Now voyeurs can take it to video

Some people like to lurk and kill time reading online forums, never posting comments. Take it to the next level with a Web site that lets you become a full-time Web camera voyeur, tracking hundreds of Webcams across the globe.

That voyeur site is Opentopia.com, specifically its Free Live Webcams link.

Many Web-connected video cameras are linked directly to a specific IP or Web address. All one needs is that address, and a browser keeps a steady running video of what that camera is showing.

Using a basic Google search effort, Opentopia simply gathered up more than 1,000 live Webcam feeds and aggregated them in one spot.

And they’re everywhere, according to the listing at Opentopia. Switzerland provides about 65 live feeds; some are mislabeled, however. The single Israel feed doesn’t seem to be based in that country.

By clicking a small-frame picture from a camera feed, Opentopia opens a larger window frame. That includes other details, including location and the option for the viewer to rate the relative interest of what’s there (good, bad or just OK).

We grabbed one real-time view recently and found ourselves watching a street scene, at night, in what was said to be the city of Gizycko, Poland. At the edge of the frame someone appeared, walking toward the camera. The man was holding something, a bag or an object wrapped in paper. He walked briskly, his white breath visible in the cold air.

Watching on your computer, you want to yell out something, such as “Hello” or “Hey, isn’t this weird?”

The person walked out of view and the street scene was once again empty.

Needless to say, this is a bit creepy and Orwellian. It’s also highly addictive. One drawback: The site details don’t include much in the way of useful geographical information. It could, at some point, offer a map that details the exact location. (With Google Maps, that wouldn’t be hard to do.)

One further note: Don’t click on the “Personal Webcams” that can be viewed in some of the Opentopia pages. Those are pay-to-watch sites and we can’t vouch for their content.

Design of Desire

American Radio Works has an evolving information site about the ways Americans have given themselves wholeheartedly to the cult of consumerism.

It’s at http://american radioworks.publicradio.org/ features/design/ where the entire site explores “why we buy, how designers and marketers influence what we buy, and how individuals are using market ideas, tricks, and tools to market themselves.”

Found there are audio segments from the original documentary, the program transcript, a survey to determine whether you’re a spendthrift or tightwad, photos showing the range of the American shopping experience, and feature articles about consumer behavior and marketing.

This time of the year, a site like this helps keep the holiday in perspective.