Why isn't Cuusoo more popular?

[caperberry]

Sorry if bumping an old thread is a no-no, but it seemed close to what I wanted to say.

Ironically, it seems that to make a set popular it needs to have something more than LEGO behind it, like a franchise or a non LEGO fan sites awareness campaign. I'm not saying I don't like those projects (I've supported some) but it seems there's an inherent contradiction in there, that might eventually cause LEGO to pull the plug on CUUSOO. I know a lot of people are waiting for the alpha version before they get into using CUUSOO, but what if that never comes and the chance is lost because not enough LEGO fans got behind it?

I'm also noticing there's little discussion on EB about the projects that are new parts ideas. Many people seem to disapprove of the sets on CUUSOO but surely more than 10,000 of us would want to buy many of the great parts being added there?

Really interested to hear more thoughts on this.

[brickmack]

Sorry if bumping an old thread is a no-no, but it seemed close to what I wanted to say.

Ironically, it seems that to make a set popular it needs to have something more than LEGO behind it, like a franchise or a non LEGO fan sites awareness campaign. I'm not saying I don't like those projects (I've supported some) but it seems there's an inherent contradiction in there, that might eventually cause LEGO to pull the plug on CUUSOO. I know a lot of people are waiting for the alpha version before they get into using CUUSOO, but what if that never comes and the chance is lost because not enough LEGO fans got behind it?

I'm also noticing there's little discussion on EB about the projects that are new parts ideas. Many people seem to disapprove of the sets on CUUSOO but surely more than 10,000 of us would want to buy many of the great parts being added there?

Really interested to hear more thoughts on this.

As for the set ideas needing a franchise to be popular, I have noticed that to some extent. I suppose there is probably a lot helping these ideas, such as often having large fan bases, both in and out of the LEGO community, which vote for them. Movies and such simply tend to be very popular. LEGO seems to be open to making licensed sets from Cuusoo though, as best evidenced by the new Minecraft sets.

[caperberry]

LEGO seems to be open to making licensed sets from Cuusoo though, as best evidenced by the new Minecraft sets.

Yes, but I wonder, if the future CUUSOO sets that get to 10k usually involve some kind of licensing requirement, will LEGO remain open? CUUSOO feels to me like an open invitation to us to prove we love LEGO, and I feel that the message that is coming out so far is that we love LEGO tie-ins.

(I should point out, I'm referring to the International version of CUUSOO rather than the initial Japanese models.)

[Fugazi]

Ironically, it seems that to make a set popular it needs to have something more than LEGO behind it, like a franchise or a non LEGO fan sites awareness campaign. I'm not saying I don't like those projects (I've supported some) but it seems there's an inherent contradiction in there, that might eventually cause LEGO to pull the plug on CUUSOO.

I'm also noticing there's little discussion on EB about the projects that are new parts ideas. Many people seem to disapprove of the sets on CUUSOO but surely more than 10,000 of us would want to buy many of the great parts being added there?

You are right that the few projects that really seem to lift off are supported en masse by non-AFOL. Success appears to be driven by word of mouth outside Cuusoo: when a company/fan community/blog/official channel hears about a Lego product proposal related to their brand/interest, they publicise the project and the votes start turning in. Lame Star Wars minifig packs in infinite combinations are the exception -- I would say that 90% of Cuusoo 'resident' users are 13-16 year old SW fans, and any SW project will have their support regardless of quality. Other projects, including many amazing AFOL-designed pitches, have very slim chances of making it if they're not about a popular franchise -- TV, Hollywood, computer games, etc. As for novel parts proposals, they're just not sexy enough to make it -- I won't hold my breath for new parts being introduced through Cuusoo.

So I don't think Cuusoo is geared to cater to the wishes of AFOL. It's more of a clever way to attract fans from outside the normal Lego fan base, so I see no reason for Lego to pull the plug on Cuusoo. I'm sure that projects will keep reaching the 10,000 required votes, but I don't expect many of them to be 'unbranded' MOCs supported only by the AFOL community.

[Spaceman8811]

I like the idea, but since none of the "winners" can be bought by me it's hard to get excited. When one wins that I can buy then I'll start caring.

That's actually a really good point. I haven't thought of that. The market may just not be there for it yet.

[RoxYourBlox]

I agree about licensing / cross-platform support.

I think the best chance the AFOL community would have in passing an original project at Cuusoo would be to funnel a LDD community build through several rounds of building & proofing under preset requirements (price, piece count, genre, etc). Proceeds would go to a charity (a children's hospital?), which would in turn publicize the project on facebook, twitter, etc. I'd love to see a modular building come out of this. There are a lot of creative minds here with unique talents!

[sharky]

I'm sure there's a slew of reasons it isn't yet as popular as it could become, including all the various ones discussed by other posters above. I also suspect most people haven't even heard of it, and have no idea something like Cuusoo exists.

I agree, more aggressive marketing would help things.

Or, frankly, when people here the name Lego Cuusoo for the first time they probably have no idea what it is or how it's supposed to work and are not even compelled to find out. If they named it something that better describes the concept simply from the title it may generate more interest. For example, when I here the term Lego Pick-a-Brick or Lego Shop-at-Home I immediately understand what it's all about. It could be as simple as that sometimes.

Edited March 8, 2012 by sharky

[Lyichir]

I agree, more aggressive marketing would help things.

Or, frankly, when people here the name Lego Cuusoo for the first time they probably have no idea what it is or how it's supposed to work and are not even compelled to find out. If they named it something that better describes the concept simply from the title it may generate more interest. For example, when I here the term Lego Pick-a-Brick or Lego Shop-at-Home I immediately understand what it's all about. It could be as simple as that sometimes.

Part of the reason Cuusoo has the name it does is that it's actually LEGO's section of a larger program, also called Cuusoo. That's why LEGO Cuusoo is at lego.cuusoo.com, rather than being hosted at lego.com like most of their other services.

[IAmWillGibson]

I dig CUUSOO. It's silly, sure. And somewhat unfocused. And not a lot of people seem to like what I'm suggesting [probably because I'm suggesting a concept rather than a finalized model, but that's because whatever gets picked is going to be totally overhauled by LEGO anyways, so there's no point putting a lot of effort into a perfect model... plus, I don't have the pieces to make the stuff I'd like].

But I still like the promise of CUUSOO. It's like trendspotting. You need to find something that will hit big, get it into the social media, and see if it'll blow up by hitching it onto a pre-existing community. Now, convincing 10,000 people to register at some website is virtually impossible, but hey, that's a concern for a later day.

[caperberry]

Part of the reason Cuusoo has the name it does is that it's actually LEGO's section of a larger program, also called Cuusoo. That's why LEGO Cuusoo is at lego.cuusoo.com, rather than being hosted at lego.com like most of their other services.

I never knew that. Thanks... puts quite a different slant on it for me; means LEGO's cost for the project must be much lower than I anticipated.

I've noted a lot of apathy on forums towards CUUSOO, and I understand and even agree with a lot of the points. I guess I'm wondering when or indeed if FOL communities such as EB will solidly get behind projects, especially new parts. I know there's no answer to that!

[sharky]

Part of the reason Cuusoo has the name it does is that it's actually LEGO's section of a larger program, also called Cuusoo. That's why LEGO Cuusoo is at lego.cuusoo.com, rather than being hosted at lego.com like most of their other services.

That explains why they named it as such. However, it doesn't help things when people have no idea what the title/word Cuusoo means since it's Japanese in origin. That's all I'm saying. It's all in the marketing.

[brickmack]

Part of the reason Cuusoo has the name it does is that it's actually LEGO's section of a larger program, also called Cuusoo. That's why LEGO Cuusoo is at lego.cuusoo.com, rather than being hosted at lego.com like most of their other services.

I never really understood why TLG used Cuusoo for this service, I imagine they have to pay that company for eacn sale they make through it, and with TLG's teams of web designers and programmers, one would imagine they could have just created it on their own and ended with a similar product in a relatively short period. This would probably also make it much more popular, since they could name it something more self-explanatory than "Cuusoo", and users wouldn't have to create an account at another new site to use it.

[SilvaShado]

I see and understand a lot of the points as to why AFOLs aren't really getting into CUUSOO, but at the same time I don't see why people don't have more optimism. It won't happen if people don't try.

I love the concept and opportunity that CUUSOO presents. But it is a little discouraging that the only way to get to 10,000 votes seems to be in turning to non-AFOLs to support it. I hope that changes, but I know it'll take a while. For all the 2,000+ projects on CUUSOO, only a handful have real potential.

If anyone is interested, I've written several blogs about CUUSOO and intend to keep writing and promoting CUUSOO. I still think it can be a great vehicle for AFOLs to get their LEGO projects made.

CUUSOO Introduction

Navigating CUUSOO

Giving CUUSOO Feedback

And here's a blog that the admin did: CUUSOO Feature Project - RetroSpace

I have another one coming up, highlighting other projects by the person who did RetroSpace.