I do not advocate physical defacement of LinkNYC kiosks, be it in the form of putting masking tape over the surveillance cameras, or affixing printed statements that incite violence by encouraging others to physically attack and even destroy the machines. But hey, if people are going to do this sort of thing I don’t mind if they at least do it with a smile. I spotted a smiley face sticker covering a LinkNYC camera lens on 14th Street last week and thought “Awwww, the Smart City smiled at me!”

Unlike the other two crime-deterring surveillance cameras atop the advertising platters this camera was originally intended to allow LinkNYC users to make video calls. That will never happen. But the camera’s presence provides enough fodder for activists to work with in making the public think it not only can be activated but most certainly is alive, watching and recording your use of the kiosk.

The tablet-top camera could, I think, serve a legitimate use in deterring people from passing by and pressing the 911 button on every machine they encounter. The moment someone presses the 911 button the camera should be activated and a photo or video showing the face of whoever pressed the button should be sent to 911. They would get a number of images of people who hit the button entirely by mistake (I have done that myself), or of little kids who didn’t know what they were doing. But serial 911 hit-and-run idiots could be tracked down in the same manner as Juan Rodriguez, the LinkNYC brickbashing bandit whose attacks of the advertising panels were recorded by the kiosks’ surveillance devices.

I have not yet written my final thoughts on the matter of the LinkNYC kiosk brick attacks and the follow-up, but my perspective seems to differ from that of almost anyone else talking about it. So I might just shutup, and stay shutted up.