If you moved out to the country for a little privacy, you may need to rethink your plans. Google's Street View camera-cars have roved far into the rural reaches of Sonoma County, more than an hour north of San Francisco. It's not clear what commercial purpose the photographs serve. Google's photographs of streetscapes in cities have a plausible commercial motive, showing storefronts to help searchers find local stores, a lucrative advertising market. But showing mile after mile of farmland? WIth this expansion of Street View, Google manages to seem at once creepy and wasteful. (Screenshot via Search Engine Land)

Contact information for this author is not available.