Subject:
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Re: Improving the adult image of LEGO
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.general
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Date:
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Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:56:33 GMT
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Viewed:
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10754 times
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In lugnet.ambassadors, Scott Wardlaw wrote:
> The other day I got another "You still play with LEGO?". I replied with:
> "No, I design and build models made from LEGO." That didn't seem to help
> much.
First off, I'll offer you the suggestion that the answer isn't "no", it's "yes!"
Not to get all psychological, but if you answer "no", but still claim some sort
of personal association with Lego, their assumption may likely be that you're
defensive about your hobby. And if you're defensive, that means you might be
ashamed of it. Maybe not, but certainly that was the case for a lot of people I
know at one time or another.
Anyway, start by being positive about the hobby. "Do you still play with LEGO?"
"Yes! ... Well, ok, I guess I don't play so much as build, but yes!"
The next step, however, is that anyone who's not impressed by the hobby right
off the bat either doesn't understand how impressive it CAN be, or is someone
who will only accept it if it's mainstream. So the approach is generally either
to show them how awesome LEGO really is, or to explain how similar it is to
other mainstream hobbies.
Showing the coolness of LEGO is easy if you've got an internet connection handy,
but otherwise can be tricky. You've got to find something done with LEGO that
they'll personally find inspiring or amazing, and show them exactly what's
possible. Easy with the internet, difficult otherwise. Unless you've got them in
your house or a LEGO show with a ton of examples at your fingertips!
Drawing parallels to other hobbies, however, is a bit simpler without visual
aids-- there are a lot of modeling hobbies out there, like model railroading, or
modelers who make model WWII fighter planes, or model cars or some such.
Generally, I find that that's enough to make people say "Oh yeah! I guess it's
kind of similar to XXX, and that's not so unusual."
The other thing you get all the time is that you've "got too much time on your
hands". I seem to remember that was one of Jake McKee's big annoyances about
people who didn't understand the hobby. Plenty of people have hobbies that they
devote a lot of time to. Fixing up a classic car? "Tinkering" in the workshop?
Heck, even spending all that time plopped in front of basketball games. People
HAVE a lot of time that they don't realize they spend on things that are
productive in various ways (or are unproductive, many times). Though it's better
to compare the productive ones, of course :). Lego's just another productive
hobby outlet like all the rest.
DaveE
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Message has 2 Replies:
 | | Re: Improving the adult image of LEGO
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| (...) I usually answer something like, "Oh,yeah!" with a big grin on my face. While they are a little stunned I add something like, "I tried model railroading/shipbuilding but it was too limiting." That really seems to click a few light bulbs (...) (16 years ago, 14-Sep-08, to lugnet.general)
| | | Re: Improving the adult image of LEGO
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| Good thread with a lot of responses I relate to. I'll tag on Dave's since he scratched the most on what I wanted to add... In lugnet.general, David Eaton wrote: (snip) (...) The comparison to model railroading is one I have long used to describe our (...) (16 years ago, 16-Sep-08, to lugnet.general, FTX)
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