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In lugnet.general, Stephen Wroble writes:
> > I could have just emailed a few friends my original, but then thought, why
> > not post to everyone? Especially when I know quite a few others are
> > grappling with the same ideas. I think the discussion here is benefitting
> > everyone who engages it.
>
> I'm glad you started this Tim, I'm really enjoying this discussion.
Glad to bring it up. I can't claim ownership to the topic though. Though
I've spent a lot of time personally brainstorming this, I've also had a lot
of conversations with various other people in the community on the topic - a
lot of which has broadened my own horizons and gotten me to think on a
broader scale.
> > For me at least, I like focusing on the interpersonal relationships formed
> > around LEGO.
>
> It was my assumption that if there's a "Community Development Manager" then
> LEGO Direct, at least, has an interest in the identifying and reaching the LEGO
> Community and that interest would be related to sales. Not that there's
> anything wrong with that. I think it would be great to see more of the LEGO
> sets that I think are best and if LEGO Direct wants to hear my opinions, I'm
> happy to give them.
When someone says to me, "all they're trying to do is sell us bricks," I
usually reply "good, I want to buy bricks!"
But, I don't think that's *all* they're trying to do. Sure, their community
efforts do tie into sales, but they have value on their own apart from
selling products.
> But I agree that there is also a social aspect to the LEGO experience and I see
> now that that was the reason for your original post. And yes, I agree that
> members of a social community must be active. But there will still be levels of
> activity.
Sure.
> I'm thinking of the years I spent playing with LEGO blocks, not knowing that
> there were any other adults out there doing the same thing. All of the
> marketing is aimed at children - the catalogs, the web site, and the LEGO
> Maniacs magazine are all assuming that children are the audience.
Well, lots of people experience that. I see it a lot at LEGO Train shows -
when attendees realize the depth of the LEGO hobby. We almost always uncover
a couple closet AFOLs at each show.
> I would like
> to see more marketing for the AFOL audience. I think that that will help other
> "secret" AFOLs join the community - or at least help them understand that a
> community even exists.
I believe we'll see a move towards that. The company's focus will always be
kids, but they are working at quantifying the adult community and reaching
out to it. There are also community efforts to create activities, events,
and products which appeal to adult LEGO fans.
> ...
> > Not that a formal classification system is in order or anything!! Ick - to
> > me that would be WAY overdoing it. But, it's nice to be able to measure
> > larger trends in the community, rather than categorizing specific individuals.
>
> Right. I don't think any sort of formal definition is required. I find that I'm
> thinking more seriously about this now that you've started the discussion.
> Maybe I'm just "thinking out loud" about it.
Sure.
-Tim
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