LEGO & Facebook

bluemoose

LEGO have recently (i.e. yesterday) been handed the keys of the unofficial 'LEGO' group on Facebook by the original founder; they apparently approached him about taking it over & he was very happy to let them ... LEGO seem to be very impressed that it has almost 1 million 'likes'.

It's being managed entirely from within the company (i.e. it hasn't been outsourced), and they've got 4 people who's job it is to monitor & engage with people via this group.

Anyway, can't stand facebook myself, but if you're interested & aren't already a friend ...
http://www.facebook.com/LEGOGROUP

mkoesel

Interesting. Not a big facebook-r myself, but it's nice to see Lego has so many fans there.

rocao

^^ did they approach him with money or other LEGO bribes? :P

Ypres

I think I made myself a fan... well back when I used Facebook. Whatever, it's a good idea. I don't like Facebook but there's a lot of people who are addicted to it.

Huw

That explains it, I received something on Twitter about it but didn't understand it given the fb page had been there a while and I already 'liked' it.

Legoboy

Can't stand FB. Hate it. "Flump6523 is looking forward to receiving his ARFs."

drdavewatford

^ Can't say I'm a fan either. Why anyone would want to be bombarded with messages about what people they barely know ate for dinner or think of the Royal Wedding beats me.

Genuine question now - can someone help me understand the value of the LEGO facebook page ? Is there any point in me visiting on a regular basis, or am I just going to spend the whole time scratching my head wondering why LEGO would spend money to support it. I took a quick look earlier and it was largely filled with 5-10 word postings which really didn't say anything of value at all. So genuine question - what's the point, and what do people get out of it ?

bluemoose

^ That's my problem with Facebook in general, so I can't help you understand why LEGO would want to be active there, 'cause, frankly, I'm bewildered by it myself.
Quite a few pictures of clone brands in the posted pictures, which made me wince a little. I guess it's a 'me too' twitch; the marketing people have said they need to be active on Fb, so active they are ...

Legoboy

^^ Publicity amongst the youngsters.

davee123

You get whatever you get out of Facebook-- it's more of a warm, fuzzy feeling than anything terribly tangible. I expect LEGO will use it much in the same way as a little blog than anything else, posting occasional new sets, new web content, or what-have-you. Probably nothing too wonderful.

For people, it helps them stay connected to friends that you might not otherwise be connected to. I have friends from college that I don't really keep in touch with, but now I know one of them is having twins, for example. Did I need to know that? Nah. But it helps me *feel* more connected to them. Also helps me keep updated on current events, as friends will post about things I'm likely interested in-- articles they find and so forth. Again, I don't need to know that stuff, but to me, it was worth joining.

For LEGO, they probably get more out of it (or could if they wanted to). They can probably get demographics from Facebook about information relating to the people that "liked" them or what-have-you. Could be a very useful marketing and analysis tool.

DaveE

drdavewatford

Thanks, guys. Certainly there are people who I love and respect, and who are far from being total imbeciles, who love FB, and 500m users can't all be wrong. TBH it's probably a blessing that I don't "get it" - I have more than enough to occupy my meagre spare time as it is...........

rocao

In addition to receiving updates about the more casual relations that davee123 mentions, for me, Facebook is a valuable tool to stay connected with those that I very much do care to interact with. And while in an ideal world I could take the time to do this personally with every such person, the reality is that it's simply not possible.

So instead, simply taking the time to log in to Facebook periodically throughout the day allows me a centralized source to witness what everyone is up to, and also share my own goings-on.

BTW, @drdavewatford , I believe I added you as a facebook friend, but now I'm starting to have my doubts that it's you :P

drdavewatford

:-)

I admit it was me - I have an account as I needed to create one to see a bunch of photos ages back, but I seldom go on there for the reasons stated above. You should be honoured, incidentally - I usually reject or ignore "friend" requests !

Legoboy

Marmite.

SarahIsabella

I'm glad they have taken control of the Facebook fan page and look forward to receiving updates, just as I appreciate Brickset posting news headlines there too.
For me FB allows me to see all the updates that I'm interested in all in one spot rather than having to log into each site and navigate their sometimes cumbersome web pages to find out if there is anything new and of interest to me.
I was hesitant to join FB several years ago, but as the mom of 3 teenagers I really felt that I needed to to keep up with what they (and more importantly their friends) were posting. Now I'm glad to be a member and glad that many of my favorite stores, brands, items, etc. have pages to keep me up to date on everything.

Istokg

I'm not a fan of Facebook either... but I got a lot of enjoyment out of them making fun of their own members (in a nice way of course). And at first I thought the items they were holding were made of LEGO (at first I thought Maersk blue!!)... but I don't think it's LEGO now... but do check this out, it is entertaining....

indy1973

Even if you don't talk on Facebook much, it is a nice way for people to showcase their hobbies, and get others on board.

I connected to the LEGO fan page, and put up a few pics of my favorite MOC.

girls think it's cute!