The camera adds 10 years

I have recently been made aware of a cool feature in Google Maps, called Street View. The basic idea is simple. When you are searching some maps, you can optionally see what it would be like to view it from the perspective of a pedestrian on the street. This virtual view is great when you are going to be visiting a new city and would like to just explore from the comfort of your recliner, or when you are just feeling nosy.

I think the Street View feature is pretty cool. Unfortunately, Aaron and Christine Boring (yes, that is their real name) from Pittsburgh were enormously distressed to find their personal dwelling in plain sight of any virtual passer-by. In fact, they are suing Google for $25,000 in damages and "mental suffering" that ensued from the release of the photos of their property (photo source: www.techcrunch.com). I am not a real estate professional, but I would venture to say that Google is not the reason their property has diminished in value. A bit of landscaping wouldn't hurt.

The Borings claim that Google showed a "grossly reckless invasion of their privacy" by disregarding a "Private Road" sign. This calls to mind the adage "the camera adds 20 pounds..." but in this case apparently it subtracts $25,000 from your property value. Give me a break.

It is hard to believe any claim of mental anguish this would have caused the Borings. Presumably the Borings are quite private people, judging from the clearly posted signs, for whom all this unwelcome publicity must be causing them great anguish. Why would they invite this sort of ridicule? More importantly, how was it brought to their attention that their property as viewed from Street View looked, well, unsightly? Were people randomly looking on Street View as part of some national scavenger hunt? Perhaps a more likely explanation is that vintage car collectors spend countless hours scouring our virtual front yards in search of that elusive carburetor for a 1962 Chevy Impala.