Google Maps - "Big Brother?"

Because of the increasing of population, and with it the increasing of lawlessness closer to home, people desire to retain a degree of anonymity-and rightly so. However, the atmosphere that produces an increase in caution can produce a bumper-crop of suspicion or even paranoia. The explosive growth of technology and mass-media, can make us view new developments with an eye of caution-or is it an eye of suspicion?

Google Maps

GoogleMaps is one of the most fascinating developments online in recent years. From its earlier simple mapping and instructions features, Google now allows terrestrial and even satellite views of a large portion of the planet. It is possible to zoom in-quite close in some instances-and see a lot of detail. Why in metropolitan and even some suburban areas, one can "drive" down the road of a neighborhood, checking out the individual buildings, landmarks, and even parked vehicles and plants along the way!

An Example (Why not follow along?)

In the late 1960's and early 1970's, I attended Drexel University.¹ Not long ago, I wished to view the main building and the nearby activities center, or DAC. I pulled up Google Maps and entered the address, 32nd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and hit "enter." A map appeared. Picking the option, Satellite, I then looked to the upper left and saw the plus and minus slider, and maximized the plus. This gave me the aerial view of the intersection, and a basic sky image of the area.

The Little Golden Google Man

Now just above the plus on the slider was a little golden man. I left-clicked the man, holding the button down without release. I dragged the man over to the center of the intersection and released the mouse button. Wow! I saw the ground, including razor-sharp automobiles and people. And the buildings! Phenomenal-Fantastic! Now the image is not one of the present moment. Such a feat is, at least at present, unimaginable. However, to me even all of this is unimaginable. How do they do it? Where do they get the money and the manpower?

Moving On

Now moving the mouse about on the image showed a circle. Depending on where I moved the mouse, the circle developed either a plus sign or turned into a rectangle. With the plus showing, a double click zooms in yet closer. As for the rectangle, with that showing, a double click moved me to the nearby area. Now with only the circle showing, if the left mouse button is held down, it is possible to turn around in a complete circle, even moving up slightly and down slightly. Consider some of the things I saw and you can see at that location.

Take a Look Around

If you rotate the field, you can see a Waste Management truck from Camden, New Jersey. Or if you are a click away from that location, you may see an Action News vehicle. Yes, since traffic moved as the images were being taken, as the Google photographic process was taking place, traffic was not standing still, but moving. So you will see something slightly different as you move along. In fact, if you "get behind" a particular vehicle in traffic, you may continue to follow that vehicle a distance, if you are headed in the proper direction. Now if you are facing the direction in which traffic is headed, you will notice a yellow-stone structure on your left. This is Drexel University's main building. Put your mouse in the archway entrance, and it turns into a rectangle. Try putting it there and double-clicking your mouse. There is the entrance. Putting the mouse over the entrance way gives a rectangle with a plus, indicating you can go there, zooming in. Try it! Repeat for a still closer view. Now just do your own thing and discover all the various delightful features of the new Google Maps!

Safeguards

Did you notice it's rather hard to look inside the building windows? Were you able to read the license plates on the motor vehicles? No, there are built in safeguards. Yet, a warning flag does go up. Will Google be able to maintain control over its technology, assuring future enhancements cannot be used to cause harm? Or will the especially clever criminal be able to use it to advantage? Time will tell. For now, enjoy the marvelous features of Google Maps. Stay tuned for further developments.

¹ When I first attended, it was known as the Drexel Institute of Technology.