"i.am.FIRST -- Science is Rock and Roll" airs August 14th

[Libby K]

OKAY, BIG POST INCOMING.
I'm going to be taking all the snippets and quotes I have seen that I'd like to respond to, and answering them.

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Jason, it's an actual ad/trailer. The celebrities take turns saying it. It's a part of the current promotion campaign for the Special.
Jane

The song 'my robot is better than your robot' was made by a child that's in some way related to will, so he wanted to use it in the promotional. It was meant to be light-hearted and in no way was meant to take down the meaning of gracious professionalism. It came across like that a bit, but the concept of GP was somewhat explained in the description of FRC. 'Your opponents in one match may be your partners in the next', etc.

Originally Posted by gblake

Does anyone know if this show promotes all STEM programs (the many programs that all together are still falling short of what is needed) or only promotes FIRST?
I hope the core message doesn't get viewed only through a single lens or described from a single perspective. That would be a bit disingenuous and would lead viewers in the direction of wasting some valuable resources..

Considering will.i.am googled Dean, found out about FIRST, called him and said 'how can I help?', I think it turned out well as a 'robots are good for education, and here's an organization that's doing that.'. Yes, it's FIRST centric, but that's because will.i.am looked up FIRST and wanted to help.

Originally Posted by Barry Bonzack

FIRST is Awesome, if you are posting on ChiefDelphi.com, that means you already know this. The goal is to reach out to people who think completely differently, even backwards from us, and show them why FIRST matters.
My brother watched the special with me, and afterward he put it like this. "If two kids from every school who would otherwise have been uninterested in technology watched this special tonight and was inspired to learn more, then the world just changed because of it."

THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS. Well said, Barry.

Originally Posted by galewind

I think that the rationale here is that in order to bring FIRST into the spotlight, and to have people pay attention, FIRST has to hitch on to popular people in a mainstream setting to be initially recognized. In this capacity, it was very successful.
... they talk about coopertition, they demonstrate how FIRST can transform peoples' lives, they demonstrate why it's important, and they showed that science and technology can be fun.
...While it may not have been the special that hardcore FIRSTers would have wanted -- it really wasn't made FOR us

Exactly. This special wasn't supposed to be the Einstein Finals. It was a high-level showcase about an organization that's changing lives for students across the world. Mission accomplished. If some kids went 'ooh, Britney Spears tweeted about this show, she must like it, so I'm gonna watch it', and then got turned on to FIRST?! That's exactly what we WANT.

Originally Posted by EricH

I like how they focused on the message. However: I wasn't a fan of that much music. I have no problem with putting music in; it's a "hook" for the general populace. Just use some slightly shorter songs.

will.i.am paid for the show with his own money. Personally, I think it's fair that his music got a little more airtime than the robots did, for this year, because it's the music that's going to draw them in...and it's what paid for the show.

Originally Posted by EricH

You know, thinking back to all that annoyance over the fields in the pits because of a concert, I think that the disruption was worth it. This was the final product of that. I only wish that there had been some hint of this back when the announcement was made, so there would have been no tempest in a teapot back in April.

I absolutely agree. Sure, you may not have gotten your time on the dome floor, but think about how great the Championships will be in the future as FIRST continues to grow from this. Small price to pay, huh?

Originally Posted by DonRotolo

I'm not sure if everyone knows that will.i.am paid for the airtime from his own pocket. "The preceding was paid programming", just like the Sham-Wow infomercial. Perhaps he made a few dollars back selling those advertisements, probably not. Consider that ALL the pre-show publicity on TV was paid advertising as well. What do you think an hour on ABC costs at 7pm on a Sunday night? I thank will.i.am for producing and delivering this program. FIRST got a huge boost tonight. You can't buy this kind of stuff.

'Zactly.

Originally Posted by Travis Hoffman

No, you have every right to complain about this omission.
I also noted this quick scroll during the credits. It went by so fast, I didn't even realize the link WASN'T to the FIRST website!
If I recall, the recent CNN special was also devoid of any direct "For More Information" graphic displaying the FIRST website during the show.
Regardless of the quality of the program presented, not giving viewers a DIRECT source of further information is completely and utterly asinine.

Wait a second. You're going to complain that a show called "i.am FIRST", about the FIRST Robotics competition, where they say FIRST at least once a minute, that FIRST got FOR FREE... has a small website link to one of the sponsor's websites instead? That's TRULY asinine.

Sorry, most organizations would kill for promotion like this, even if it means directing web traffic through a sponsor. (if you notice, the ABC website directs people to www.usfirst.org for more information.)

Originally Posted by Frenchie461

This our big chance to spread the word and change the culture, let's not waste it. So in the words of one Leroy Jenkins, "Time's up, let's do this."

LEEEEEEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYY ....
JEEEEEEENNNNNNKKKKINNNNNNSSSSSSSSS!

That is all.

LK