Tag Archives: Opinion

Lego is communication: think about your audience

Hey. You’re reading a series of posts were we’re looking at LEGO models as messages, not just pretty sculptures. I’d recommend reading the introduction and the first part before diving into this one. It’s worth it.

Last time we looked at how the label we give a message affects it. The conclusion? That you put pictures in the minds of your audience already when you say “look at my fantastic alien sculpture!”

Today we’ll peek at how different audiences perceive things differently. After all, knowing what you want to say isn’t enough to be able to say it; you also have to have someone to say it to. And hey, if you do – why not analyze the audience and customize the message so that you’ll make a good impression on them?

I believe that all builders at one point or another must ask themselves for whom they build. Who will see this MOC, and how? Why will they see it? Do I care what they think? What do I have to do to make an impact on them? What kind of people are they?

Designers, writers and communicators world wide define their target groups. This is arguably the most important thing to do before you construct a message. They jot down traits that define their target group – they learn the demographics of that group. Age, sex, education, hair colour, skills, language, dominating hand, married, single, job… anything you can think of are potentially important demographic traits.

Whoah. Easy there, big guy. Too. Much. Information.

Yeah, absolutely. Demographic data is important, but it’s incredibly hard to know which differences that matter. But here’s the good news: you probably already know most of the things you should about your target group. You just have to keep in mind that those are the ones you’re wanting to awe. Or annoy. Or whatever your goal is.

Let’s make an experiment. Have a look at this picture of Peter Reid’s gorgeus LL-142 and write down the five first things that pop in your head. If it takes more than 20 seconds, you’re thinking about it too much.

My thoughts were:

  1. Whoah, neat.
  2. Dig the colour blocking.
  3. Nice greebling.
  4. But it seems he ran out of pirate hooks – he’s missing one on the front.
  5. And the x-pod is integrated pretty well.

I’m a 23 year old male Swede, semi-blond, both parents alive, adult fan of LEGO for six years.

I asked my friend to do the same. Here’s what she got:

  1. Ooh, blue.
  2. And chunky.
  3. It has a lot of dots on it.
  4. Looks like a fish face.
  5. A fish face that’s smiling, even.

She’s a 22 year old female Swede, dark hair, lost her mother when she was eight, likes LEGO but last touched a brick when she was twelve.

Which of the demographic traits I listed best explain our different results? Pretty obvious, isn’t it?

One could make a mind map to properly layout this information, but remembering this second point in case takes you pretty far: different audiences expect and appreciate different things depending on their background. Keep this in mind, use your gut feeling for your target group and do some trial and error, and it shouldn’t be too hard to find out how you should express yourself.

Next Monday we’re finally opening the toolbox. It’s time to look at some of the design and build choices that you can use to get your message across to your audience.

Lego is communication: context

As said in the introduction, we are looking at LEGO models as a communicational message. This means putting MOCs (My Own Creation – LEGO custom models, remember?) on the same level as writing an article in a magazine, talking to Santa Claus, or creating a serious work of art. LEGO is just another medium. But what does that definition bring?

Well, all of these activities are done in a context. They play on a field with a set of obstacles they must overcome, and how well they do that determines if the idea behind the message is successfully delivered or not. Determining which these obstacles are will affect your choice of tools (which we will discuss later in the series).

I’ll divide contextual relations into two parts here: the message (the actual MOC) and the receivers of the message (the audience). Today we’ll focus on the first of the two: the creation.

A friend of mine once told me that “In order to say something, you have to have something to say”. It’s one of those phrases that are instantly quotable, and there’s actually much wisdom in this: you cannot express your thoughts if you do not know what you think. It’s highly likely that the Arvo brothers made pretty good research before building that awesome Alien sculpture.

There are conventions here, which we’ll illustrate with a farfetched scenario. Imagine that the Arvos didn’t create this sculpture. Imagine that they named their headphones “H.R. Giger’s Alien” (which they absolutely could, in theory). Would it be a smart move?

Not really, no.

While it would’ve provoked a reaction, the sculpture wouldn’t make a lasting impression on us, the audience. It would’ve clashed with the general consensus too much. If we saw the headphones (and assuming we had seen the movie as well), we simply wouldn’t agree that the Alien looked like that: we wouldn’t take it to heart because the Arvos strayed too far from our perception of the real deal. (And considering how geeky many of us in the community are, that would’ve been instant legocide. Assuming the Arvos care about that sort of stuff.)

It’s one of those tricky things to balance: artistic vision versus general consensus. After all, a MOC can in theory look like whatever and be named whatever, but if one labels a model as an ‘old-school pirate ship’, the viewers will expect it to be made of wood, sail on waters and be commanded by bearded drunk men who say “Yarrr”. If the old-school pirate ship is tall and square with cubes of warm ice in it, consider labelling it ‘building’. Same goes for exploring steampunk or how to best build a certain loco.

Point in case: know that you’re starting to communicate already when you decide what to build. People like labels, it lets them understand what is going on.

Next week we’ll have a look at the people you want to talk to – the audience.

Lego is communication

I’ll admit it: like Tyler, I’m a legoholic. Few things make my stomach tickle more than seeing a good custom LEGO model, or MOC (standing for My Own Creation), as those of us in the hobby call it. But really, what is it that makes a good MOC good? Is there a way to find that out?

Yes there is. And I’m going to teach you how to be a LEGO building God. Or at least how to suck just a wee bit less.

I know what you’re thinking: “Linus, come on! Good is in the eye of the beholder!” and “Good is dependant on which building style is ‘in’ at the moment!”. And you know, I agree. But if we stop looking at MOCs as pretty sculptures and look at them from a communicational point of view – analyze them as a message from an author to a viewer – we can actually see pretty interesting things. We won’t understand per se why Nannan’s wicked Black Fantasies are so fun to look at, or why Michael Jasper’s furniture is so fascinating, but we can structure our thoughts regarding them a bit better – and in the end, begin to understand why they make an impact on us.

And so, in a series of six posts starting with the next one, I’ll be outlining one way to look at how a LEGO message is constructed. I’ll start with the broader perspective, discussing contextual relations (don’t worry, it’s not as boring as it sounds) and then work my way down to the design & build, presentation, and other factors. I’ll publish the new instalment every Monday.

My goal with this series is to get you thinking. During these six weeks I hope you’ll chime in with objections, thoughts and examples in the comments section, and if that’s the case the sixth and last post will contain a summary of our discussion, links to references and other goodies on the subject. Could be fun, yeah?

Since we’re heading deeper into the serious LEGO world in these posts, it’s inevitable that I’ll use some of the lingo the LEGO community has created. I will explain the stranger words as they come up, but don’t be afraid to ask about a term you don’t understand or let me know when I do it too much. All of them are in this LEGO acronym guide too if worst comes to worst, but as said, let me know.

All of these posts are mainly based on my own experience and knowledge, of which you can read more on my about page. This type of series is also a first for the Brothers Brick, so don’t be afraid to voice your opinion about that too. And while we’re at it, feel free to give me a holla’ regarding grammer and speling too.

Phew, I think that’s all of it.

Now, let’s get to it, shall we? Tomorrow we’ll start with the the most important part of it all: the context. Dun-dun-duuuun.

This post is part in a series of six discussing LEGO models from a communicational point of view, updated every Monday. Here are the other instalments:

0. Introduction
1. Context: the message
2. Context: the audience
3. Tools: Design & build, with case study #1
3b. Case study #2
3c. Case study #3
4. Tools: Presentation
5. Other
6. Summing up

You are a community

Yes, you, readers of The Brothers Brick!

Over the years, our readership has grown from a handful of dedicated readers to tens of thousands of you out there on the Web. Many of you are active in other LEGO communities, both online and “in real life,” but a vast majority of you probably don’t know what a “MOC” (My Own Creation) or an “AFOL” (Adult Fan of LEGO) is.

And we’re cool with that. We love the fact that you find what we do interesting enough to subscribe to our feed, leave lots of comments, link to us, send us suggestions, and even support what we do by buying LEGO.

As a LEGO Ambassador over the last year, I hope you feel that I’ve represented you well, passing along news from LEGO and sending LEGO your feedback and suggestions.

As we move into the 2008-2009 LEGO Ambassadors cycle, I’m happy to accept Nelson’s nomination in the original announcement about this new process.

However, I’d like to open things up to all of you to make suggestions about who you think should represent The Brothers Brick (as an online “AFOL Community Group”) in the next cycle of the LEGO Ambassadors program.

So far, here are the people who’ve been nominated here on The Brothers Brick:

Here’s how this is going to work:

  1. Between now and May 10 at 9:00 PM Pacific Time, please add your suggestions for people who you would like to see nominated as a comment on this post.
  2. On May 10, I’ll tabulate all of the nominations, and all of you can vote on who you want to see represent The Brothers Brick.
  3. If necessary, we’ll have a “runoff election” to narrow the nominations to three people.
  4. On May 24, once the people have spoken (that’s you!), we’ll submit our three nominations to LEGO.
  5. So, without further ado, let the nomination discussion begin!

Good LEGO blog, bad LEGO blog [Editorial]

It’s been nearly two years since I last broached the subject of “LEGO blogging etiquette” here on The Brothers Brick. And though I can’t claim that we follow all these guidelines ourselves all the time, I think it’s worth revisiting this discussion every so often.

After my conversation with James Wadsworth in LAMLradio #18, I’ve been thinking a lot about what makes some LEGO blogs “good” and what other blogs might consider improving. This is all just my own opinion, but I’ve been at this for almost three years, so I hope you’ll indulge me for a bit.

Give the builder credit
Giving proper attribution is one of the most important aspects of referencing a created work, whether it’s a painting, poem, or photo of a LEGO creation. When you blog someone’s LEGO creation, make an effort to find out what the builder’s primary “home” is online, and then link to it. Do a quick search and see if you can use the person’s real name instead of “L3gof@n20O8”. Real names make the Internet more human.

There’s very little that bothers me more than seeing a LEGO picture on some random blog or Web site with a description like “Check out this awesome pic I found!” No name. No link to the builder’s Web site, Brickshelf gallery, blog, MOCPage, or Flickr photostream. You know what? Ethically, that’s stealing, and legally, you’re probably breaking copyright law or the photo’s license.

Give other blogs credit
The “via” link is another critical component of general blogging etiquette. If you see a LEGO creation on someone else’s blog for the first time and you want to highlight it on your own, by all means, do so. But be sure to say where you found what you’re blogging.

Add value
Opinions are good. Well-informed, well-written opinions about LEGO creations that point out something the average reader might miss are even better.

Avoid irrelevant or internal discourse. Not to pick on some of you who’re probably reading this, but “I’m hungry” or “Hey guys, why aren’t you posting anything here?” aren’t really interesting to your readers. ;-)

Link generously
The World Wide Web is built on links (a series of tubes, if you want to get technical). There’s more to linking than what I’ve already suggested — not just linking to LEGO builders’ sites and including “via” links.

Try going the extra mile and linking to other relevant sites. A link to a builder’s blog is always a nice gesture, but your readers probably really want to see the person’s LEGO creations. Be sure to link to their Brickshelf gallery, Flickr photostream, or MOCPage.

Add permanent links to other LEGO blogs. Maintaining a blogroll in your side bar tells your readers who you read, and tells your fellow bloggers that you read and support their blogs.

Yes, every link is an opportunity for the reader to leave your blog, but if what you’ve blogged or what you’re saying is interesting, they’ll be back. Also, bloggers who are using tools such as Google Analytics or Technorati (see below) will see that you’ve linked to them, and will likely reciprocate.

Interact with the rest of the LEGO fan community
There’s a whole world of LEGO fandom beyond the blogosphere. There’s nothing wrong with having a blog and posting the cool stuff you see on sites like Brickshelf and Flickr, but consider joining the broader conversation taking place among LEGO fans through online forums (under “LEGO Communities” in our side bar), offline LEGO users groups (LUGs), conventions, and so on.

We have the technology
Take advantage of all the tools and technologies that are available to you in this marvelous age (though I’m still disappointed we don’t have flying cars). Here are just a handful of the geeky things I find indispensable:

Earn the right to advertise
The costs of hosting your own Web site (such as Brothers-Brick.com) can add up over time. If you’re hosting your own LEGO blog, by all means, put up affiliate banners, ads, or whatever you need to do to pay the bills.

But if you’ve just started a new blog on a free service like Blogger and you plaster your blog with all manner of advertising and sprinkle your posts with Google ads, you’re clearly not in it for the love of LEGO. You might even be a splog. That’s not going to earn the respect or readership of LEGO fans (and I’ll probably remove you fairly quickly from our blogroll).

It’s not about you (unless it is)
The purpose of your LEGO blog may be just to post your own creations somewhere. Doing that is great! If you want to specialize in something, though (I don’t think there’s a Clikits blog yet), the focus of your posts should be the creations and their builders, not you.

In a sense, you’re driving traffic away from your LEGO blog, but like I said earlier, if what you’re saying is interesting, your readers will be back.

Do one thing and do it well
This is something we’ve failed at miserably, but in doing so, we’ve succeeded at something else. I started this blog to highlight my own minifigs, turned “Dunechaser’s Blocklog” into a general minifig blog, started blogging non-minifig creations, and then brought on additional contributors to cover various themes. We’re now an “everything LEGO” blog, but we’ve been doing that for long enough now that “everything LEGO” has become our mission.

For those of you considering starting a LEGO blog or who’ve just gotten started, decide now what you want your blog to be, and then stick with that plan. Setting up a blog on any of the free services is super-easy, and blogging is such a freeform medium that it’s easy to lose focus. But sticking with one theme (say, Space or Bionicle) or one type of LEGO creation (such as vignettes or microscale) will likely earn you more respect, credibility, and readership than trying to be an “everything” blog from the start.

Keep at it
There are only a handful of current LEGO bloggers who have been doing what we do for longer than a year or so. Sadly, most LEGO blogs only last a few months. Azumu of BINGO and Bruce inspired me to start blogging back in 2005, and they’re still updating their blogs regularly.

It’s understandable to get bored or burn out, and you’re certainly under no obligation to stick with something you no longer find enjoyable, but if you’re reading this, you probably want your blog to be successful. Being successful at LEGO blogging over the long term requires, well, sticking with LEGO blogging over the long term.

Innovate
Ultimately, the success of your blog will likely hinge on whether or not you’re doing something original. Perhaps doing the opposite of everything I’ve suggested here will result in unforeseen success!

So, in the interest of innovation, what ideas do you have to make LEGO blogging better? Have I missed anything? Am I flat out wrong?

Let’s discuss.

LEGO Tagging Standard Proposal

This post’s for bloggers. You can skip it if you’re looking for pictures of minifigs or mecha or space ships or castles.

Sean’s LEGO Bloggers’ Code proposal last month got me thinking about other ways we LEGO bloggers can cooperate more, helping to create more of a network of blogs that compliment each other.

In addition to linking back and forth, one way I think we can create this network — something that adds up to more than the sum of its parts — is through tagging.

Tagging is a lot like the art of indexing a book. An index isn’t just all the words in the book listed alphabetically — that’s a concordance, and search engines already do this (though they call their process “indexing,” just to confuse you). A human indexer evaluates information and assigns keywords that a reader might use when trying to find that information. These keywords might not appear in the content itself. Similarly, the author of a blog post assigns tags based on how they want their information to be found. For example, I don’t always use the word “LEGO” in my posts, but I want people looking for information about LEGO to find my posts.

Since several of us are now using Technorati tags to categorize our posts, I thought it might be time to see if ways we could standardize our the way we use tags. Standardization will help our readers find related information across all of our blogs. For those of you who aren’t using tags yet, I’ve found that people really are using Technorati to find information on blogs; I get a fair number of referrals from Technorati searches, and the added keywords get picked up by Google, MSN, and Yahoo!. (And let’s just admit it’s all about readers, because otherwise, what’s the point?)

As I copied and pasted tag sets from one post to another, I’ve developed a standard of my own that I may as well share with you. Each string of tags at the end of my posts includes the following information:

  • LEGO
  • The theme, such as Castle or Space
  • The subtheme, if any, such as Steampunk or Mecha
  • Any tags specific to the creation I’m blogging
  • Where I found the creation, such as Brickshelf or Flickr

    What’s missing from this list is some identifier for the builder, so I’ll be adding that going forward. See another post for an example (because this post isn’t about any of those things).

    Technorati requires registration — you “claim” a blog — so that you can “ping” Technorati when you’ve posted something. (Some blogging tools include built-in or plug-in Technorati ping functionality. Blogger doesn’t, so you have to do it manually when you’ve finished posting.) But tagging a post is as easy as pasting in some code. For Blogger users, you can add these to your post template (Settings > Formatting > Post Template) and they’ll appear automatically in each new post — you just have to edit them.

    For your convenience, I’ve created a tag template you can use. Copy the following block of code, paste at the bottom of your post (or in your post template), and replace both instances of each all-caps keyword you want to use. For example, replace both instances of the THEME placeholder with Castle. Delete any of the <a href> blocks you don’t want to use. For example, delete the Flickr block or the Brickshelf block. Here’s the code:

    You’ll also notice that this is the first post to include three new links above the Technorati tags. These links make it easy for readers to bookmark the current post using del.icio.us, highlight it on Digg, and post it to Furl. You can find the easy-to-use JavaScript code in an article on ekstreme.com.

    Welcome to Web 2.0. Good luck!

  • More Thoughts on LEGO Photography

    I did a little experiment a couple weeks back because I wasn’t satisfied with the quality of my LEGO photography. In the process, I discovered that I have very specific ideas about what makes for good LEGO photography and Brickshelf posting practices. This is pretty long, so skip it if you’re not interested.

    When you take pictures of your LEGO creations (or MOCs):

    • Use the right amount of light. It’s hard to see poorly lit MOCs, and over-lit MOCs are washed out and lack contrast.
    • Focus. If you accidentally take an unfocused picture, take it again before you upload it.
    • Unless you’re trying to be especially artistic, fill as much of the frame as you can with your MOC.

    When you post your LEGO creations to Brickshelf:

    • Size down your dang pictures! There’s nothing more annoying than clicking a thumbnail and then getting about one eighth of the picture on your screen. Use the software that came with your digital camera, or iPhoto, or Adobe Photoshop, or The GIMP — something! — to output your pictures no bigger than 1024×768 pixels. (I like 425×318 for my minifig pictures because they fit nicely in this Blogger template.) If you want to provide high-resolution pictures of your MOCs, put them in a sub-folder.
    • Save your pictures in a compressed image format. Bitmaps (.bmp files) are uncompressed, and are a waste of bandwidth. Save your pictures in GIF, JPEG, PNG, or another “Web-friendly” format.
    • Give your files meaningful names. I know your camera might use something cryptic like DSC10416.JPG for its file names, but change them to something that tells your viewers what the picture shows, like spaceship_front.jpg or joevig_party.gif.
    • Control the order that pictures appear in your gallery by putting letters or numbers at the beginning of your file names. Numbers sort before letters, so if you want to use a specific picture for the folder thumbnail, you could use something like 00_spaceship_front.jpg. (I learned a cool trick from Antony Lau recently. Instead of naming new files you add to a folder by counting up, start with a number like 999 and count down! The new things you add will always appear as your folder thumbnail.)
    • Add a description and folder keywords when you create your folders. A description and keywords make it easy for other Brickshelf users to find your MOCs.

    I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, so feel free to add your own thoughts by posting comments. :-)

    LEGO Photography

    One thing I really like about Sugegasa’s blog is that he presents practical tips on LEGO-related issues ranging from organization to photography. About a month ago, he posted a couple pictures of how he takes pictures of his LEGO creations. What I noticed immediately is that he uses a fluorescent desk lamp to illuminate the creations.

    Inspired by Sugegasa, I decided to try my own LEGO photography experiments.

    Until recently, I’ve always tried to take my minifig pictures in sunlight. Here’s my Cloud Strife minifigure (from the PS2 game Kingdom Hearts), taken in full sunlight:

    Here’s the setup I used last summer, on the back deck at our old house (nice flowers, huh?):

    Those are the top of banker’s boxes left over from moving. Sunlight obviously provides fantastic lighting, but living here in Seattle, it’s cloudy more than 200 days a year, and right now we’re nearing a record for consecutive days of rain (the record is 33, and as of January 14, we stand at 27 days). Partial clouds provide great diffused light, but I just can’t rely on weather to take my pictures.

    After Christmas, my wife suggested I go ahead and spend the $100 for one of those “Studio in a Box” light box kits. The idea is great. It comes with two small but powerful lights, a camera stand, a reversible backdrop (blue and dark grey), and the light box itself. According to the instructions, you’re supposed to place the lights on the outside of the box to provide diffused light.

    Here’s the result following the instructions to the letter:

    My camera flash obviously went off, and it totally washed out the picture.

    I manually turned off the flash and tried again:

    The diffused light is far too dark and way too yellow.

    I tried lighting Cloud directly, with the flash turned on:

    Again, the flash washes out the picture.

    Here’s direct lighting, without the flash:

    That’s better, but I don’t like the backdrop color choices, and I’m not using the light box, so what’s the point of the kit? I returned it for a refund and got depressed.

    Then I remembered Sugegasa’s post that showed the fluorescent desk lamp he used, so my wife and I looked around for a fluorescent desk lamp. Lighting stores sold full-spectrum lamps for $100, but that didn’t seem worth it. Target had a couple choices for under $40, but they weren’t in stock.

    My wife saw a “natural light” desk lamp on sale for $25 at Bartell Drugs (a local pharmacy chain), and there was much rejoicing! She picked it up for me on Friday, and said it was actually on sale for $20 instead of $25. Cool! (For those of you here in Washington, the sale runs through tomorrow, if you’re interested.)

    Without any additional light sources, here’s the result:

    Hurray! Check out the Brickshelf gallery for higher-resolution versions of each of the pictures I’ve featured above.

    Overall, I still prefer sunlight, but the “natural” or full-spectrum desk lamp provides a great result for a very good price. If you want to improve your LEGO photography, spending $20-$30 on decent lighting seems well worth it. (Of course, you might need something significantly bigger to take pictures of your four-foot-wide castle!)

    The Hundred-Question LEGO Poll

    Yes, that’s right, one hundred — count ’em, they’re numbered! — questions. This poll or questionnaire has been making the rounds of Japanese LEGO blogs and home pages recently, and there’s really only one question that’s uniquely applicable to Japanese LEGO fans (#35), so I thought I’d take a crack at an English version.

    1) Why did you get hooked on LEGO?

    2) What was the first set you bought?

    3) When did you first start playing with LEGO?

    4) What’s your favorite minifig face?

    5) What’s your favorite set?

    6) What’s your ultimate goal?

    7) What theme do you primarily build in?

    8) What about new lines that might be released in the future?

    9) What are the moments that make you happy you’re a LEGO fan?

    10) What do you think of Bionicle?

    11) Was LEGO in the past better than LEGO today?

    12) What challenges or problems have you encountered while playing with LEGO?

    13) Do you have anything you want to tell The LEGO Company right now?

    14) How much do you spend on LEGO in a year?

    15) What are your interests other than LEGO?

    16) What do you think of flesh-colored LEGO heads?

    17) Have you ever used LEGO in an unusual way?

    18) What set would you like to see re-released?

    19) What if you could work for The LEGO Company?

    20) Have you ever attended a LEGO event?

    21) What parts are you using a lot lately?

    22) What parts do you find difficult to use?

    23) How would you increase the number of LEGO fans?

    24) What kind of new bricks would you like to see released?

    25) Do you have any LEGO games?

    26) Have you ever been hospitalized due to LEGO?

    27) Have you ever felt any animosity toward The LEGO Company?

    28) Who do you respect in the LEGO community?

    29) What genre of building are you not good at?

    30) Which of your creations did you spend the most time building?

    31) How much have you spent on LEGO so far?

    32) Have ever made a custom minifig?

    33) What do you think of customization?

    34) How big is the largest creation you’ve ever built?

    35) What thoughts do you have about the LEGO King Champion TV show? [It was a LEGO-themed episode of a Japanese game show. Read about it here.]

    36) Have you ever gone out looking for old LEGO sets?

    37) What do you think of LEGO clubs or user groups (LUGs)?

    38) What part do you have the most of?

    39) Do you have any Mindstorms?

    40) What parts or features of LEGO do you find useless?

    41) What do you think of the colors of LEGO?

    42) What do you think of people who say that LEGO bricks are just children’s toys?

    43) What parts do you want right now?

    44) Have you ever bought anything from the LEGO Sports line?

    45) Do you find the LEGO Sports line interesting?

    46) What are your thoughts on the rumor about the end of the Star Wars license?

    47) What do you use to organize your parts?

    48) What’s more important to you than LEGO?

    49) What LEGO do you plan to buy in 2006?

    50) You’re halfway through. How do you feel?

    51) What would you do if you could live in a world made of LEGO?

    52) Have you had a particularly heroic episode in relation to your LEGO?

    53) Do you have a Brickshelf account?

    54) What LEGO Web sites do you like to visit?

    55) What title do you have [like “Minifig Customizer” or “LEGO Photographer”]?

    56) Go ahead and brag about your LEGO.

    57) What do you think of the LEGO Stores?

    58) What are your feelings about LEGO sets that aren’t available in your country?

    59) What about clone brands?

    60) Is your future dream to become a LEGO Master Builder?

    61) If you had a million dollars, how much of it would you spend on LEGO?

    62) What was the best set released in 2005?

    63) On a scale of 1 to 100, where would you place your LEGO building skills?

    64) What LEGO do you want for Christmas?

    65) How would you improve LEGO?

    66) What do you think of Belville?

    67) Have you ever participated in a LEGO contest?

    68) What movie would you like to see turned into a LEGO license?

    69) What’s your favorite LEGO set [yes, it’s a duplicate question]?

    70) What makes LEGO so great?

    71) What do you think of $600 LEGO [nobody seems to know what this question means]?

    72) What do you think of sets that are no longer available?

    73) Where do you always buy your LEGO?

    74) Is the place where you live a good LEGO environment?

    75) Do you currently have a stock of ideas?

    76) If you were a minifig in a medieval LEGO war, what would be your rank?

    77) What do you think is interesting about your LEGO creations?

    78) How many minifigs do you own?

    79) What’s the most expensive LEGO set you’ve ever bought?

    80) What was the set you always wanted as a kid?

    81) Have you ever made a LEGO movie?

    82) Do you have any friends or acquaintences who are LEGO fans?

    83) Do you have a particularly unique way you use a LEGO piece?

    84) What’s your favorite Bionicle mask?

    85) What’s your favorite game on LEGO.com?

    86) What are your thoughts on “bad” train set #4561?

    87) How many sets from the Train theme do you have?

    88) How many train motors do you own?

    89) What do you think of LEGO games (like ones for Game Boy Advance®)?

    90) Have you ever been to LEGOLAND?

    91) What would you do if you entered a “Dark Age?”

    92) What do you think was the worst set LEGO ever released?

    93) What type of creation do you most admire by professional-level LEGO builders?

    94) What company do you think is The LEGO Company’s arch-nemesis?

    95) Have you ever used LEGO design software (like LDraw, MLCad, or LEGO Digital Designer)?

    96) Have you ever built anything that incorporated a motor?

    97) Have you ever seen LEGO at a second-hand store?

    98) Have you ever bought LEGO at a second-hand store?

    99) Have you ever sold LEGO at a second-hand store?

    100) Have you ever rebuilt a train?