Subject:
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Re: What makes a cool kid cool? (was: Re: A new area of LEGO.com: the Build section)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.lego.direct
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Date:
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Wed, 9 May 2001 20:28:23 GMT
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Viewed:
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981 times
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In lugnet.lego.direct, Arianne Vena writes:
> In lugnet.lego.direct, Todd Lehman writes:
> > > > Does the "Cool Kids" section profile only the amazing kids or does it also
> > profile the average or below-average kid? What makes one kid more amazing or cool than another? I thought LEGO was about using your imagination and creativity and not about being cool or amazing. Does this section of your site tell viewers that the creations kids build are cool and amazing or does it tell them that the kids themselves are cool and amazing for having done such cool stuff?>
>
> The Cool Kids area profiles kids who reflect the LEGO values: creativity,
> inspiration and construction. It is meant as a departure point for our
> audience - a place where they will come and be inspired to be active and
> interested in a wide area of topics - to construct, to play and to create.
>
> That being said, we take special care NOT to showcase only “overachievers,”
> but instead accessible, normal kids who do particular interesting or
> exciting things. For instance, one of our “cool kids” Nicholas, is
> interested in animal rights, and is doing what he can with his time and
> energy to support what he thinks is an important cause.
>
> What Nicholas’ did - developing a plan and putting it into action, is the
> kind of thing we showcase in order to inspire other kids to do similar
> things - not necessarily in order to raise money or volunteer for animal
> rights causes - but find out what they’re interested in, and pursue it.
>
> So Cool Kids isn't just about kids who create with LEGO bricks, although we
> do feature some kids that are whizzes at construction. Building is the
> speciality of the Build section, where the creations themselves are
> spotlighted (in the Builders Gallery, where anyone can submit pictures).
> Cool Kids focuses more on the creators, thus the name.
>
> --Candace Feit & Ari Vena
> LEGO Direct
I'd like to make a comment about the Build.com section which is a little bit
off-topic, but which is, I feel, nonetheless germaine. Part of me has a problem
with the section where people can vote for their favorite fan MOC; I just don't
think its good to put up a voting contenst that pits 6-year-olds against grown
people. Personally, I always vote for the youngest kid, no matter what the
child's model looks like. When a child sees that his/her model is only
preferred by 6% of voters, I'm afraid that it could send a hurtful message to
the child; the child will no doubt be proud and excited to see his/her creation
on the web, but I'm not sure that a young child will be able to understand that
only a handful of votes in his/her favor does not mean "nobody likes what I've
made" when he/she is competing with an adult's creation for praise. Why not
simply have a "Look what these fans have created!" showcase? Is competition
really that important? Why even fostor a spirit of competition? Is that what
the art of Lego is about? (And in particular, is that the spirit of the Lego
company? Isn't the Lego philosopy about imagination and creativity rather than
competition? I may seem to be nitpicking, but I'd say that a nitpick is
appropriate when children's self-esteem can be affected by adult actions.
james
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