Chapter 5

The insight Garfinkel gives in Chapter 5 is a nice expansion on a commonly held feeling. That although nobody likes surveillance technology, it is a an accepted nuisance. Most people, I think, feel it is necessary not because they would do something wrong under surveillance and get caught but because of the "other guy". I think most people don't mind, at least I don't, being video taped in a store if it's used for consumer purchasing behavior or surveillance and is then archive later. It's when it becomes tracking that people mind it. (Ex. managers go back and say "Oh Ms. Smith always comes in on Tuesdays, and Fridays that get kind of weird in my opinion)

On a side note I like to mess with the cameras, and occasionally way wink or make a face just so some guy who has to watch them gets a quick laugh, and it kind of makes me feel that "Hey you're watching me? I'm watching you watch me. Anyways....

I'm sure a ton of people feel contrary to what I feel about being video taped but just to support this point a little more. A couple of times he uses example especially of high crime areas where, people were not upset about being video taped in public to reduce crime rates but were upset because they were not put in the worst parts of town where the crime rates are high. This is a true point and a sad realization; quick story to support. In the spring semester we did a market study of two shopping centers one in the higher end part of town and one south of the railroad tracks. While the higher end one had more surveillance and better stores, the crime rate was also lower. However the one in the higher crime area of town had way less surveillance and also had may dime bags sitting around on the property.

Now who needs more protection in this scenario the higher end stores loosing a sale to a teenager or twenty year old lifting an outfit. Or the property management company who is letting drug deals go down on their property?

Anyways I've hit my word requirement for this one but wanted to give you two links. First Jenni Cam interview on Letterman: (She is now out of the webcam watching business) Here's her statement

"I really am enjoying my privacy now. I don't have a web page; I don't have a MySpace page. It's a completely different feeling, and I think I'm enjoying it."

Here's the JenniCam interview link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVVPSEVQMzI

And lastly, when Google Street View started getting street level pictures for it's new product it caught a bunch of situation that make you feel "holy cow Big Brother is watching me". Here's the link, check out the breaking and entering picture and below is a picture of the van they use to get these images, just looks like a family on vacation with a luggage rack right?

http://www.onmylist.com/category/miscellaneous/Best_Pictures_from_Google_Streetview_1