streetview

After much dithering, Google Maps started their Street View service in the UK today. In other countries, Google's maps have long been enhanced by panoramic photographs of the surroundings. Like so many things, it all started in the US, but a bunch of European countries, Japan and Australia quickly followed.

I first heard about Street View, and maybe that's a sign of how fast I'm falling behind of what's hip and new, when choosing a hotel in Paris three weeks ago. Click on the little leaning man, I was advised, and see for yourself. I was stunned by what I saw. The photos were clear and nearly perfectly continuous, the virtual reality of an entire city on the little screen in front of me. The hotel was in a much nicer neighborhood that I had feared, and it looked really good.

As of today, immersive photography of London is on the web as well. When I checked it out a minute ago, the first thing I looked for was where I live. I typed the postcode into the search field and virtually walked down the street to get to the right door. As I got closer, the façades started to look familiar. Then came my number, and what I saw was not my living room window, but a giant red bus.

I don't live in a bus, and when I saw the iconic double-decker obscuring my apartment, I was disappointed at first, but also laughing with incredulity. There are not too many buses going down my road. There was just one route when Google took the photos last summer, which translates into four or five vehicles an hour. What are the chances to catch one on a drive-by shoot?

On the incontestable upside, I won't have to worry about another step towards the complete erosion of my privacy for now, and burglars will be forced turn a blind eye. Thus it is with a feeling of serenity that browse through galleries like this.