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

[Chris is me]

Do keep in mind that Googling just the word FIRST takes you straight there.

[Duke461]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Do keep in mind that Googling just the word FIRST takes you straight there.

Well, not everyone's as smart as you, chris.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Duke461

P.S. Does anyone have the strange feeling that Will.i.am is reading all of these posts?
P.P.S. I have a hard time believing that Miley Cyrus is a "nerd" (as said in the video) :O
P.P.P.S. Did anyone else feel like Bieber (ugh) was being condescending, maybe even insulting, when he said "What you guys do is just as cool as what we do"?

Does it really matter?

Jane

[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

[Duke461]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Libby K again."
Darn......

[lemiant]

First, if anyone who participated in the special happens to read this, THANKS!!!
Now, one complain I've seen a lot of is that they don't show the matches. This could partly be put on the producers but I think you guys need to remember something:
Matches are BOOOOORING.
The GDC has a hard task creating a game that is an engineering challenge and still interesting to watch (even with the possibility of multiple robots dead on the field). In my opinion they have greatly sacrificed crowd appeal. At matches where my team was playing, or even when I was in the stands I found the matches interesting, but once I moved on to the webcasts they weren't interesting. We have too many ways of scoring which are happening quickly and simultaneously without real time scoring. This means you cannot track the whole match through a camera, at best you can watch maybe 1/3rd of it, and have no idea what is going on everywhere else. It's really not will.i.am's fault that there where no einstein finals shown. It wouldn't have interested anyone outside of FIRST.

[Walter Deitzler]

Now you need to take this link:

http://iam-fan.com/?p=1449

and share it with everyone you know that is not in FIRST. Put it on Facebook, show your friends. We need everyone to see this show.

[Joe G.]

Originally Posted by lemiant

First, if anyone who participated in the special happens to read this, THANKS!!!
Now, one complain I've seen a lot of is that they don't show the matches. This could partly be put on the producers but I think you guys need to remember something:
Matches are BOOOOORING.
The GDC has a hard task creating a game that is an engineering challenge and still interesting to watch (even with the possibility of multiple robots dead on the field). In my opinion they have greatly sacrificed crowd appeal. At matches where my team was playing, or even when I was in the stands I found the matches interesting, but once I moved on to the webcasts they weren't interesting. We have too many ways of scoring which are happening quickly and simultaneously without real time scoring. This means you cannot track the whole match through a camera, at best you can watch maybe 1/3rd of it, and have no idea what is going on everywhere else. It's really not will.i.am's fault that there where no einstein finals shown. It wouldn't have interested anyone outside of FIRST.

I have to disagree. If our sport wasn't exciting to watch, it wouldn't have gotten anywhere over the last 20 years. It would take good camera work to make it suitable for TV, but then, so does any sport. If you want to see what good camera work and presentation can do for FRC, watch the Michigan special from this year.

Yes, some matches are slow, due to unresponsive or ineffective robots. Yes, some years the game is easier to follow than others. But every year I've been in FIRST, matches played by top-level teams have been thrilling to watch, both for me, and non-FIRST friends. I've gotten a lot of people involved by bringing them to competitions. And they come back because its exciting.

And in response to earlier comments about nit-picking, I want to clarify that I absolutely mean this as constructive criticism. I thought the special was GREAT, and am THRILLED that FIRST has gotten this kind of exposure. I'm even more excited that this looks to be an annual thing. But we can't just play the same special each year. We need to top ourselves, and draw even more people in. And I think that further illustrating the excitement of a competition could help

[Travis Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Libby K

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?

Indeed I am. Because I know people living in the rural areas in which I grew up who aren't computer savvy - who might not even use or OWN a computer - who haven't even heard of Google before, but who might be inspired to want to find out more. Why make it such a puzzle for such people? Give them the key - the web address - they can hand that to the local librarian or schoolteacher, and they can readily access the information. Why force the "customers" you're trying to attract to go through even a few seconds more of added inconvenience to find you?

Is FIRST presuming that every family and individual in America knows how to "Google something"?

If you're getting it for free, EXTRACT EVERY BIT OF VALUE YOU CAN FROM THAT OPPORTUNITY. If you're going to put up a still image of the FIRST logo during the program (which was done early on in the show), take the ten additional seconds necessary to post the dang website address underneath it.

If indeed this is going to be repeated for future seasons, make the iteration, add the corrective action to improve the information conveyed to the public during the show, and have a nice day.

[lemiant]

Originally Posted by Joe G.

I have to disagree. If our sport wasn't exciting to watch, it wouldn't have gotten anywhere over the last 20 years. It would take good camera work to make it suitable for TV, but then, so does any sport. If you want to see what good camera work and presentation can do for FRC, watch the Michigan special from this year.

Yes, some matches are slow, due to unresponsive or ineffective robots. Yes, some years the game is easier to follow than others. But every year I've been in FIRST, matches played by top-level teams have been thrilling to watch, both for me, and non-FIRST friends. I've gotten a lot of people involved by bringing them to competitions. And they come back because its exciting.

And in response to earlier comments about nit-picking, I want to clarify that I absolutely mean this as constructive criticism. I thought the special was GREAT, and am THRILLED that FIRST has gotten this kind of exposure. I'm even more excited that this looks to be an annual thing. But we can't just play the same special each year. We need to top ourselves, and draw even more people in. And I think that further illustrating the excitement of a competition could help

It may be interesting (especially live with the music, lights etc.), but it doesn't begin to compare to normal sports. They are spectator friendly, with relatively few ways to score, only one center of attention at a time, and a little counter telling you what the score is. Like I said even I, a FIRSTie who knows the game, don't really enjoy webcasts.

EDIT: I'm sure better camera work would help. But in the end the camera can only improve the game so much.

[XaulZan11]

Originally Posted by Libby K

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.

Earlier I posted that I thought the special would be better if it followed a more sports-like structure, showing matches intertwined with the stories and songs like the Michigan State Championship show. While I still think that would be more effective to get people interested opposed to music and a halftime-like show, after more reflection, it makes sense that they structured the show the way they did. Will.i.am did what he knows and that is music and putting on shows, not doing a sportcenter like highlight show. Now it would be really really cool if Will.i.am did his music special each year on ABC before some country concert while some sports star ran a sports-like highlight show on ESPN before some sports game. We only need to find another star to donate his/her time and money like Will.i.am...

[JohnBoucher]

I was very pleased with the program last night. I was especially pleased with the depth of the introduction they gave Dean. They did not just focus on the Segway. It was a nice job.

I complained earlier and still do that there could of been a more direct how to contact us message. I asked one of my friends who watched last night if she wanted more info did she know how to get it. This is her response

I searched the net and found if I used "FIRST" keyword, it brought me to where I could refine search to First Robotics. From there I linked to SSC First Robotics where under "Community" it showed where I could find local teams. Susan Glasspiegel is listed as contact for CT. Roundabout way but if I, as not an especially internet savvy person,.could find it, let's hope any interested young person will, too.

FYI not everyone uses Google. It comes up first in Google because Google gave that to us.

[DSM33]

on the topic of making FIRST a "spectator friendly" sport for TV and such i think the FIRST in Michigan special needs to be looked at. If following a team is hard to follow just check out their personal robocam on either side of the screen. If the scoring is too difficult to follow then look at the score in the top bar (although it seemed mysteriously empty this year)

also the game needs to be spectator friendly. 2010's Breakaway was perfect for that. Simple scoring. No weird multipliers. Overall very uncomplicated gameplay. not that this game should be repeated every year but i think some elements need to stay so that the gameplay is exciting as well as easy to follow.

another problem with airing a FIRST competition on TV: it's two days long. the only real way to do a competition justice is to do eliminations as it should avoid robots breaking down/deadbots, extended periods of time for field problems, and non-exciting matches with the best teams. Again, FIRST in Michigan kept it to the semifinals and that seemed to work perfectly.

Hopefully, next this special will showcase the excitement of the competition as well as showcasing life-changing stories of FIRST and concert/celebrity stuff. I think this special can only get better from here on out.

[plnyyanks]

Originally Posted by JohnBoucher

FYI not everyone uses Google. It comes up first in Google because Google gave that to us.

I can't attest to the accuracy of this statement, but I did try searching for "first" on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL, and Comcast and all of them had 'usfirst.org' come up as the first hit. Now, assuming you have internet access, it should be pretty easy to find FIRST, regardless of search engine preference (that's a debate for another thread...)

EDIT: actually, maybe not- see below

[Dave Flowerday]

Originally Posted by plnyyanks

I can't attest to the accuracy of this statement, but I did try searching for "first" on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask.com, AOL, and Comcast and all of them had 'usfirst.org' come up as the first hit. Now, assuming you have internet access, it should be pretty easy to find FIRST, regardless of search engine preference (that's a debate for another thread...)

An average non-FIRST searcher may not get those same results. See http://dontbubble.us/ for more info.