Thoughts on new US FIRST splash page?

[basicxman]

http://usfirst.org has a new splash page featuring will.i.am and an introductory video for the public eye.

Frankly I can't say I'm a fan. While the video might be appealing, a giant phrase across the top saying "You guys are cool" is not very catchy. First of all, we've always been cool - why is it a surprise now? ()

It seems the only way to get to the regular website is to click the FIRST logo which is really unintuitive.

I love that will.i.am has come and promoted FIRST, but they're really over doing it here.

Your two cents?

EDIT: I could actually see this splash page increasing the bounce rate, not decreasing it
EDIT 2: Just saw the video with sound, they really need to take that down. Wow.

[thefro526]

This page isn't for people who are already in the program, it seems to be created for the uniformed masses that FIRST is trying to draw in. I imagine that using Will.i.am and his quote should catch some people's attention, but the page is a bit too busy for me... It would be nice to have a large "Already Involved" button some where on the page so that we could bypass it without much thought.

Personally, I'm a bit tired of seeing FIRST use Will.i.am's appearance as an advertising tool to tell us that what many of us have been doing for years is a cool thing. FIRST was and will always be cool.

Oh, and FIRST could probably use a new introductory video since the previous one was made in 2004. Then again, any shot from that game is usually awesome so maybe it should stay.

[mwtidd]

Originally Posted by thefro526

This page isn't for people who are already in the program, it seems to be created for the uniformed masses that FIRST is trying to draw in. I imagine that using Will.i.am and his quote should catch some people's attention, but the page is a bit too busy for me... It would be nice to have a large "Already Involved" button some where on the page so that we could bypass it without much thought.

Personally, I'm a bit tired of seeing FIRST use Will.i.am's appearance as an advertising tool to tell us that what many of us have been doing for years is a cool thing. FIRST was and will always be cool.

Oh, and FIRST could probably use a new introductory video since the previous one was made in 2004. Then again, any shot from that game is usually awesome so maybe it should stay.

I don't mind them using will.i.am I just wished they would use him right. If they asked just a few people, they would have realized that this dubbing of his words and this song is not cool. The beat is awful and outdated, and the mixing of his words is broken and not smooth. All the cred FIRST gets from will is destroyed if you represent him poorly. Will.i.ams music is cool and composed.

FIRST is trying to, and should be trying to, rebrand themselves to the general public. I think the thought behind it is right on, and this video could have been really cool, but they should have listened to some of will.i.am's music before publishing this. Will's music is dancable, this is not. I want something I can jam to, that'll get me more excited than strange 90's beats.

[MrForbes]

hmmm....my toolbar bookmarks for the 452 page and the 430 page are about all I usually see. Although I need to find the QA page again sometime soon.

Your descrption of the splash page is good enough for me, I don't need to go look at it

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by squirrel

hmmm....my toolbar bookmarks for the 452 page and the 430 page are about all I usually see.

You mean http://www.usfirst.org/frc/competitionmanual and http://www.usfirst.org/frc/regionalevents?

I wonder if there is a list of such "memorable" URLs anywhere. Even though the first alias has been in the manual from the beginning, I only really noticed it when Team Update #7 came out. The second one was a total shot in the dark this morning that surprised me greatly when it worked.

The other one I know of is http://www.usfirst.org/frc/kitofparts.

[MrForbes]

Why am I not surprised that Alan figured that out?

[Vermeulen]

I definitely liked the old page better. The new page is too busy, and it looks cramped. Plus, the whole "you guys are cool" quote in giant letters is really cheesy. It looks from the page that the biggest praise FIRST has ever received in 20 years is a musician calling it cool, which is totally untrue.

[Alan Anderson]

So I decided to check out the new page.

Wham! I'm immediately scolded for trying to access YouTube and Facebook, two sites which are blocked by the firewall at my workplace.

Thanks a lot, FIRST. The usfirst.org domain is probably now on the "watch list" of sites to check to see if they should be blocked as well.

[GGCO]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

So I decided to check out the new page.

Wham! I'm immediately scolded for trying to access YouTube and Facebook, two sites which are blocked by the firewall at my workplace.

Thanks a lot, FIRST. The usfirst.org domain is probably now on the "watch list" of sites to check to see if they should be blocked as well.

This really isn't FIRST's fault. It's your work's for not trusting their employees to manage their time effectively.

Overall, the page looks like it was thrown together by an amateur and doesn't represent FIRST very well. For example, I don't immediately see anything regarding technology or science, so it's kind of confusing. It might generate a lot of clicks for new visitors, but once they land on the main site they'll be as confused as ever.

[basicxman]

Originally Posted by GGCO

Overall, the page looks like it was thrown together by an amateur and doesn't represent FIRST very well. For example, I don't immediately see anything regarding technology or science, so it's kind of confusing. It might generate a lot of clicks for new visitors, but once they land on the main site they'll be as confused as ever.

It breaches a lot of FIRST's own guidelines in their website award doc

More contradicting than the GDC

Come on FIRST, get your head in the game.

[IndySam]

We have been told for years that we should celebrate scientist and engineers instead of athletes and entertainers then we get an entertainer interested and FIRST goes completely nuts over him.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by IndySam

We have been told for years that we should celebrate scientist and engineers instead of athletes and entertainers then we get an entertainer interested and FIRST goes completely nuts over him.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Amen!

FIRST is cool because it has the power to change the world and make it a better place, not because an entertainer says so. That being said I'm glad an entertainer like will.I.am can see that big picture. Perhaps our opinion of what matters to those in the entertainment world has been too narrow.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by IndySam

We have been told for years that we should celebrate scientist and engineers instead of athletes and entertainers then we get an entertainer interested and FIRST goes completely nuts over him.

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

Will.i.am says "You guys are cool!"

We have always known that.

It is nice that the rest of the world is beginning to catch up with us.

It is admirable that a large, visible celebrity like Will.i.am sought out Dean and FIRST and asked "how can I get involved and help?" (and it is important to note that he came to FIRST, FIRST did not seek him out), and he can help put a very visible light on what we are doing. However, in the process FIRST has to be careful that the fundamental message of the organization - celebrating science and technology and the practitioners thereof - is not lost in the glare of the limelight. Unfortunately, this new web page starts off in that direction.

-dave


.

[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by dlavery

-dave


.

I just got more chills knowing that Dave is still reading Chief Delphi than I did seeing Will.i.am at kick-off.

We have all kinds of kids involved in FIRST. Some are science and technology heroes and others provide the music that we like to work to. I'm glad we have super stars of all types to help remind us that what we are doing here is important.

[pfreivald]

As a person with several family members and friends in the intelligence community, and who has a security clearance himself (for work in quantum cryptography funded by the DoD, thank you very much), all I really think when I see will.i.am is *black rage*.

This is a man who equated the CIA with the KKK, the Bloods, and the Crips.

That he is affiliated with FIRST at all is irritating. That his approval of what we do is being trumpeted as if it matters even a little is aggravating.

It's great that will.i.am thinks FIRST is dope. It really is, because perhaps some kids will take a second look at FIRST and decide to become a part of it. One hopes that Paris Hilton would look at FIRST and say "That's Hot," to similar result.

But there is something terribly wrong with this organization, of all organizations, using an entertainer's approval as validation for its coolness.

If FIRST's "Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology" depends on borrowing "cool" from entertainers, then it's never going to be successful at changing the culture.