Some of you may have been wondering when LEGO would be accepting applications for the next cycle of the LEGO Ambassador program. Well, things are going to work a little differently for this cycle. :-) Read on…
Hello LEGO Enthusiasts,
You may have noticed already that the selection process for the LEGO Ambassador Program will be slightly different this year. In the past we’ve selected LEGO Ambassadors based on individual applications, which meant that the program was built on a very individual basis. Now we would like to make the process more broad reaching and transparent for all members of the AFOL community. Therefore the selection of LEGO Ambassadors will be based on nominations from your clubs. In this way we give more people an opportunity to have a say in who’s name gets put in the pot for the selection process.
Who’s allowed to nominate?
Any AFOL Community Group (online or on the map) will have the opportunity to submit nominations from their group (up to 3 people if they so choose). Not everyone can be selected for the program as we’ll still only have around 30 people when all is said and done. Each club can only have one person selected from that club.
If you choose to submit a nomination it does not mean that your candidate will be chosen, but it does mean that your group will have just as much an opportunity to get involved in having a direct representative in the LEGO Ambassador Program. We will try to get a diverse group of people who are able to represent the whole AFOL community as good as possible.
Groups can certainly nominate someone already in the Ambassador Program, but from now on the program will have a two term limit in order to have more room for people to be involved. After a term out of the program, a previous Ambassador can be re-nominated.
A group that submits a nomination for the LEGO Ambassador program should be established and known within the LEGO Community.What should a nomination have in it?
- Name and age of the nominee.
- Where is the nominee from?
- Which Group does this nominee represent?
- Does this person consent to being nominated (Please do not submit a nomination on behalf of someone you have not discussed with beforehand).
- Explanation of who the nominees are, what their activities are, and why they would be a good representative of their community (at least 3 testimonials from members of nominating group are required)
- Key interests of the nominee (themes, building styles, and some examples of their building)
When is the Nomination Due?
May 24, 2008 by midnight GMT. If a nomination is received after this time it will be automatically rejected.
Who Should the Nominations be sent too?
What might a LEGO Ambassador be committing too?
- In depth discussion with other like minded LEGO Fans.
- An opportunity to speak with LEGO Group representatives on what is important to the AFOL communitiy.
- Occasional opportunities to give feedback on upcoming ideas for different parts of the LEGO Group (require NDA).
- A chance to submit their own ideas and ideas from the communities they represent on what they would like to see from the LEGO Group.
- Participation in projects which support the community like helping rebuild LEGOfan.org and many other community related projects.
From the 2008/09 cycle, LEGO Ambassadors will not be required to sign an NDA to join the program, but in the interest of the community, LEGO Ambassadors will be invited to give feedback on development projects which will require signing of an NDA. Discussions related to development projects will happen in a separate “top secret forum” for those who decide to sign an NDA. All discussions in the general LEGO Ambassador forum can and should be shared with the community. The decision on whether or not to take part in secret projects is up to the individual Ambassadors.
Another new aspect in the process will be that starting with this next cycle Ambassadors will only be able to serve for two consecutive terms. Current Ambassadors will not have their previous terms counted against them, and if chosen by their communities to apply for the program can serve for two more terms.
This next session of the Ambassador Program will last approximately one year.
Thank you all. Your nominations are very valuable for helping the LEGO Community Team choose the next round of LEGO Ambassadors.
Tormod, Jan, Steve
The LEGO Community Team
Sounds like a job. Do you get paid? ;)
This is interesting. Do you know how Lego defines a “club”?
@Rocko: No. :-)
@Josh: The first paragraph under “Who’s allowed to nominate?” kind of defines that. I’ll e-mail you with my answer to the obvious question on your mind. ;-)
Yeah, but that’s pretty vague. There are a lot of online “communities” out there that only consist of a handful of people. Lego could be opening the floodgates with this. Also I’m curious how the larger communities are going to organize their nominations. This will be interesting to watch.
Indeed.
I’m not convinced this was entirely well thought out as a way of cutting down applications and justifying choices (which I assume were the chief purposes). I doubt there was a single Ambassador who wouldn’t be nominated this way too.
One additional reason that I’m aware of was to be more inclusive of previously under-represented communities, such as Eurobricks.
That’s some good support, Tim. ;-)
I would daresay that The Brothers Brick is a group of LEGO users – run by, established for, and enjoyed by hundreds of fans of LEGO. (That equates to LUG, in case you missed it.) As such, I would hereby like to nominate Andrew “Dunechaser” Becraft to another cycle as a LEGO Ambassador, if he is willing. If you agree, please post a response here.
I think this is deeeeeply unfair – Keith Goldman has it’s own LUG :-)
Dunechaser. :D
I stand willing!
And I would like to nominate Nannan, whose 200 posts since joining TBB in November have contributed enormously to the success we enjoy today.
Go Dunechaser. I myself have tried 3 or 4 times to no avail. I think you have to wear kneepads and whatnot.
I think you’d be a great Ambassador, Keith. No, seriously. You’re a great builder, both with bricks and the community itself (can’t imagine certain corners of the LEGOverse without you).
Everyone, feel free to suggest anybody (including yourself, if you’re interested), and better yet, link to nomination threads anywhere. This isn’t just about Nannan and/or me. :)
Let the chaos ensue!
I will second Andrew’s nomination of Keith Goldman, sans kneepads.
Keith G!
I don’t know what to make of this. I applied for the ambassador program a month ago, for my own Romanian LUG. I hope this helps small communities rise up. The number of AFOLs in Romania is really small… For the last year I have been struggling to contact more people to add to those already existing and barely active 14 members on RoLUG, and I’ve put in a lot of effort to put Romania on the international LEGO scene. One example would be Norbi, (congratulations to him, he already made it to BB a couple of days ago) I contacted him a couple of months ago and that’s how he started being active. I’m curious what my chances are. I also got this in my e-mail, and I’ll post it on my forum right away.
Dunchaser! :)
Ya know, I don’t really think multiple terms is a great idea for that program. Give some other geek a chance to work for Lego for free. It’s their dream come true. :P
But let me say that if someone was going to get a second term, Andrew would be the man. ;)
I was waiting for the announcement of the next cycle to apply. Now I have to nominate myself. That just seems wrong. I also think Ley Ward a.k.a. Professor Whateverly would make an awesome ambassador for the Classic-Space community and the larger community in general.
I wouldn’t mind if someone nominated me to represent brickfilms :)
@LegoShark: You have to be an adult — that’s what the A in AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) stands for. Sorry.
I know it may seem a bit more complex guys, but the idea behind nominations is that it gets all the various communities talking among themselves to come up with people for the program. in this way its not just anyone who feels the notion, its a group discussion.
Steve
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I was going to post something about KeithLub until I saw Witt lurking ;-)
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The nomination process for the 2008-2009 LEGO Ambassadors program has now concluded.