My 15 Minutes of Fame on Google?
March 3rd, 2008 issue of the The Daily Utah Chronicle)
Andy Warhol once said, "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. This will mostly be accomplished by Google Maps' Street View option."
Many people want to be famous, whether it be the hordes of people auditioning for "American Idol," or simply Cher, whose desperate attempts at clinging to fame are marked by the fact that she's had more farewell tours than most people have teeth. Even I have to admit that while I happen to be more comfortable writing than I am in front of a camera, I probably wouldn't have too much of a problem if "Fame" were to show up at my door with a bouquet of balloons screaming "Congratulations Ryan, I'm here to make you famous!"
Of course by "Fame," I mean the abstract notion of being known or talked about by many people. If "Fame," the 1982 television show, were to show up at my door, I'd probably call the police.
As anyone who's ever become famous will agree, the quid pro quo for fame is privacy. Those who seek out fame understand that an erosion of privacy will occur. The starlet whose every rehab-ilicious mistake is splashed across the tabloids accepts her life, for thus is the price of repute. The housewife whose life may be uneventful but filled with fulfilling relationships and a fulfilling career accepts her life, for thus is the price of privacy. Famous people generally choose to be famous, private people generally choose to be private and life overall is pretty good.
Then Google stepped in and changed the rules.
Not too long ago, a person could become famous by doing absolutely nothing -- then upload that nothing to YouTube. Now all that one needs to do in order to become famous is to continue doing absolutely nothing -- while being outside. Google Maps, one of the leading online map websites, made headlines last May when they released a new and innovative way to view maps with Street View. Google drives up and down the streets of a particular city in an unmarked van and uses a panoramic camera to take 360-degree pictures of the actual street. The Street View option then presents a visitor to Google Maps with a 360-degree view of the street as if they were actually visiting that particular city.
Soon after introducing this Street View, Google began to attract a small but surprising amount of controversy. A number of people became frustrated at being caught on camera by the unmarked Google van, thus inciting the claim that Street View infringed on the privacy of average citizens. When I first learned of this controversy last summer, I assumed that these people were simply being paranoid. Only five cities originally had this Street View option available -- San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami -- and it didn't really concern me.
Then I learned that as of Feb. 12, Salt Lake City had been added to the Street View option on Google Maps.
Then I learned that my apartment is visible on the Street View option on Google Maps.
Then I saw myself on the Street View option on Google Maps.
I never thought my 15 minutes of fame would be this blurry.
I emailed Google's press department concerning the recent addition of Salt Lake City and received a response from Elaine Filadelfo with Google, Inc. According to Ms. Fildelfo, "the imagery [of Salt Lake City] is typically between a couple of months and a year old at the time of the launch." She also wrote that "our users have told us this ability to view a location as if they were actually there helps them understand and find information about the places they live and visit."
While it was definitely unsettling to see my apartment -- and my blurry self -- on Google Maps, I personally don't have that much of an issue with this invasion of privacy. It does raise some interesting questions however, concerning where one draws this line. On one hand, it is an astounding breakthrough that allows anyone to view 360-degree images of nearly 30 cities. On the other hand, it creates a precedent for unsolicited pictures of average citizens to be uploaded online for millions to see. On the third hand, most people lead such innocuous lives that they aren't that concerned whether a Google van catches them taking out the trash or picking their nose. On the fourth hand, it puts the anonymity of those who simply wish to lead private lives at risk. What can we make from this, aside from the fact that I clearly have four hands?
Most people don't live in Salt Lake City because they want to be famous -- they want to lead regular, private lives. It may be easier for those who desire fame to find it because of this increasingly connected world in which we find ourselves, but conversely, it is much more difficult for those who wish to remain private to do so. Cell phone cameras, Facebook, blogs, YouTube and Google Maps' Street View play only a small part in this. Andy Warhol most likely didn't anticipate the digital age when he conceived his 1968 hypothesis regarding fame. Nevertheless, I truly believe that everyone will have their 15 minutes of fame.
Whether they like it or not.
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