The Bee has noticed that Google now offers street views on many Sacramento streets. Checking the comments after the article, however, it seems to me that few people understand what street view is anyway.  One commenter asked, testily, for a link.  Readers here probably know already that you need only enter an address into Google and you’ll get a map as the first hit returned (normally).  We used street view during our house search at times - it’s a nice addtion to the satellite view that gives you a bird’s eye of the neighborhood.

 Another commenter freaked about the privacy aspects, seemingly understanding nothing about Google tech, saying that now anyone with your name or phone number can swoop in on your house. Huh?  For a long time, yes, most listed phone numbers, if googled, give you the address. I suppose you could map that now, but a Thomas Bros. book or basic grid/street knowledge has allowed you to do that since . . . . forever?

Lisa Heyamoto, who wrote the article, seems surprised that no people are visible in most street view shots.  There ARE people in many of the photos taken around midtown. There AREN’T people in many of the photos taken in residential neighborhoods. Let’s guess at the reasons, shall we?  Could it be that the residents are at work . . . in midtown or downtown? Where they are in the photos?  It’s hard to take good quality pictures in the evening, when you might catch people returning to their residential streets.  And, frankly, street view is useful for familiarizing yourself with something you’re going to visit or something you’re trying to find.  It’s not for catching people hanging out. Though sometimes you can do that.

When street view debuted in San Francisco, by the way, it raised many more privacy concerns than seem to be raised by the reporter or by commenters here.  Those cameras can catch all sorts of things: your lovers car parked in front of your house while your spouse is at work; you changing by your front window without checking for car-mounted cameras; you picking your nose.  Google will, however, take down offending photos. If you know they are there and ask them to do so, that is.

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