Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Of those, only "will.i.am Dean Kamen" gets a google results anywhere close to FIRST. Hopefully FIRST has more plans then just people trying to figure out what was on will.i.am's armband.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

All I know is that anyone knows that the really cool nerds wear post-it notes attached to their foreheads. Maybe will.i.am could up the coolness factor.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

In will.i.am's case, would the post-it note be off to one side?

I think it would be cool to see him wear a manpurse covered in team buttons. I know a couple girls who could let him borrow one ...

Back to my point at hand, my wife checked out the usfirst.org website the other day, unprompted. She was trying to find out when championship weekend is. She said that she felt her intelligence insulted by the splash page, and it took her four tries before she found her way back to the :real: site.
She's not a rabid FIRST fan - she does see the inspiration that comes from the program, but she also sees a game that takes her husband and son's father away for many evenings throughout the year. A robotics widow - unwilling, but understanding. The splash page did nothing to make FIRST more appealing in her eyes.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

If his manpurse were to look anything like this, he will have added a super cool factor.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I'm lazy and didn't read through the entire 7+ pages of this thread, but here's my take on the new splash page.

I think it could be done a bit better, but it gets the job done. I think it has to do something with the Super Bowl possibly? Maybe FIRST is expecting a mass influx of users to their site, as Akamai is known for internet content hosting.

The video is... meh. Random scenes with will.i.am's quotes being repeated over and over on top of cheesy music...

The "See robots in action" could have been linked to something else other than a PDF, though.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I just sent the following in an email to my FLL Partner Services Manager:

"Please don’t label me one of the complainers, but would you please pass on my concern with the new flash page at usfirst.org? It features a music personality whose music is not allowed at our events.

I have an FLL team going on television to promote FLL Saturday. I have just instructed them to avoid mentioning the site and direct interested people to our Arkansas FLL site. This is a Christian home school team (as are a lot of ours here) and I know the parents would not be thrilled with this personality as a role model.

We are having a small tournament Saturday at a science museum to promote FLL and I am appearing before a group of 400 home schoolers as well as the Education Committee of the Arkansas State Senate in the next few days. The current website portal would not be a positive thing for any of these audiences and I am in the position of having to avoid using the site altogether or offering some sort of explanation.

I was in Manchester and thought Will.I.Am appearing at kick-off was fun for the older kids and exciting to some, I guess. But my audience is corporate CEOs, government officials, school superintendents and parents in a conservative state.

I can still use a link to the information sections of the website in my emails, but all of my cards, documentation, etc. have the usfirst address on them."

If this was really about changing the culture, FIRST would be on Will.I.Am's website.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

So who did not get the memo?????

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpYeekQkAdc

will.i.am in the Black Eyed Peas in "Where is the Love?"

In any case, the lyrics to most of his songs are pretty tame.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Did a quick search and didn't see this, but if you type http://www.usfirst.org/default.aspx, it will take you directly to the old homepage.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

But what if a FIRST student (FLL, FTC, FRC) sees the page, wants to learn more about Will.i.am and comes across some of his or the Black Eyed Peas inaproprait songs (which there are certainy some)? I don't want to think what a middle school FLL student would think of some of those songs, let alone their parents.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I can find the "real" information. But saying, "go to usfirst dot org and click on the FLL button" to a crowd is a bit easier than "go to usfirst dot org slash default dot aspx." :)

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I don't doubt your ability to find the information you need, but I do believe that you are not a very big fan of the new page. This is just a way to avoid ever having to see it.

P.S. This link could also be useful for the next week in emails to those who you want to see FIRST as a professional organization. Just a thought

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Maybe it doesn't matter to the folks who have made this decision and put it in motion.

*shrugs*

I'm thinking about the part of Dr. Flowers speech at Kick Off with the arrows.

Popular Culture had an arrow pointing down and FIRST Culture had an arrow pointing up. I'll be sticking w/Dr. Flowers arrows and not getting lost in the confusion of spinning arrows, even 'temporarily'.

Jane

P.S. Meredith's point about a FIRST link being on will.i.am's website is spot on.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Sorry to sound snippy. I am not squemish about the page; I am not in need of having my sensibilities protected. I am squemish about including it in the presentation I am currently preparing for a group of senators.

It is just flat-out not professional.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I would totally loan it to him. Find someone to get him to email me a mailing address, and it will be packaged for overnight shipping in a heartbeat.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Brilliant! Well said.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I think the splash page is just up for the people who will see Will.i.am wear the FIRST hat and wonder what it is all about. They will see the "splashy video" when they check it out. I read somewhere it is just for the weekend, I think in Bill's Blog. That is just my 2 cents!!

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

I love everything in this post, especially the last part!

I understand the audiences you are talking about and agree that pointing them to the splash page is not a good idea.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Included in a message from FIRST Marketing: "The site will go back to its original homepage sometime next week."

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

My feelings on the splash page have been adequately summed up by virtually everyone else in the thread. It does seem contradictory to FIRST's mission to change the culture away from one that values entertainment over scientific merit.

However, consider the timing of the change. The splash page shows up earlier this week, and from what Meredith said, it sounds like it'll be reverted at some point next week. What major event involving will.i.am is occurring soon that could leverage his involvement with FIRST to reach hundreds of millions of people...

It may be wishful thinking, but if he does plan to namedrop FIRST at some point during the Super Bowl half time show, having something as the splash page temporarily to highlight his involvement may not be a bad thing. Of course, the key word there is temporarily.


Edit: Just read Karthik's post on the previous page. Don't know how I missed that, but he explains it well.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

On the radio this morning, they were mentioning that will.i.am will be tweeting "during the performance"... One wonders if FIRST will show up in his tweets, and that is what has been arranged.

As much as I dislike him for his defamation of the intelligence community, it would be pretty sweet if he actually mentioned FIRST during the performance (as opposed to just tweeting about it.)

My other objections still stand -- this appears to be bass-ackwards as far as changing the culture goes -- but at the same time it is an opportunity for publicity that is probably too good to pass up despite the baggage it entails.

Re: Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?
 

Ladies and Gentlemen... the Splash Page is dowwnnn (!), and Obama is back on the homepage. Not that I don't like him, I am a Will.I.Am fan, but it was dissapointing to see that Will.I.Am seemed to have a higher importance on our homepage that the President of the United States.