Woman Caught Nude by Google Street View
Unlucky Florida Woman's Identity Unknown
Ah, technology. Today, we can reach our friends and family thousands of miles from home via smartphones. With tablet computers we can watch a movie on a paper-thin touch screen device while riding the bus. Of course, there will be those who complain that today's technology is too intrusive, that it reduces the number of quiet, peaceful episodes in everyday life. I have no doubt that one Florida woman would agree with that point after being caught completely nude by a Google Street View camera and displayed -- birthday suit and all -- on the web.
Google's Street View tool was first introduced back in May of 2007. Since then the tool has been expanded to cities around the world. Today, countries with full or partial coverage include Russia, Japan, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and, of course, the United States. Within a few years it's expected that many of the cities of the world will be accessible by Street View.
For travelers, it's a very handy application. Unlike the standard Google Maps search, it gives users a 360-degree view of the road or intersection in question. That's particularly convenient for people navigating unknown areas, since they get a chance to see what their destination actually looks like. It can also reveal which side of the street a destination is on, something not apparent with Google Maps or Mapquest.
Of course, the creeping expansion of Street View coverage has its price. For one, it means people will have to be a little more careful about what they're doing in public or even the back yard.
Recently, The Smoking Gun posted a photograph of a Miami woman completely nude in her yard. Holding a water jug just outside her back door, the woman appears to have been completely oblivious to the presence of Google's Street View car. However, a second shot posted by the site reveals the woman covering up, indicating that she must have eventually been tipped off by the camera, which is mounted a few feet above the vehicle's roof.
By Wednesday morning, Google had apparently learned of the photo -- available for all to see on Street View -- and had blurred the woman's image. It's not known how long the photo was online before Google caught wind of it, though.
Thankfully, the woman's identity is virtually impossible to discern. Luckily for her, the shot was taken far enough away that her face remained blurry even after The Smoking Gun zoomed in.
For some in the media, the embarrassing photo marks a sad new day in this age of technology. "It used to be you could contemplatively hold a water jug naked outside of your Liberty City house without fear that your photo would end up on the internet," the Miami NewTimes reported. "Used to be."
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