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Speak Up Turns One!

That’s right Speak Up has been at it for three hundred and sixty five continuous days. I can’t emphasize how grateful I am for everybody who has participated in this forum/blog that started small — but always with big dreams — and is now one of the strongest, smartest (and dare I say, handsomest) on-line design communities. And pretty soon off-line.

Twelve months ago this place was empty, you could hear the sweat coming off my forehead fearing that this would be a failure. In that first month only over one hundred comments were written, seventy five percent of them mine — today a hundred and thirty comments can be expected in less than forty eight hours.

I could go on and on. I just want to say that this has been one of the most interesting years of my life. Speak Up has opened many opportunities for me and hopefully for many of you. But most importantly I have met amazing people, that will surely become life-long friends — yes, you know who you are.

(Raise your glasses please)
Here is to another great year.

Sincerely,
Armin.

Maintained through our ADV @ UnderConsideration Program
ENTRY DETAILS
ARCHIVE ID 1585 FILED UNDER Speak Up Announcements
PUBLISHED ON Sep.05.2003 BY Armin
WITH COMMENTS
Comments
Darrel’s comment is:

Just remember us all when you get to the top. ;o)

On Sep.05.2003 at 08:58 AM
Brent’s comment is:

Armin-My hat's off to you and the rest of the speakup community. What a wonderful thing you've created. Congrats!

On Sep.05.2003 at 08:59 AM
debbie millman’s comment is:

Everyone is born with genius, but most people only keep it a few minutes.

--Edgard Varese

365 days and counting. What a feat. Many, many congratulations, Armin.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:03 AM
eric’s comment is:

365 days and how many man hours? you're a machine. a machine that collects stuffed animals, but a machine none the less.

this forum has meant a great deal to me and i am eternally grateful for the connections and relationships i've made here in such a short time.

i'm sure this will be the first of many. Happy anniversary beloved Armin.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:25 AM
Kiran Max Weber’s comment is:

Goo goo ga ga. Blow out the candles! On to Harvard...eh RISD!

It's been a blast since day one Armin. Thank you. Thank you all. Here's to the future!

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:27 AM
toni’s comment is:

Congratulations ! Kep on running...

With best regards from Germany.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:29 AM
brook’s comment is:

sweet.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:30 AM
graham’s comment is:

happy birthday. we can go for a drink tomorrow and mutually celebrate.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:33 AM
mini-d’s comment is:

Go ahead Armin, you're a great thinker and your post are full of typos and spice... it's nice to read you.

congratulations!

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:46 AM
damien’s comment is:

Congratulations Armin - Happy Birthday Speak Up, and thank you.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:46 AM
Amanda’s comment is:

Congrats Armin!

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:52 AM
Tan’s comment is:

Congrats and thank you hermano. You have no idea what this site means to many of us.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:58 AM
Tom’s comment is:

So this is what happens when sweat and dreams pay off. Amazing! The graphic design industry owes you big. Can't wait to see what happens this year!

On Sep.05.2003 at 10:22 AM
pamela’s comment is:

I just found Speak Up about a month ago. Love it! Many congrats on your hard work.

On Sep.05.2003 at 10:41 AM
Sarah B’s comment is:

Cheers!!

On Sep.05.2003 at 11:07 AM
Armin’s comment is:

THANK YOU ALL!

>your post are full of typo

Huh? My post are full of typo? I guess they is.

Thank you too nonetheless.

On Sep.05.2003 at 12:04 PM
kyle’s comment is:

Congratulations! I've been a huge fan since the beginning...this is the best site to come to for intelligent (and sometimes snarky) design discussions.

I'd like to make a toast for many more years of success.

On Sep.05.2003 at 12:49 PM
Kevin’s comment is:

Congrats. Glad to be a part of it. And I collect stuffed animals too.

On Sep.05.2003 at 01:01 PM
jes�s’s comment is:

Enhorabuena, Armin, �Fel�z cumplea�os!

...and thanks for the hard work!

On Sep.05.2003 at 01:18 PM
marian’s comment is:

Happy Birthday Speak Up and congratulations Armin, on a wonderful, beautiful and intelligent thing that has become so much more than a project. Here's to our fearless leader!

On Sep.05.2003 at 02:56 PM
Hrant’s comment is:

Armin, congrats. Speak Up is killer, especially the look. Keep it up, eh?

hhp

On Sep.05.2003 at 04:13 PM
surts’s comment is:

I shutter to think of how many hours I've been close to my monitor reading and posting. Though it's been time well spent - congrats and a big thanks!

On Sep.05.2003 at 04:24 PM
Armin’s comment is:

Anybody have any favorite "moments" from the past year?

My personal favorite was Rebecca's What's wrong with Speak Up? thread.

Big, big highlight was Debbie's comeback for all us haters in the AIGA: sold out discussion. It takes a lot to fend off angry designers. Cooler than that is... well, Debbie joined us.

On the same grounds, David W's reception wasn't very warm, but he weathered it and is also now a happy Speak Up author.

I have many more probably.

On Sep.05.2003 at 04:49 PM
Michael B.’s comment is:

I'm just happy someone posted the Clark forklift truck logo. Happy birthday, Armin.

On Sep.05.2003 at 05:03 PM
Tan’s comment is:

> Anybody have any favorite "moments" from the past year?

I absolutely love it when rebecca slaps any of us boys back from a gruntfest. (Darrel -- where's that Britney photo again?)

I love a good debate, whether it's w/ Felix, you, Damien, David W., Debbie, or anyone else out there with enough conviction and passion to support a point.

I also love the show and tells -- trash collections, show us your office, show us your cards, etc.

On Sep.05.2003 at 05:42 PM
graham’s comment is:

>Anybody have any favorite "moments" from the past year?

all of it. the opportunity to make broad sweeping unsupportable statements. seeing everyone's work. meeting up. getting drunk and posting. trying to find or recognise the humour in things. hitting post when you know you shouldn't. the love. just the love.

On Sep.05.2003 at 05:46 PM
Christopher May’s comment is:

>Anybody have any favorite "moments" from the past year?

Typecon - armin getting close to a fist fight with that ADCNY lady in the crowd during his presentation. hahahaha! You showed her..weren't you the person that slashed the tires of her rental car in the parking lot?

On Sep.05.2003 at 07:04 PM
Tan’s comment is:

..and of course, I love the language of everyone's writings -- especially graham's always-poetic and poignant ramblings/postings. Eric's intros. Sam's by-jikity (sp?). The perponderance of "dudes". Jesus' incomprehensible spanish to you. The "colorful" phrases to describe crappy design.

There's really some beautiful writing here that's spontaneous and inventive, yet at the same time, remarkably thoughtful.

On Sep.05.2003 at 07:14 PM
eric’s comment is:

I liked getting fed up with the somewhat circular FitzGerald arguments in Rant and posting drunk one night and then telling Rudy that he was issuing dogma the next day.

Design tastes come and go. There really aren't any absolutes (except maybe ups and vh1). What i take away from this, on a near hourly basis, is the community. It's the commitment from people that are excited about the same thing. There's great comfort in that. Regardless of how right I AM -- i could at least have a drink with everyone at the end of the day.

i wouldn't trade a moment of Tan slapping Armin around, or curling up with the Open Space book and trading notes with Millie, or dragging Sam into the daylight (ahem... and where is Mr. Potts today?), or digging for forklift logos: Michael B.... "someone", have i really fallen so far? And then there's the new kids and the fellow authors that i only know through posts and sometimes emails.

a couple of weeks ago i offered that i thought that this experience was priceless to me. i stand by it. and if need be by all of you.

Again, Thank you Armin. And thank you all.

...

oh god, i feel a group hug coming on.

On Sep.05.2003 at 07:43 PM
Mr. Jones’s comment is:

Armin

As a designer that moved from the big city to the small city it is fantastic to belong to an online community that is chock full o' design fanatics to get my fix of black turtlenecks and teeny tiny glasses. Keep up the wonderful work.

Happy Birthday to you!

Where do I send the cake?

On Sep.05.2003 at 08:29 PM
pedro’s comment is:

What can I say???

Except congratulations Armin!!!

I never imagined you would get so far with this speakup idea - but you and all of youuu speakupers have made it THE greatest forum.

Where did you get all these abilities. Your first shortest story was: There was an ugly bear and she died.

How's that for concisenesss (there goes another typo)!!!

Your father.

On Sep.05.2003 at 09:51 PM
Michael B.’s comment is:

or digging for forklift logos: Michael B.... "someone", have i really fallen so far?

Eric, sorry I forgot your props. Armin provides the venue but someone has to do the dirty work. Thanks.

On Sep.06.2003 at 06:20 AM
Armin’s comment is:

In the past couple of days it has surfaced that a lot of people are admitting (not all publicly) to be drunk when they post, what's up with that?

Obviously no drunk beats Graham's first ever post. (Can't find it) Something like "heller. yet paula scher" and then dozed off.

On Sep.06.2003 at 04:05 PM
graham’s comment is:

armin; what you saying? i've never posted drunskv ,c

On Sep.06.2003 at 04:20 PM
eric’s comment is:

my lawyer has advised me to no longer discuss my online sobriety and its relationship with any Emigre people or publications.

On Sep.06.2003 at 04:27 PM