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WebExclusive fail blog Interview succeed blog
Could This Be the Death of Fail? The Rise of SucceedBlog
3:55 pm Friday Nov 6, 2009 by Stelios Phili

SucceedBlog is an overnight SUCCEED. “It’s totally picking up steam,” says co-creator David Littlejohn, who launched the website yesterday afternoon. This morning, he and co-creator Jim Haas and “web ninja” Mark Neigh woke up to a staggering 20,000 hits. SucceedBlog is the counter-site to FailBlog. Instead of highlighting life’s failures with a picture and the word FAIL, the site celebrates life’s victories and the word SUCCEED.

“Everybody wants to see ’succeeds,’ everybody wants to see people succeed, our country succeed. It’s just a lot more positive,” Littlejohn explains. “It’s always funny — since the beginning of time, I imagine — to see someone kicked in the nuts, or fall down, or trip, you’re just going to laugh at that. There’s something a lot more inspiring in succeeding.”

FailBlog will point out a “Name Fail.” We will be treated to a yearbook photo of the unfortunately named young woman, B.J. Cobbledick. SucceedBlog will enlighten us to a “Spoon Hanging Succeed,” a small, freckly faced boy who can hang 16 spoons on his face.

FailBlog claims the opposite of “Fail” is “Win” and occasionally posts a picture of a victory. Littlejohn says his site has been met with backlash from those who believe SucceedBlog would make more sense as WinBlog. “I think that’s totally wrong. The opposite of win is lose; the opposite of fail is succeed. ‘Win’ takes away the whole fun awkwardness of just saying SUCCEED!”

Picture 10

Instead of celebrating “complete ignorance, absent mindedness, and stupidity,” we can rejoice in “people who have done freaking amazing, killer things.” It’s an optimistic message that Littlejohn sees as a reflection of the spirit of our times.

And the key to the SUCCEED? “This will probably sound cliche,” he warns, “but if you look at the SucceedBlog and what has made it up there, you’ll see a true succeed is when someone is super passionate about something and did something they love. What came out of that was a succeed.” If your dream is to make golden retriever styled hair, then make golden retriever-styled hair. You will have succeeded.

“There’s this philosophy that people think about, how great art comes from pain. But if you really follow that through, they’re turning that pain into passion and their passion is what they love. Their passion is what makes that novel or that great debut album a succeed. The only thing you can try to do in life if you want to make succeeds is to do that freaking one weird thing you want to do, and it’ll be a succeed.”

“I think it’s a fun little positive life anthem,” he adds. Littlejohn no longer works a 100 hour per week job in advertising. Two months ago, he “pulled the cord” and has been living his life on the sunny beach of Costa Rica.

2 comments
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2 Responses

Ian • November 7th, 2009 at 10:30 am

One man’s succeed is another man’s fail

Mary S. Bunch • November 8th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

Succeed is a really horrid name. Why not “Success” or “Win”?

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