Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Robert Alexander
Topics: Google Maps, Reddit, Viral, Google
William Morgan
Topics: Google Maps, Reddit, Viral, Google
Digitally wandering around a far-flung part of the world on Google Street View is something many of us have indulged in at some point.
But, it can be easy to forget that all the images were generated by someone actually driving around in a special car. In a recent Reddit post, one of these drivers has explained what it is like to have this job and the awkward moments it can cause.
With 2,000,000,000 monthly users across the world, Google Maps is something many of us can't do without. And one of its most beloved features is Street View, which has been around since the late 2000s.
The Google service allows people to see the street-level view of almost any road in more than 80 countries and has become an indispensable tool for nosy people everywhere.
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But, with widespread use comes notoriety, causing these Google Street View cars to become celebrities in their own right.
A unique conundrum facing the drivers is that it is easily spotted by star-struck and selfie-mad members of the public, with its large rotating camera turret.
This tendency for people to try to have their picture taken by car's camera can lead to some awkward situations, the driver detailed on Reddit, also explaining how Google hires its drivers and how much they are paid.
Going under the pseudonym GoogleDriver419, the employee shared why people trying to get their picture taken only makes his job more difficult. The driver said: "I have to do my best to avoid getting you in the shot. Please don't stand in the middle of the road waiting for me to get you on camera."
But they said the most awkward thing as a driver is when people interrupt their day to snag a selfie. “People ask me to take their picture WITH the car, standing next to the car with their camera, etc… If I’m tired, I just ignore them,” he shared.
But what do you do if they just won't go away? Convince them they have got what they want. The driver said: “If they keep insisting, I’ll usually pretend I’m going to take their picture and like do a selfie and just [drive] away.”
One user said they had seen a Google car outside a 7-11 but they had sped away while they were scrambling to take a picture of it, which they called a 'd**k move'.
But the driver had a simple message for the wannabe paparazzi: "If we lock eyes, it's a race against time for me to leave as soon as possible."
If you find this life of driving around random roads at the behest of your Google masters appealing, you might be wondering how much this job pays. Well, you'd have to be in it for the love of the road, with the employee revealing that drivers are paid around $30,000 per annum.
The work day is not too bad, depending on the traffic. “The day lasts as long as it has to, meaning if I get all of the data needed for the day, I’m done,” he told the Redditors.
“If there’s traffic or a guy messing around, the day will take much longer.
“Usually, I try to stay away from rush hour traffic and just work nonstop in between everyone else’s workday. Less people on the streets, less cars, much easier.”
But if being photographed everywhere you go on a low wage does not put you off, GoogleDriver419 has some bad news for you. You can't even apply for the job.
"They don't advertise it as a google driving job, just as a temp driving job. It's random," the driver added.