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it's a completely flash site, so the entire site is lineskis.com and by clicking on links flash takes you to other parts of the site. each page does not have its own url. if your flash player is working, it's a cool site.
im guessing it's flash so the link never changes.. sorry guys i dont know how to help you. the site is decent. i love the overview of hardgoods. how you can highlight different types of cores and ollie band and stuff and it tells you which ski has which. very cool. good stuff.
the new site is pretty sweet... but does anyone else get the feeling that this skiers union idea is kinda a coverup for the lack of pro team? i mean its a great idea, to break down the wall between "pros" and the average skiier, because it is true, we are all skiers and all ski for the love of the sport. its a good marketing tool for line to use to have this grassroots type of marketing to get kids hyped for Line. but all i can see is this idea that line came up with to spin their lack of a team into a positive in hopes to keep kids hyped about their skis. don't get me wrong, i think line is prgressive and they have come out with some sweet new skis this year (though I think their have been skis that have done their ideas already, fujative etc) and this skier union idea is great but i just kinda see it as a coverup. anyone agree with me?
1. They are integral to R&D. Who better to design the best skis than the best skiers? Makes perfect sense.
2. They are glorified spokesmodels, basically. Having Candide riding your skis is, from a marketing standpoint, the same thing as having Paris Hilton wearing Guess Jeans.
I think that Line decided that #2 is actually kind of silly, so they thought there pro-team would be more effective if they concentrated more on R&D. So they kept Pollard, because he is amazing. He is a progressive, creative skier and he designed most all of their new skis, if I'm correctly informed. They kept Ashley because if they want to be in the Women's skis market, they need someone to design and test women's skis. Ashley is one of the top female atheletes, so she fills that role. Other than that, they don't really need any other pros, do they? They don't, unless the only way to make you think their Skis are cool is to pay a bunch of people to ride them. It's actually better advertising to have a bunch of people who ride them for free because they like them so much.... hence.... the skier's union.
I'm in no way affiliated with Line or the ski industry, so this is all just my opinion/thoughts. But i think it's a good direction for them, mostly because I trust Pollard to design whatever's under my feet.
don't get me wrong, i do think that pro teams are kinda worthless. and i do wholeheartedly agree that the skiers union is a great idea from a marketing and from a skiers viewpoint. but all i was trying to say that if one was to look at this new idea very objectively, one could see it as a great idea and another person could see it as a coverup. i was just mentioning both sides of the coin and seeing anyone agreed with my thoughts. I think line is a great company and this idea of the skiers union could bring progression to the industry. but i just wanted to mention the fact that it seems like a bit of a coverup.
oh, i agree... it absolutely is a coverup. I think that they made a good decision, and I think it's a good precedent to set that if your a pro-skier at Line, your job isn't making video appearances and pimping product. It's making the skis better. which in the end is better for us. but to avoid a huge backlash from all the kiddies, IE:
"OMG NO PROZ RIDE LINE CAUSE THE SKIS MUST SUCK AND THE BINDINGS ARE HEAVY AND CAUSE LINE IS A BUNCH OF DICKZ AND BLAH BLAH BLAH"
^ And you know that would happen. Actually, I think it did happen. So, for political reasons, they had to spin it. So, we have the skier's union. Which is a little unnecesarry, and a little warm and fuzzy, and definitly dripping with spin. But it's harmless.
when i tried to get on the site it took longer than normall, but it is a good site only if the wait wasn't so long. the snoop-a-loop intro was real good.
Dude,
What is there to cover up? Honestly, I don't think you'll find another company owner that is more out in the open about what were doing and why. Most people thought the 3.5 hrs of Q&A on this mesage board 2 weeks ago and the radio interview live on this site showed this and already clarified many of the questions ou're now bringing up again.
As simple a concept as it now seems, the Skier's Union took quite a bit of time (the past year and more) to develop what exactly it is and how it could work to help take the sport further then all of the existing same old same old ways. Obviously you're looking right now at day one but over the next few months you will see that the content that gets created from it and the incredibly large number of people that all of your stories will influence will be many more times more powerful then all of the same old ways of promoting a sport and brand. Like I said in the interview, if you don't change what you're doing you can't expect things around you to change. Change is what got us all here, lets not get closed minded now and make up excuses why continuing to do things different is bad.
Thanks for the support,
J
^wasn't raggin' on you or Line man, I just think that it's obvious from the initial response to the refinement of your pro-team that there was gonna be some damage control in order. nothin wrong with that, you're running a business. and i think what you've done is good, and like you said you're trying to do things different, and anytime you do that, it's going to be met with a certain amount of resistance. and the skier's union is a fine idea by itself, and i know you guys had it sort of started before you dropped most of the team. but to alot of people it's gonna look like you have a skier's union instead of a pro-team, and to somepeople, it's gonna look like damage-control, or a coverup for not having a big team, rather than just saying "We don't need a big team, or we don't want a big team" or maybe you did say that in your interview, but i missed it. But anyways, the site is cool, and i like the development stories for each ski.
J, thanks for actually responding to this thread, its nice to see that there are some people within the industry who will respond to comments within this forum unlike many other companies who look at this site and don't post, but merely use this site for marketing and sales info.
i did not know this idea of the skiers union had been around for a year in development, but i completely understand. this idea of the skiers union is an idea that i am sure numerous different companies have toyed around with and your idea of the "royal army" the last few years seems like where this skiers union idea came from.
don't get me wrong, i think this skiers union is a great idea and its gonna create some great hype and advertising/marketing for your company and your products. i think its a progressive idea that will bring some change to this industry and like you said, we would not be here if there hadn't been change.
however, my point of my original post was to merely point out that the inception of this idea seems to coincide with this whole "drama" of the line pro team. everyone knows that there were some major changes made at your company pro team-wise and some of the questions were answered by you in that questioning session and other questions were answered by former riders like craig etc etc. i am merely looking at this new idea of the skiers union objectively and trying to provide both views of this idea. this site is a forum and i wanted to raise this idea to bring more discussion and see what other riders like myself felt about this new idea of the skiers union. personally, i believe that its a great idea. but i just felt the need to point out both sides of the arguement.
jay, i wish you and line the best of luck this season, though i know you don't need it cause line seems to kill it every year. hope this clarfies things.
you think somebody could have proofread eric pollard's info before they posted it onto the web for thousands of people to read? i mean i can tell what he is writing but it is coming from a PRO, not just some kid typing shit at his computer.
Anyone else just reeeeeally not care about the Line team going away? I'm a big fan of this skiers' union thing, if it ends up being what it looks like. I mean if it ends up being just another Line Royal Army, then obviously... well, that sucks. But it has a lot of potential.
Sorry if some of you are having problems getting the whole site to load properly. We've figured out that there are so many people viewing the site and so much heavy video, etc. downloading that we need to get more bandwidth. We're waiting for a price to buy half the internet. In the meantime don't forget to REFRESH your browser.
thanks for your patience,
J
I could care less about the team. Pollard is still around and he makes sick skis. I have never really cared about what line makes, but I am super excited about their skis now. The Elizabeth looks freakin' sweet.
My thoughts on the binding....uh...well....ah...fuck they are heavy.
While the wait was long, I think the new site is pretty cool. Seems to be more interactive with more eye candy. I'm interested to see how the Skier Union pans out. I think it'll work. Great idea. Should be interesting when some more content is posted.
it is really slow, but it is really sweet. i hope that skiers union is a success. its a great idea. its wicked to be able to watch so many vids on the site. keep up the good work J