Farewell LEGO® Ambassador Network

The regular readers among you with a keen eye for detail have noted some small changes to True North Bricks and its social media pages recently. I’ve been slowly removing LEGO® Ambassador Network (LAN) branding from the site and social media channels for months. Many of you noticed and asked about it. Consequently, I thought I’d provide an update on the future direction of True North Bricks. The big news: I resigned my role as a LEGO® community ambassador in late September 2023, and True North Bricks officially loses its status as a Recognized LEGO® Fan Media (RLFM) site today. The time has come to bid farewell to the LEGO® Ambassador Network.

This change has been a long time coming. In fact, it has been brewing for a year. Last November, the LAN informed me of changes in their recognition program. They were concerned that True North Bricks would no longer meet the requirements of RLFM status. I was given time to meet the new criteria. By my next review in May, the conditions had changed again. I was again given time to make the necessary changes. However, at that point, I began to debate whether or not the changes were right for me.

True North Bricks was founded in 2016 as a written blog. I wanted to share my LEGO® hobby through writing and photography with the goal of meeting like-minded LEGO® enthusiasts. In the past year, I have strayed away from the written word and favoured more social media content creation. I was trying new avenues that lined more closely with my perception of the LEGO® Group’s chosen new marketing direction. But that didn’t make me happy.

I like creating short form videos from time to time. But I don’t want to do it every day. I like to write, take pictures, and draw. The drawing aspect that was one of the founding content pillars of True North Bricks has completely vanished over the years. True North Bricks is also not my day job. With a full time job on top of the blog, I simply cannot produce video and written content for every piece. And video is where the LAN and LEGO® marketing are aiming. Who can blame them? Video content is engaging and draws a lot of commentary, feedback, and views. It’s just not entirely for me. It’s something I like to dabble in, not focus on.

I see this as a new leg in my journey. I met the LEGO® Group on the road to grow my blog. We walked together for a while, and came to a crossroads. On one side is a river, on the other the road continues to wind. Their strategy takes them across that river and changes with the currents. I dipped my toes in to see if I wanted to swim, but the water is a little cold for me. I would rather continue down the road and see where it takes me. There are no hard feelings about this.

At the end of the day, The LEGO® Group is a business and must do what businesses do to remain viable and continue bringing us the interlocking plastic bricks we love so much. From my perspective, it’s like saying goodbye to traveling partner. I’ll wave with fond memories as they head down the river and I continue down my road for new adventures. Maybe we’ll cross paths again, maybe we won’t. But I’ll always look forward to news of their progress.

So, what does this mean for True North Bricks? In short, the blog continues on. It’ll bring some content changes for sure. I will no longer get pre-release review offers. Additionally, the LEGO® Group will no longer send me shipments full of other wonderful sets. I will do fewer reviews, and will focus them more on sets I want to buy. LEGO® will also no longer send press kits… but I am also not bound by their embargoes or criteria surrounding news sources anymore. Additionally, I will have more time for articles that interest me, like my recent pieces on the LEGO® Big Cats and Zombies. And of course, Canadian LEGO® Deals isn’t going anywhere.

True North Bricks turns eight years old in 2024. The blog has grown a lot since its inauguration in 2016. In that entire first year, the blog had 3400 views. Nowadays, we average around 50,000 views every month. I’ve always strived to promote the LEGO® hobby through news, Canadian deals, and articles about the hobby and AFOL community. One of my proudest moments was when True North Bricks was officially recognized by the LEGO® Ambassador Network (LAN). I could not have been more thrilled. But, everything runs its course in life, and relationships are no different. The time has come for me to bid farewell to the LEGO® Ambassador Network. I thank them for journeying with me for a while and helping me grow. However, I mostly thank all of you readers who continue to swing by, and hope you’ll remain on this journey with me.

Until next time,

-Tom

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