It’s all too inevitable that the coming of Google’s Street View to the UK would stir up ‘fury’ and ‘outrage’, even if most people in the country clearly think it’s an amazing development.

Privacy rights are well worth fighting for, but have the irate commentators really thought about what they are so up-in-arms about on this occasion? If they were paying attention to the advantages of digital media rather than automatically resisting it, they might see that having photos of totally public areas online is far, far down the scale of threats to our privacy. Censoring the taking of photos in public places should be more of a concern.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a group like Privacy International were at the cutting edge of the digital debate, acknowledging the central role of such technology to improving all of our lives and working to make sure its develops with a strong moral code. However today’s news that they are attempting to shut down street view only goes to show they are hopelessly out of touch.

The fuss over the few people/vehicles/dogs that can be identified misses the point too. They can simply be removed if requested. Web media works best when it is collaborative, therefore Google naturally relies on the input of its map users to improve its content all the time.

The irony is that only in such a connected, digital world can such fearful hot air be blown up into the sort of instant fuss that we’ve seen in the last few days. Do you think Google expected the severity of it? Probably. And there’s going to be plenty more hot air to come. It’s all part of the process of such huge cultural change. Ho hum, on we go.

Just wait until those people who are kicking up a stink right now get used to the shear usefulness of Street View on a mobile phone when they are trying to find their way to a job interview, buy a new house or make it to a dinner party on time. The conversation that night will be about how earth we ever lived without such a valuable free service.