[Joe Schornak]

Clearly FIRST is planning on Will.I.Am mentioning FIRST during his Superbowl performance. The splash page is designed for an uninformed, non-nerd individual who is checking out FIRST based on what they've heard from their favorite artist during a halftime show. Thus, Will.I.Am's high visibility serves to confirm that this particular sort of individual has indeed found the right website, since they'll be thinking Will.I.Am first, non-profit educational organization second.

This page ultimately helps FIRST, simply by helping to get its name into the mainstream. Even if this means that FIRST will be featured in thousands of tweets, statuses, and blog posts titled "OMG WILL.I.AM!!!!11", I can rest assured that a significant number of people now know more about FIRST than I knew about Will.I.Am before Kickoff.

I do not particularly take issue with the overall message of the page. Most of the people visiting will not need an inspiring mission statement with an educational message as the first thing they see upon reaching the site; "FIRST is Cool!" is enough for now. They'll find the real message of FIRST once they start clicking links.

There is no need for the new splash page to hinder the activities of those even marginally involved in FIRST. We all know how to get to the "real" main page. We can make our team pages link to this page, and use its URL in letters and emails to potential sponsors and interested parties. I personally do not plan on returning to the new splash page; there is nothing there for me, as it was not designed for me.