Comment Re:Erm... (Score 1) 327
To clarify: This is not about people, it's about houses. He does not photograph people, he photographs houses from the street walk.
I'm german and following the debate about Google street view since i was overtaken by a car with a 2m mast and some cameras on its roof. I will be on Street View
These pictures were taken approx. 1 - 1 1/2 years ago. Google's intentions were at least known since then. Only now a public outcry from "Bedenkenträger" forces Google to offer this german sonderweg. Only in Germany Google offers a web form were you as house owner can enter your address and your house will get pixelated, like faces and licences plates already are.
I call hypocrite on all people who opt to have their houses pixelated. They give straw man arguments like "Burglars may spy on houses on google" etc. but i bet they will be the first to take glimpses at their neighbors once this gets live our to take a view at the hotel they wish to book for their next vacation. In German there is a proverb for this behaviour: "Wasch mir den Rücken, aber mach mich nicht nass dabei. (Wash my back, but don't get me wet"
Some where else in this threat the Streisand effect was invoked. This is a perfect example how to invoke it. Only this time it's not Anonymous, but a person with a face who will invoke it.
The only reason I can fathom to have one's house pixelated is a typical fear that this is a privacy invasion. It's not. Nothing that can't be seen from the street walk while passing by will be shown. For a reasonable written article see http://www.zeit.de/digital/datenschutz/2010-08/pro-street-view (in german)