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Happy 10th Anniversary! - A Decade of element14 Community

A long, long time ago, in an office cubicle far, far away (from me anyway, there's a lot of water between us), a group of people came up with an idea (probably more than just the one, they're bright people) that it would be perfect if makers, engineers and hobbyists had a place to come together to help one another with their electronics, designs and concepts based upon hardware, software and equipment that they use in their day to day lives at work and as part of their hobby outside of their careers.

 

And lo', the element14 Community was born:

 

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The website was styled very differently 10 years ago and based upon the feedback from its members, and the staff that have worked on it over that time it has evolved to what we have today. Here is a brief look as to how it has changed over the years (you can press on the images for a full size rendition):

 

{gallery} element14 Community over the years

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10 years of Community: 2009

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10 years of Community: 2010

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10 years of Community: 2011

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10 years of Community: 2012

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10 years of Community: 2013

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10 years of Community: 2015

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10 years of Community: 2019

 

And we've provided lots of different programmes and campaigns over that time as well:

 

  • element14's The Ben Heck Show which has evolved into element14 presents which still creates great, complex and fun projects that are made to inspire your creativity based on your suggestions.
  • RoadTests & Reviews where you have the opportunity to put hardware through its paces for free and have your feedback given directly back to the suppliers
  • Webinars, Training and Events to educate you on features and functionality on the latest products and technologies so that you can interact directly with suppliers and members of staff
  • Concept development such as the DreamBoard and Dream SensorBoard allowing you to explain and put together ideas you have for real world hardware.
  • Talking of giveaways, there's also Project14 which follows a theme every month and gives you the opportunity to win $100 of shopping cart purely by showing and demonstrating your projects.
  • Tech Connection gives you the definition on new and upcoming standards and technical information with Tech Spotlights and
  • Essentials rounds everything out by putting you to the test on your knowledge of standards and products after teaching you what you need to know
  • Though who could forget about Design Challenges - the large competitions where you blog it out against others to build a project to solve a real-world problem, or show a proof of concept to win big prizes with free equipment.

 

The element14 Community Team are always hard at work to provide the best experience to our users and add new features, including the behind-the-scenes development team that have maintained and upgraded the Jive platform which the Community runs on.

 

 

 

There have also been a number of key milestones over the past ten years as the Community has developed and grown.

 

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As new features and groups have been added to the website, so have the number of fantastic and contributing members, and the Community would be nothing without you!

 

Talking of you, our members:

 

  • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?
  • How long have you been a member?
  • What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community or
  • Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

 

Now it wouldn't be fair if I didn't answer these myself, so I'll start:

 

  • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

 

I'd have to say getting to work for the element14 Community ! I've met so many creative and capable people while here, and had some fantastic opportunities to give back to the Community as well.

 

  • How long have you been a member?

 

Actually 6 years, I joined as part of a BeagleBone Black challenge pitting one Hackspace against another!

 

  • What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community or

 

I'd have to say one is definitely being 'Bitten by the Bug' which saw a campaign of gifting technology from member to member at Christmas, Giving the Love Bug to You! Teasing the Perfect Pair!

 

  • Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

 

Social Media combined with GPS coming to mobile phones - this was a pretty great combination to be able to socialise with various groups from around the world and I've since used my phone to navigate around the place more times than I can count.

 

Add your comment below and you'll pick up the 10th Anniversary Community badge! Work out how you can go the extra mile, and you may unlock the golden version image

 

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Don't forget to get involved with other activities around the site, doing so might earn you something a bit more:

 

10 Year Challenge | Tell Us What You Can't Live Without for an ESP8266, Arduino Uno, or Arduino Nano!

In Honor of element14's 10th Birthday: What is Your Favorite RoadTest Bundle?

 

Or perhaps browse some old content posted by one of our news bloggers, for a trip down tech' memory lane!

  • I spent some time to make a 3D printed mag-lev tribute to element14's 10th anniversary, but my mag-lev circuit promptly died after I got the 2-tone artwork printed (complete with a sparks show - can't have an anniversary without some fireworks) so this is improvising the next best thing...

     

    Happy anniversary element14!

  • in reply to Jan Cumps

    Aah yes. I also took a screenshot for my on the front page when that was still a thing.

  • Well I am very new to the community just about 6 Months and still I just adore this community a lot , always wish that if I knew about it before , it's such a wonderful place to learn , tinker and make new things.

    Got to learn lot new things and work on some amazing hardware too.

    Thanks

    Aabhas Senapati

  • I could not find the mugshot BUT...

    • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    The Element14 community has been an amazing and important part of my last 10 year. I have learned so much by participating in Deigns Challenges and I thank you guys enough for the support every step of the way. Everyone including Dr. Defeo, Laureen, Dave, Spanner and so many more that have been there to help, I cannot thank enough. And ofcourse all the members who I look up to and have provided necessary feedback and help along the way.

    • How long have you been a member?

    Not Long Enough.

    • What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community or

    Lets start with me getting an email to roadtest the PiFaceCAD. I really did not know what to expect and free hardware? That was unbelievable. Then came the time when I made the cut for Member of the month and had my mugshot on the first page. Next was a printed copy a few years ago with my pic and small writeup alongside some of the people I really admired. And of course, looking out every year for the element14 Santa to come up with something to cheer me up.

     

    • Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    2009 was when opensource projects were gaining traction giving the maker movement the momentum it needed. Though 2008 was the first time when I came across colored scopes with logic analyser (MDO series from Tek). It was amazing to see the fusion of the logic analyser with an analog instrument.

  • Happy 10th Anniversary Element14 !

     

     

    That's a great timeline showing the development of element14 over the years.  I remember being surprised when it reached 500K members in 2017.  Do you have the latest stats?

     

     

     

    What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    The event that finally got me participating in the community was getting accepted for a roadtest in 2017 after many failed applications.  A defining moment in my career was when I realized that I could not be a manager if it required valuing profit over people.  A lot of our great technology came at a high human cost in the past decade and the years before.

     

    How long have you been a member?

    I've been a member since March 2012 but wasn't active because of lack of time.  I initially retired in 2013, but was I still consulting in 2016.  I've really only been active for a few years.

     

    What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community

    I really liked the Ben Heck Show and am glad that element14 presents is continuing that tradition, although I do miss the interaction between Ben and his team.  And I really like the Roadtest program both as a participant and observer.  The monthly projects and challenges are also great technology showcases.

     

    Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    I made the mistake of not buying Google stock.  Google mapping technology using GPS on mobile phones came out about then and that is something that I use all the time now.  And that's also about the time that the Android OS came out.  I have to admit to being an iPhone user, but I couldn't do without my Android tablet for home automation and NFC applications.

     

    Ralph

  • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    Retirement was the key moment when it comes to electronics and some of my other current interests.  I did not have time to learn new skills and participate to any degree in things outside work when I was employed.

    How long have you been a member?

    I became a member in September 2015 but was a silent observer until October 2017 when I made my first blog post.

    What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community

    I am really appreciative of the feedback I get on my projects which have helped me immensely.

    Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    I was blown away by the Nikon D3 camera I bought that year - the only new professional camera I have ever owned. 

  • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    I was getting back into electronics about 10 years ago and there are two things that surprised me.

    1. How small cheap and powerful microcontrollers had become. I remember ordering one, seeing the delivery envelope and thinking it had been forgotten. OK, so the USB plug should have given it away. I've no idea what I was thinking.
      EZ430-F2013
    2. Surface mount components and soldering. In particular how they go from seeming scary and impossible to the obvious choice over through hole. Once you're over the initial fear, surface mount is so much easier than through hole. (I still hate QFN a little bit though, and haven't dared try BGA.)

     

    How long have you been a member?

    Since late 2012. 6 and a half years.

     

    What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community or

    I just like how everyone is always genuinely helpful and supportive. There's almost never any of the squabbling that you'll see on most forums or communities.

    I was amazed when just gave away an Arty S7 after he finished his road test. That got me started on FPGAs. (Hmmm - maybe that wasn't such a good thing! image)

    Being able to road test some amazing stuff has to be a highlight too. There's no way an RTM3004 would be sitting on my bench otherwise. It's a privilege being able to do road tests - big or small - and I hope that come across when I do them. (It's not "free stuff". It's a deal you've agreed to.)

     

    Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    That's a tough one. Everything I think was around then was actually earlier. A quick search shows Android and Apple phone were taking off, but to be honest I was Windows Mobile from about 2003.

  • 10 years !  Congratulations. Time to do some stats of what I've published on the community.

     

    • 360 (welp) blog posts
    • 10 documents
    • 10 road test reviews
    • 100+ videos (hard to count because some are double and some invalid - mostly because I'm a clumsy editor)
    • countless rants and negative feedback

     

     

    • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    Youtube as an easy-access source for electronic and Linux knowledge

     

    • How long have you been a member?

    Since 2015

     

    • What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community

    Design Challenges, some Road Tests and the electronic load build, because of the social interaction between members.

    That the blog editor was one of the best around for writing online when I joined, and continues to rock. (shout out to ).

    That I got to know Dr. DeFeo here.

     

    • Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    I have to pass on that question. No idea.

  • Happy 10th Anniversary!.

     

    Even though I've been part of this community for not long, I'm very happy to be part of it.

     

    • What have been your key defining moments over the past 10 years as part of the Community or in Tech?

    The micro controllers as we see them today. I was not involved in electronics because I didn't formally study for it but, thanks to platforms like Arduino I can use basic electronics skills and the rest can be driven with shields, adapters and with the input of other members of the community.

     

    • How long have you been a member?

    Around 2 years

     

    • What are your fondest memories of the element14 Community

    All the daily interactions with other members of the community is the true gold

     

    • Perhaps most useful or surprising technology from 2009?

    The popularization of 3D printers that allowed me to build almost anything with a short budget and  without the need of expensive machines, skills and I think that also has inspired people all over the world to build almost anything.

     

    Luis