BB: I'm tired already

[waialua359]

Bill says it best.
To all those who think the concert is a bad idea, what greater way to get the message out about FIRST, than to have Wii.I.Am lead the way.

This is about the smartest thing FIRST has ever done at CMP, despite the issues.

[548swimmer]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Bill says it best.
To all those who think the concert is a bad idea, what greater way to get the message out about FIRST, than to have Wii.I.Am lead the way.

This is about the smartest thing FIRST has ever done at CMP, despite the issues.

I agree with the concept, though think the execution left something to wish for. That being said, I'm psyched to go to the concert, and won't mind the pit-fields 'cuz we're on Galileo!

[Cory]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Bill says it best.
To all those who think the concert is a bad idea, what greater way to get the message out about FIRST, than to have Wii.I.Am lead the way.

This is about the smartest thing FIRST has ever done at CMP, despite the issues.

Glenn,

I doubt anyone is truly against the concert. Those of us who are upset seem to be upset solely because two fields have been relegated to the pits (with reduced/inferior seating) in favor of a concert.

[Chris is me]

If this wasn't about FIRST celebrating will.i.am, why would they give him twice the space that an FRC division needs? How else could you possibly take that?

[Chexposito]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

If this wasn't about FIRST celebrating will.i.am, why would they give him twice the space that an FRC division needs? How else could you possibly take that?

my thoughts exactly, next year can we just have the mythbusters do something? i think they'd take up less space and would be much cooler. why couldn't the black eyed peas just perform on Einstein? oh well... good thing i'm on drive team #notinthesmallstands

[Leav]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

If this wasn't about FIRST celebrating will.i.am, why would they give him twice the space that an FRC division needs? How else could you possibly take that?

Originally Posted by Jared341

If one single student is robbed of #2 because of #1, then FIRST has its priorities inverted.

I'm not taking part in the championship this year, but I can definitely understand your feelings about this. I would be less than happy to play half my matches in the pit because of a concert, even if I really liked the music.

The issue however is more complex than musical taste and match exposure. it involves what FIRST wants and needs as a program.

I'm not sure how FIRST will handle this, but I think we can all agree that if they do it right, it might really give FIRST a boost and may end up really helping the program and lots of teams.

I wish there was a way to eat the cake and leave it whole, but even with the current state of affairs, we may yet look back at this as a good choice on behalf of FIRST.

-Leav

[Bill_B]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

If this wasn't about FIRST celebrating will.i.am, why would they give him twice the space that an FRC division needs? How else could you possibly take that?

This post has a link to my facebook post of pictures in the dome. You can see just how much space is involved for the concert.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Bill says it best.
To all those who think the concert is a bad idea, what greater way to get the message out about FIRST, than to have Wii.I.Am lead the way.

This is about the smartest thing FIRST has ever done at CMP, despite the issues.

1. How many students' lives will be changed forever by seeing Will.i.am perform? (In person or on TV)

2. How many students' lives would be (and have been) changed forever by seeing/driving/cheering on the machine that they spent nearly 4 months designing, building, and perfecting perform on an actual NFL field in front of thousands of onlookers?

If one single student is robbed of #2 because of #1, then FIRST has its priorities inverted.

(Yes I know that every team will get the chance to be in the dome at some point, but not every team runs the same drive crew or has an ideal robot performance every match)

[OZ_341]

I know that FIRST is saying that there is limited but available seating, but if even one kid misses this concert because they don't have enough tickets then its a double insult to that child.

Picture being a kid on a large team that misses the chance to experience the Dome fully and then has to "sit out" because there are not enough tickets. This aspect is not thought out with every child in mind.

[jvriezen]

Originally Posted by Jared341

1. How many students' lives will be changed forever by seeing Will.i.am perform? (In person or on TV)

2. How many students' lives would be (and have been) changed forever by seeing/driving/cheering on the machine that they spent nearly 4 months designing, building, and perfecting perform on an actual NFL field in front of thousands of onlookers?

If one single student is robbed of #2 because of #1, then FIRST has its priorities inverted.

(Yes I know that every team will get the chance to be in the dome at some point, but not every team runs the same drive crew or has an ideal robot performance every match)

I would have to respectfully disagree with this.

I believe that the answer to #1 may be much larger than you think, when will.i.am's draw leads people to see what FRC is about and join a FIRST team.

FIRST's mission and vision is about inspiring all (not just FIRST'ers) about science and technology.

Realize also that by doing this, you and your team/robot may well be on a nationally televised event that will have many more viewers by virtue of Will.i.am's involvement. So while you may get less exposure in the dome, you may get more exposure to the public at large.

[Jared Russell]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

I would have to respectfully disagree with this.

I believe that the answer to #1 may be much larger than you think, when will.i.am's draw leads people to see what FRC is about and join a FIRST team.

FIRST's mission and vision is about inspiring all (not just FIRST'ers) about science and technology.

Realize also that by doing this, you and your team/robot may well be on a nationally televised event that will have many more viewers by virtue of Will.i.am's involvement. So while you may get less exposure in the dome, you may get more exposure to the public at large.

I certainly hope you are right. A lot depends on the details of the execution of the television event. Even if done right, I still do have issues with the implementation, and the effect it has on the teams who are competiting.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

I believe that the answer to #1 may be much larger than you think, when will.i.am's draw leads people to see what FRC is about and join a FIRST team.

That would be nice, except that literally can't happen, since the public is not welcome for the performance.

[JamesBrown]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

That would be nice, except that literally can't happen, since the public is not welcome for the performance.

The release from FIRST mentioned the production of a TV special, that would expose more people to the performance and then the competition and organization than opening the performance to the public would.

It is important to remember that celebrities are not just performers any more, they are also activists. Getting Will-I-Am and the Black-eyed Peas to nationals to put on a performance which is not just entertainment but also FIRST marketing it will expose and possibly (hopefully) attract more people to FIRST; at the same time it is exposing celebrities to a cause that could use their backing.

I have seen quite a few posters complain over the last couple of days about how FIRST is a robotics competition and in this case it is taking a back seat to a concert. Those same posters (some of the most respected on CD) would be quick to remind you other days that FIRST is not about the Robotics Competition, it is about the Inspiration. I want you to think about whether it is possible FIRST discussed this, knows what they are doing and are using this concert for the inspiration and recognition of science and technology.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by jvriezen

I believe that the answer to #1 may be much larger than you think, when will.i.am's draw leads people to see what FRC is about and join a FIRST team.

Originally Posted by Chris is me

That would be nice, except that literally can't happen, since the public is not welcome for the performance.

And since the event wasn't officially announced until so late (some teams were already traveling!), there's no way for it to have brought anyone to FRC anyway. If FIRST can promise an encore next year, it might entice some students, I guess.

[Matt Krass]

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

The release from FIRST mentioned the production of a TV special, that would expose more people to the performance and then the competition and organization than opening the performance to the public would.

As long as I can remember people have been getting saucer eyes about FIRST TV specials and the like, and I can say, it usually doesn't happen, and a lot of resources go in to those attempts. I think this is another ill-advised attempt at grabbing fleeting popularity in place of the true mission of FIRST. Who cares if we get a TV special out of this? It's not going to be "Look how this great program changes the world, you should join it" its going to be "Look, a concert, and there happens to be robots or something in the background!".

FIRST used to be about celebrating science and engineering, and not football players and rock stars, and while its not about the robot, its also not about seeing how much weight a rock star can toss around. Instead of trying to show kids that engineering can be a great lifestyle and fun and good for all, they're just trying to show them "go for engineering and maybe you can hang out with a rock star".

FIRST is compromising ideals left and right in the name of greater exposure, but what good is the exposure with the compromised ideals? There is a such a thing as too much growth. FIRST seemed to be having a pretty profound impact in the past, at a much smaller scale, and it seemed a lot more effective the diluted popularity contest we're heading for.

Sorry, but I'm extremely disappointed in the leadership at FIRST this year, I think they lost sight of some very important things.

I don't remember the exact quote, or the exact year, I think it was Woodie in 2006 at Kickoff, and it was something along the lines of:

'Thousands of brain-hours are going to be spent in the next six weeks, and I doubt many, if any of them will be spent wondering what Paris Hilton is doing' --Woodie(ish)

What happened to that program? I liked that one.

Originally Posted by JamesBrown

I have seen quite a few posters complain over the last couple of days about how FIRST is a robotics competition and in this case it is taking a back seat to a concert. Those same posters (some of the most respected on CD) would be quick to remind you other days that FIRST is not about the Robotics Competition, it is about the Inspiration. I want you to think about whether it is possible FIRST discussed this, knows what they are doing and are using this concert for the inspiration and recognition of science and technology.

There is nothing inspiring about conforming to what society has deemed "popular". It's just pathetic. Instead of forging our own path, we're told we should ride the coattails of those deemed "popular" for the sake of ease, and hope we get to accomplish something along the way. There is no recognition for the hard work of scientists and engineers when we trivialize them in this manner. Nothing about this is inspiring or recognizing.

I know I'm going to get it for this, but I feel how I feel,
Matt