Driving in to work on the 417 the other day, I was surprised to come upon a car in front of me with a large tripod affixed to its roof atop of which was a strange camera. Of course! it's the Google car! You've heard about this — Google's cameras are driving around the world recording everything they see so that you, the Google User, can get the “Street View” of wherever you can click-and-point to in Google's map function.
So, as soon as I saw it, I raced ahead of it, got off at the nearest exit — which happened to be Woodroffe — and got out my camera, which every good reporter always travels with just in case, and snapped pictures of the Google car taking pictures of me. Now, I just checked and, so far, Google's Street View is not yet available for that section of the 417. Which led me to wonder: A lot of people have written about their concerns about privacy and Google's Street View. Well, what about those of us who want to be on Street View? Heck, after I snapped my pictures, I started jumpin' around, being the egomaniac that I am, hoping to be immortalized as the idiot standing in the middle of rush hour traffic waving my camera around.
Let me know if you spot me!
In meantime, here's my pics of the Google Car:
I thought Google StreetView was not legal in Canada due to our privacy laws anyway? Are you sure it was the Google car?
Yes it was the Google car — click thru on the some of the links in the article — and no, StreetView is not illegal here …
Holy crap! You mean your picture might be on the internet! Just like it is at the top of this very page! Wow!
What is it with reporters and these bloody Google cars? You spend your entire day around cameras, why is one mounted to the top of the car enough to make you act like a 13-year old who just spotted the Jonas Brothers?