taken earlier in the morning than I ever saw that place), so maybe I can afford to be complacent.

    But then yesterday I talked to my mum, whose house in Timaru is also on Street View. She said she hadn't noticed the car. I said, "Oh, but you weren't home. Greg was, though." That did give her the willies just a little bit.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • B Jones,

    Backyards have been available for some time via aerial photo, from your local authority's website and the usual Google Maps features. The resolution's very low, but could probably spot a sunbather or two.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    In some shots you can look straight down....it's quite a strange car they were using to take the shots.

    You can see tha car's shadow in some shots (go to carterton, nz for instance & do a 360.)

    is there really no one else who finds it slightly odd that their backyard is now public?

    Well there was that lady on the news last night, named & filmed out the front of her place, who thought her house appearing on the web was a gross invasion of her privacy.

    Maybe she'd have been happier if she'd been credited in some way?

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    is there really no one else who finds it slightly odd that their backyard is now public?

    And it's most people's front yards, the bit they make nice for street appeal, so that passers by ooh & aah at their good taste.

    SO no. Not really.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    My backyard isn't public. What's public is the view from the street, which was always public.

    And not exactly revealing. Having mostly grown up in Christchurch, I'm always amazed by the sheer volume of foliage that has appeared in the suburbs since I were a lad.

    We looked at Fiona's old house in Bishopdale last night, which I recall as having a bare front yard. You can't even see the house from the street now.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • BenWilson,

    It's hardly a privacy invasion. I do find it funny that you can see the car in my driveway that's currently advertised on TradeMe, so anyone who wants to come and have a look can find out exactly how to do so without actually coming. Since a lot of interested parties are out of town, this might be handy to them. I still have to give them the address, of course.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 10657 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    I'm always amazed by the sheer volume of foliage that has appeared in the suburbs since I were a lad.

    It's the revelation (albeit somewhat glacial) that it's quite tricky to tag a hedge.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Mike Graham,

    who thought her house appearing on the web was a gross invasion of her privacy.

    But didn't mind it being on national news at primetime?!! (I didn't see the item)

    As all the photos are taken from public roads then the front-yards are no more public now than they ever have been. [Disclosure: I live up a r-o-w, so all I can see of mine is the driveway.]

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    But didn't mind it being on national news at primetime?!!

    That's what flashed into my mind on seeing her. I guess she was arguing the principle :)

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • andrew llewellyn,

    It's the revelation (albeit somewhat glacial) that it's quite tricky to tag a hedge.

    Not to give enoyers of a good "wheeze" ideas or anything, but if the hedge is compact enough, may I suggest a knapsack of roundup set to a fine jet spray.

    Since Nov 2006 • 2075 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Or a good compact trimmer for guerrilla topiary?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    Jus me then. You're right, the google earth makes backyards viewable, not street view. Plus I realise some of this information/imagery has been available elsewhere, I guess it's the expansion of the data and access that's slightly unnerving.

    I understand it's public streets/space too, I just can't shake the feeling that I'll soon need to think about what I put on to bring in my washing.

    I wonder how people would feel if rather than static images, it was live feeds as is CCTV in city settings? It'd still be public spaces but then I think the sense of intrusion would be quite different. I should note that I'm probably not too far from the mean here in terms of attitudes to privacy, but I wonder how far from the public mean we all are?

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • James Green,

    If you need a privacy concern, I'd say a much bigger negative is that by producing the mapping, google gain yet another window onto users lives. How many people have their house set as their default location (or at least look at it most often). It gives google a whole geographical in-road to add to all the rest of the information they might have about you.

    Limerick, Ireland • Since Nov 2006 • 703 posts Report Reply

  • Gareth Ward,

    Well there was that lady on the news last night, named & filmed out the front of her place, who thought her house appearing on the web was a gross invasion of her privacy.

    LOL.
    Irony - you're unwittingly doing it right...

    Auckland, NZ • Since Mar 2007 • 1727 posts Report Reply

  • Lyndon Hood,

    On the privacy thing, I'm interested by how little I care about this as opposed to NZ Post offering to take notes on peoples' houses.

    I think it was mostly NZ Post is a state-ish agency that's there to deliver bloody mail, whereas google's job is to take over the world, so they're not overstepping. And in NZ post's case it seemed more like personal information and probably could be associated with a name. The fact that Google's version is public actually seems a bonus to me in this case.

    It is one thing have the information (what your house looks like) available if someone goes and looks and another to have it all in a database. And it probably is part of the collapse of privacy. But I quite like it myself so far.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    Well, I'd be a lot more nervous with real-time updating - that would present more obvious issues of privacy and security, since people can see what's happening at your place now rather than what happened at a particular random point in the past.

    I really can't see myself giving much more thought to what I wear when going to get the mail than I did before Street View. After all your neighbours will probably see more and remember longer than transient internet users, on the spot chance you do get snapped.

    That said, if you're somewhat famous or notorious, having anyone with a crush on or a vendetta against you being able to scope out your road might be a real pain. I foresee Whaleoil, at least, having some fun with EFA authorisers' home addresses come the next election. It saves the trouble of a camera driveby, right?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Sam F,

    It is one thing have the information (what your house looks like) available if someone goes and looks and another to have it all in a database.

    Of course, it's only a matter of time before one becomes the other. Someone is working out a way to mine saleable data from this system right now - I'd put money on it.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Upthread, I wondered if anyone was slightly nervous about this development, is there really no one else who finds it slightly odd that their backyard is now public?

    If anyone is that obsessed, you can see me scratching my arse in front of the television by driving very slowly on a patch of State Highway One with a pair of binoculars. Or I can close the curtains.

    I'm not losing sleep, and the novelty value is still high, but this is an evolution beyond public phone listings.

    Not sure if that's exactly the same thing. My foster brother and his wife had their phone number unlisted when they were police officers, after an incident that was more creepy than dangerous. I also used to flat with a woman whose ex- wouldn't sit outside in his car all day (which someone would notice) but, at his worse, was prone to making dozens of prank calls in the middle of the night. That's harassment. Someone who wants to waste bandwidth looking at an old photo of the front hedge? That's just strange.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • Lyndon Hood,

    Sam F - You're right, but I wasn't clear there - I actually meant the difference between physically looking and using streetview (the database I was referring to). While all the images are legitimate to take under the current state of privacy, they add up to something qualitatively different. But still not alarming.

    And if you were a criminal wanting to case a place, I think you wouldn't use imagery that was 11 months out of date. And where you couldn't see down the back.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1115 posts Report Reply

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