Subject:
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Re: How big is the hobby and how big can it be?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:44:39 GMT
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Viewed:
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1775 times
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In lugnet.general, Ben Fleskes wrote:
>
> The other day I found myself pondering a few things: How big is the AFOL
> community? And perhaps more interestingly, why is it the size that it is?
>
> I started thinking about this with all the discussion about LEGO conferences and
> shows being put on.
>
> It seems to me, that the LEGO hobby community is pretty small. Especially when
> compared to things like Science Fiction or Comic Books. Simply judging by the
> size of the conventions. Science Fiction conferences and Comic Book conferences
> attract thousands upon thousands of paying attendees.
>
> Is it that there is just that many more adults reading comic books then playing
> with LEGO. And if so, why?
well i think the obvious answer is yes. lego unlike comic books, make you think.
anyone who is talented as a lego builder has the ablity to think 3 dimentionaly
and has a fairly strong grasp of mathmatical principles.
>
> What is it that keeps LEGO, in terms of an adult hobby, from being as popular as
> comic books and any number of other hobbies?
you have to think, which is something americans seem to hate to do. this is why
video games and comic books are so popular. it's instant gradification with
little or no thinking.
>
> It seems to me the LEGO adult hobby is growing, but not particularily fast, or
> perhaps I'm wrong. Sure there was a big growth in the number of clubs in the
> United states, but has that leveled off? Seems to me it has. Or atleast slowed
> down.
i don't really think the community has grown as much as they've just simply come
out of the wood work.
>
> So I'm left wondering, is there something holding the hobby back? Is it that
> the hobby is solely dependent on one and only one company - that being the LEGO
> company? Where as, with comic books for example, there are lots of companies
> pumping out comic books of all flavors and styles. Some small, some large, but
> there is something for everyone.
i'm sure the lack of variety has something to do with it but lego really is a
kids toy that some adults like unlike comic books that are catered to everone
with a quanity of comics directed strictly at adults. this is really the one
thing lego lacks. everytime lego brings out a set that adults are drawn to it
brings more people into the hobby. the super cheif, soapwith camel and star
destroyer have brought people into the hobby that wouldn't have know about an
adult community otherwise. this should be done more often but as i see it there
is no desire from TLC.
>
> Is it that LEGO holds the most appeal to engineers and other similarily educated
> people?
it seems so. contractors should really be added to the list though.
> I'd like to imagine a world in the future, where LEGO, as an adult hobby, is as
> popular as say 'Playing Poker' or 'Monday Night Football'. A future with AFOL
> conventions, not with a 100-300 people, but with 10,000 - 30,000 people [1], all
> building great things with LEGO.
i'd love to see it too but with the lack of creativity and the abundance of
instant gradification products it's unlikely to happen anytime soon.
> Is the hobby heading that way now, or would something different have to happen
> to get there? And if so, what would it be?
>
>
i'm not sure. it would take a change in peoples perseption of what's important.
i'm not sure if that would ever happen.
ondrew
p.s. i didn't use spell check so sorry if it's not perfect.
> I'd like to know what others think on the topic.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Ben Fleskes
>
>
> [1] I've heard that LEGOWorld in Europe draws about 20,000 people but I believe
> most of those are simply people coming to see the LEGO stuff, not people who
> have built it.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | How big is the hobby and how big can it be?
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| The other day I found myself pondering a few things: How big is the AFOL community? And perhaps more interestingly, why is it the size that it is? I started thinking about this with all the discussion about LEGO conferences and shows being put on. (...) (18 years ago, 27-Jan-07, to lugnet.general)
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