Zane Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Just saw that myself... Well, his choice, but I'd never give up that job.... TT Quote
Chuck Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 I am lost at words...But I will say this: He has done much for this community, whether it be providing early information, or just providing TLC with our expressed opinions. I am sure he will be sorily missed. :sleep: -l2k- Quote
languages Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 I would love a job like his.... I will miss Jake a lot....(I knew him from the Inside Tour) :( Quote
crispen Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 man.. i wish kids could get that kinda job... its kinda sad though.. goodbye jake! Quote
gylman Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Just saw that myself...Well, his choice, but I'd never give up that job.... TT What? Listening to hundreds of whining AFOLS complaining that old gray is gone, or that no one makes monorail systems any more? The travel schedule was crazy too, and he recently got married, which I bet is the main reason he had to move on to a new job. You can't have a successful marriage and be travelling 26 weeks a year. Couldn't pay me enough to do that job. But he did it, and did it well. I hope they can replace him with someone who has the same passion for Lego, ability to put up with BS, and accessibility. He will be missed for sure. Quote
snefroe Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 at that level, people usually don't stay for long... i'm not really in the position of evaluating his work. ambassadors or website admins who have been in direct contact with him are probably far more qualified to give some sort of a response to the news, but i can't say that he did brillianly. i mean the communication with the community (basically websites) was not particularly great. sure, he set up the ambassador program, but we're still waiting for the effect of that on the real product... but again, my info on his work is very limited... Quote
Zane Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Just saw that myself... Well, his choice, but I'd never give up that job.... TT What? Listening to hundreds of whining AFOLS complaining that old gray is gone, or that no one makes monorail systems any more? The travel schedule was crazy too, and he recently got married, which I bet is the main reason he had to move on to a new job. You can't have a successful marriage and be travelling 26 weeks a year. Couldn't pay me enough to do that job. But he did it, and did it well. I hope they can replace him with someone who has the same passion for Lego, ability to put up with BS, and accessibility. He will be missed for sure. I'd still like it...if anybody complained about the lack of 'old grey' I'd just tell them to get a life and worry about things that are important. :-D I love being cruel.... TT Quote
SuvieD Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 i mean the communication with the community (basically websites) was not particularly great. sure, he set up the ambassador program, but we're still waiting for the effect of that on the real product... I think we are begining to see it right now this year more so. Though we may not realize it, the number of minifigures in sets is clearly on the rise. We are seeing less jumbo one use pieces in sets. Piece count in sets has taken a dramatic spike. I am finding less wasteful parper in LEGO boxes these days. We are getting almost every new type of set people have wanted (space is still missing due to SW). Theme we thought dying (technic & civilian town) are making huge comebacks. To say that the ambassadors or that Jake's work with the AFOL community isn't making progress is to refuse to look back to years like 2001-2003. We are having vast improvements. It has been almost 20 years since we saw $20 sets have seven minifigs. Even more is the high piece counts and the sudden death of the entire 4+ line. If Jake didn't have a hand in that I would be very surprised. I think Jake has done a good job. He has always been there for even the smallest fan. He had a crazy schedule and more responsibility than he could handle (that is why he got an intern I think). I don't blame him for moving to something less demanding in one respect but possibly more in others. I never had a cross word from him in any email and he had to put up with a lot of crap. Not only that but he personally handed over the survey data I collected to the CEO. Jake is a top notch guy and fellow AFOL and I say a hearty thank you to him. Jake, if you are snooping around on this forum and read this you have my thanks and respect for being a good role model and an excellent community relations guy. If you don't maybe Steve can shoot a link to you. MOC on trainbrain! Quote
gylman Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Definitely agree SuvieD. Lego product 5 years ago, and now - no comparison. Of course Jake doesn't get all the credit, but he was the face of change. I don't know what he could have done better. He wasn't the one making decision, but one voice among many. Quote
tophdawg Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 i would give anything for a job like that, and is a sad thing for lego to lose somebody like him. Quote
Ickelpete Posted February 2, 2006 Posted February 2, 2006 Today I was actually reading part of the article Jake refers to in Wired magazine and it features the development AFOLs have put into the Mindstorms sets. My wife works in market recearch and it is amazing the amount of money corporations spent trying to find out what their customers want and if Jake and other AFols like hime have made TLC realise that the customer is the person a company needs to connect with to be successful then we must congratulate him. Lego definitely seems to be going in the right direction lets hope the people who fill Jakes position carry on his good work. Quote
Darkkazmo Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 I believe Jake has brought TLC much closer to the AFOL community than ever expected, and our vision of the LEGO products couldn't have been translated to the company in such transparency if Jake wasn't in the picture. Finally, the old glory LEGO days have been resurrected from their ashes, and I believe the future of our beloved product looks bright from now on, and I strongly believe valuable elements like Mr. McKee had to do a lot with it... I'm saddened to see him go, but the show must go on, and I wish Jake the best of luck in what ever he's pursuing. Quote
Vader Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 Just saw that myself... Well, his choice, but I'd never give up that job.... TT What? Listening to hundreds of whining AFOLS complaining that old gray is gone, or that no one makes monorail systems any more? The travel schedule was crazy too, and he recently got married, which I bet is the main reason he had to move on to a new job. You can't have a successful marriage and be travelling 26 weeks a year. Couldn't pay me enough to do that job. But he did it, and did it well. I hope they can replace him with someone who has the same passion for Lego, ability to put up with BS, and accessibility. He will be missed for sure. I'd still like it...if anybody complained about the lack of 'old grey' I'd just tell them to get a life and worry about things that are important. :-D I love being cruel.... TT Well life is never that easy Toa, once in a job like that you would have to be polite to children no matter how annoying they might be. Unfortunatly most jobs require a high standerd of customer care and over time even the best of us can be warn down. Quote
Kahgarak Posted February 3, 2006 Posted February 3, 2006 Too bad... Well,he has a life,we all do.It is time for him to continue it. Have a great life,Jake! Quote
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