Years ago I did a video about "Link NYC" I was mostly concerned about the possibility of surveillance through the cameras.
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Hey, people in other cities than NYC:
1. Do you have a way to charge your phone on the street?
2. Are there municipal information screens? Do they show ads?
3. Is there public wifi? Is it any good?
4. Can you make a phonecall on the street even if you don't have a cellphone?
@futurebird My city took out all it's last payphone (AFAIK) in 2022.
There's outlets in some public spaces that can be used to charge a phone, but it's not necessarily the intended use (many where there before cellphones existed). But they're not by the street.
No municipal screens. Just old fashioned informative posters on busses and bus stops.
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Hey, people in other cities than NYC:
1. Do you have a way to charge your phone on the street?
2. Are there municipal information screens? Do they show ads?
3. Is there public wifi? Is it any good?
4. Can you make a phonecall on the street even if you don't have a cellphone?
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@otte_homan @emmadavidson @futurebird The government has a fee on all telephony carriers for the maintenance of the public phones. The staff of the carrier which runs those phone, Telstra, see them as very worthwhile and they have a high informal priority within the field organisation.
Removing the cost to make a call removed the cash from the phones, and that cut back vandalism.
@glent @emmadavidson @futurebird sometimes less is more

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@futurebird london has these (https://global.com/outdoor/roadside/street-hub-advertising/, https://business.bt.com/public-sector/street-hubs/street-hubs-for-the-public/) which seem useful but I've never had to use, apparently they're also in other uk cities
48% of adults who see Streethubs are male
What a bizarre statement to make, whatever is their intention behind it? Is it supposed to be a selling point that the majority are therefore non-male?
Also: That's literally just the UK, or really world, population. You've told me that your audience is, within a margin of error, an audience.
Would almost be impressed if it was any other number, especially given they are targeting busy shopping/tourist type areas I'm not totally sure how you'd place them in a way that skewed towards any particular gender, short of inexplicably putting a hundred of them in a random mens room.
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48% of adults who see Streethubs are male
What a bizarre statement to make, whatever is their intention behind it? Is it supposed to be a selling point that the majority are therefore non-male?
Also: That's literally just the UK, or really world, population. You've told me that your audience is, within a margin of error, an audience.
Would almost be impressed if it was any other number, especially given they are targeting busy shopping/tourist type areas I'm not totally sure how you'd place them in a way that skewed towards any particular gender, short of inexplicably putting a hundred of them in a random mens room.
@Smoljaguar @futurebird pretty sure the social grade and age group stats are also just …generic population
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Hey, people in other cities than NYC:
1. Do you have a way to charge your phone on the street?
2. Are there municipal information screens? Do they show ads?
3. Is there public wifi? Is it any good?
4. Can you make a phonecall on the street even if you don't have a cellphone?
@futurebird None of the above, with the caveat I haven't been on the street downtown in years. So maybe?
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@futurebird Wait! I think some of our bus stop shelters have chargers. But I'm not sure how available they are.
@kristinHenry @futurebird
In Germany I've seen cellphone chargers (USB outlets) in waiting areas in train stations, and in buses and trains, but not just somewhere out on the street. -
Years ago I did a video about "Link NYC" I was mostly concerned about the possibility of surveillance through the cameras. Link NYC is a massive system that puts screens on nearly every block in the city.
Mamdani has been cutting short informative videos about city services for linkNYC. He's using it to tell people things like "if you have a 3 or 4 year old it's time to sign them up for pre-k now"
Maybe he can really do this. No other mayor has used them like this.
Local council renovated the local ferry wharf area.
There are a few of these solar powered charging benches at the waterfront now.
Down the big smoke, in Sydney, there are bus shelters, kiosks, toilets, information panels.
The contact owner pays for the regular cleaning and maintenance and they get to show advertising in return.
But the council also get to display information, event information and the police can have emergency information displayed. Eg NYE or VIVID they might use it to direct people away to other areas that are not over crowded.
The city also has a volunteer ambassador program, that sees people at Circular Quay, and roving around the city, to give advice and knowledge on local landmarks, attractions, transport, shops and restaurants etc.
They also have a town crier.




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I didn't know that the mayor's office could put announcement on linkNYC. But it seems there is some of the screen time that's allotted to the city.
The last two mayors just couldn't be bothered to put much effort into it.
There were simple text announcements but nothing like the mayor explaining important deadlines.
Which seems like a public relations no-brainer. But it's also more effective at getting people to pay attention.
@futurebird @jamey As Manhattan BP, Mark Levine used LinkNYC to promote Community Board meetings. and in the last week I've been seeing promos from assemblyman Alex Bores for his district town hall. I look forward to seeing Mamdani's videos, which I've somehow missed so far.
I love some of the local artists they feature, too.
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Hey, people in other cities than NYC:
1. Do you have a way to charge your phone on the street?
2. Are there municipal information screens? Do they show ads?
3. Is there public wifi? Is it any good?
4. Can you make a phonecall on the street even if you don't have a cellphone?
@futurebird
Are Streets in Australian cities included?
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@futurebird
Are Streets in Australian cities included?
any city in the world but NYC.