Takin’ It To The Streets, Google-style
We all know Google has set the standard for cataloging and searching all things Web. And now, they’ve taken their indexing moxie to our city streets by announcing their Street View coverage of Portland (as well as for Chicago, Philly, Phoenix, Tuscon, and Pittsburgh).
Roving Google photographers shot footage of nearly the entire city, plus added a few suburbs to the list. Go to maps.google.com, type in a sample address, click the Street View box in upper right, and look for this guy 
or just double-click on the glowing blue highlighted street.
A window pops up with a 360-degree interactive view of the street. ‘Drive’ up and down the street using the directional arrows. Grab the image with your mouse, hold the button down and pan left, right, up and down. Pretty cool.
For Portland real estate shoppers, this is a real boon if you’re trying to evaluate the street vibe, housing styles, or general condition of a particular neighborhood. As an agent, I can email links to Street Views of homes clients are interested in.
Here’s a street view outside one of my listings (you can even see my yellow sign).
If I have a criticism, the images are a little dim, probably due to the cloudy days (imagine that in Portland!) these images were shot. Also, remember these shots aren’t live web cams or shot in real time, so the shots won’t change with the seasons or keep up with in-process construction.
On a side note, Google map fans have compiled lists of quirky Street View sightings. Who will be the first to document a Portland flasher or public urination caught on GoogleCam?
Technorati Tags: Portland, Oregon, Google, Street View, maps, photo, real estate
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3 comments October 11th, 2007
