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In lugnet.build, Jake McKee wrote:
> In lugnet.build, Matthew Miller wrote: • snip
> > I'm concerned about how this new thing will be *both* genuinely
> > community-run _and_ Official Lego Company Sponsored. I don't know the
> > details -- and may even be completely wrong, but it's my understanding
> > that in the past, there'd been some offers from Lego about making Lugnet
> > more "official", and Todd and Suz preferred to keep the site an
> > *independent* one. I see an inherent contradiction in being simultaneously
> > a totally democratic site and a corporate mouthpiece. One of those roles
> > seems destined to not work out so well.
>
>
> There are a couple of reasons that there isn't more "corporate" presence on
> LUGNET.
>
> First and most important, the owners of the site have by and large declined it.
> Like you mentioned, the reason for this was to stay independent, and as far as
> I'm concerned, that was a fine decision. Especially considering LEGO had no
> track record when we first started coming to LUGNET several years ago. I would
> hope that in the last 4 years, we've proven that we aren't going to spam you,
> market to you (in ways you don't want), use you, or otherwise take advantage of
> you. We have a track record now, and I’d say it’s pretty darn good.
>
> Secondly, LUGNET is a site meant for adults. While the stray kid may wander in
> from time to time, the purpose of the site is really directed to adults. Nothing
> wrong with that at all, but since a vast majority of our audience is kids, it’s
> a bit problematic, support-wise.
I think you may be referring to a particular class of traffic here which (at
least in the past) has caused a maximum of issues (i.e. cf [1]). Those types of
messages *do* need to be moderated if you are operating in a sphere containing a
wide variety of ages in your primary market (KBOBs as opposed to AFOLs).
> So the bigger question in my mind is this issue of LEGOFan being a “corporate
> mouthpiece”. I can understand the concern, but that is not my intention in the
> slightest. Far from it.
>
> The LEGOFan concept is meant to be a hub, • a portal ?
> a place for new and old users alike to
> keep up with all the amazing things happening in the community. It’s meant to
> deliver age/interest appropriate content to you. It’s meant to capture
> interested builders and turn them into hard core fans. And it’s meant to help
> existing AFOLs keep up with the massive amounts of cool things happening in the
> community.
So, please correct any misconceptions here... if I understand this correctly
LEGOFan.net will be a hub, potentially hanging off of (or linked from) LEGO.com,
and will then offer pass-thru content (via links or otherwise) to other fan
sites where appropriate. A bridge between LEGO.com and existing (or soon to
exist) sites ?
Other places in this thread have mentioned BrickLink (or BL). This leads to an
interesting question... Can sales sites co-exist in this hub ? If so, then the
possibility exists that one or more of these sites will be offerring the same
items that S@H is currently offerring. To simple-minded me, that would seem to
be a conflict of sorts. As an example, 7111 Droid Fighter has been offered for
sale on BL almost since the first day that BL opened its doors. OTOH, 7111
dropped into the 'Sold Out' category at S@H only during the last month. This may
be an extreme example, but when you consider the variety of traffic in
.market.bst there may be a potential for conflicting goals.
> In my mind it’s also meant to do something else: Provide a next step after
> LEGO.com. We are currently getting around 4.5 million unique visitors a month to
> LEGO.com (all ages), a number that has continued to climb nearly every month
> since re-launching our Web site in September 2000. What happens to them and
> their interest in the brick once they have “used up” the content on LEGO.com?
An impressive number. Truly a result of the 'trust' that the parents put in LEGO
as a corporation to 'do the right thing' (which is not to be confused with
'picking the right themes').
> Do we let them slip away and move on to other activities? Or do we capture their
> hearts and minds to ensure they transition into being AFOLs? If it’s the second
> option, how do we do that?
Other recent threads have mentioned that one of the largest problems facing
TLC/TLG is that of children 'slipping away' (from LEGO) into the much wider
variety of activities available today. This would then appear to be an effort to
stem some of that tide (which, IMHO, is a wonderful idea as far as it goes).
> And what about those people who read about fan movies in Wired magazine? Or see
> a spot about a train show on their local evening news? How do we ease those
> folks into the community?
>
> The amazing thing about the community to me is how well you are doing on your
> own. You don’t need me or anyone else to support you – you’re making things
> happen on your own. Like Brad has said in the past, there are things that we
> both can do that the other can’t. There may be things in the LEGOFan concept
> that I can help support that you can’t get on your own. (The “LEGO” as part of
> the domain, for instance) This doesn’t mean the site is, because of that
> support, any type of mouth piece. I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m
> here for what you need me for and nothing more. My mantra for the last several
> years has been “Everyone goes home happy”.
>
> This site first and foremost will be and should be “owned” and run by the
> community. Since the LEGO Company is a member of the LEGO community too, there
> is certainly a place for them at the table. What that place is, or for that
> matter, what table we’re talking about is still up in the air.
>
> How this relationship between LEGOFan and the LEGO Company shakes out is still
> up in the air. But I can assure you that I’d sooner withdraw LEGO support all
> together than let the site become any kind of corporate mouthpiece.
Which is wonderful, and I do believe everything your saying. It would be most
helpful to understand (as well as can be explained at this point) what that
support entails. I think many people are wary because of the appearance of
something being given for free and then wondering 'wheres the strings'. There
may be no-string attached, but that remains to be seen as folks in this age
group (AFOLs) tend to be a bit cynical (rightly or wrongly) when being
approached by a company whose sales are in the multi-billions of dollars. Let me
be clear, I'm not accusing TLC/TLG/LD of trying to slip something hidden past us
here, just trying to get a clear understanding of whats in the other guys head,
why they are doing this and what they expect to get from it at the end of the
day. Just trying to make sure that everyone cards are on the table face-up so
that we all see the real story.
> Jake
> ---
> Jake McKee
> Community Liaison
> LEGO Community Development
Ray
[1] http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=43716 (warning: profanity)
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: LEGOFan.net - central community run hub for all areas of the LEGO community.
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| (...) My understanding is that LEGO would like to have a site that they can feel comfortable sending traffic (kids and adults), but which they don't control and aren't responsible for. This site (LEGOFan) could include content (such as offsite (...) (20 years ago, 12-Feb-04, to lugnet.build, lugnet.castle, lugnet.general, lugnet.lego, lugnet.publish, lugnet.space, lugnet.starwars, lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: LEGOFan.net - central community run hub for all areas of the LEGO community.
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| (...) There are a couple of reasons that there isn't more "corporate" presence on LUGNET. First and most important, the owners of the site have by and large declined it. Like you mentioned, the reason for this was to stay independent, and as far as (...) (20 years ago, 12-Feb-04, to lugnet.build, lugnet.castle, lugnet.general, lugnet.lego, lugnet.publish, lugnet.space, lugnet.starwars, lugnet.trains) !!
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