My Kickstarter / Indiegogo / Crowdfunding addiction
My name is Chris, and I am a crowdfunding addict. I can’t resist the urge to fund the latest, greatest, doo-dads and thinga-ma-bobs, even if they are really just glorified mouse trap prototypes. It doesn’t matter that when I fund them, I may not get the actual goods for a year – in fact its better. When they magically arrive on my doorstop after a long hiatus, it’s like Christmas morning! Nothing beats the lovely surprise of receiving a wonderful widget that I completely forgot about ordering and paying for. Do you think there is a 12 step program for crowd-funding sites yet?
Crowdfunding
We’ve talked about crowdfunding on Dorkadia previously, so what’s the big deal with these sites? Crowdfunding is a concept that matches creators and contributors. Creators can get much-needed financing for a whole range of things – gadgets, to movies, albums, museums, nearly anything really (and I mean nearly ANYthing, see the Erotic Adventurer’s Travel Kit). Contributors (like me) get cool perks for sponsoring projects, including the item itself (if it’s a tangible thing) to naming rights and other perks. Of the big crowdfunding sites right now, Kickstarter was founded in 2009 and its main competitor, indiegogo, in 2008. Kickstarter keeps 5% of the funds raised, and the project only gets funded if it meets the pre-determined goal at the end of the campaign. Indiegogo charges 4-9% of the funds raised, but gives creators the option to collect funds even if the goal is not met.
When I said previously that you could crowdfund nearly everything, I’m happy to say that there is at least now some qualifications on that nearly. Kickstarter unfortunately let their site fund a ‘seduction guide’ that more or less gave lessons on harassing (and more to the point assaulting) women. Kickstarter says that they weren’t made aware of the objections that people raised about this campaign until a very short time before the campaign closed – so they error on the side of the creators (which I think in some ways is admirable, but not in this particular case), and let the campaign end and fund. Their second apology for letting this happen, posted on their blog with the post titled “We were wrong”, and came with the promise that they would ban ALL “seduction guides” from Kickstarter moving forward, and a generous donation of $25,000 to RAINN (The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network). So yes… there are limits to what you can crowdfund, and there are even more eyes on campaigns giving scrutiny to the work of creators!
Sometimes it’s incredible to watch some of these campaigns take off; for example, the Reaper Mini Kickstarter campaign (Full disclosure here, Dorkadia kickstarted this project as well!), was aiming to raise $30,000, but by the end of their 30 day Kickstarter had actually raised in crowdfunding 3.4 Million. (Editor’s note: INORITE?!?) It can also be painful to watch campaigns you want to succeed not make their mark, as it isn’t a guarantee (not including Indiegogo) that a campaign posted on a crowdfunding site will come to fruition. Dorkadia tried to back EJay Pure’s kickstarter campaign, as this is where the soundtrack from our podcasts came from, but sadly the campaign missed its funding mark by about $100k.
For those of you who just can’t get enough crowdfunded goodness, here are some of the projects I’ve backed (some are closed, and others still active)
Gaymercon – Gays like video games too! That’s the concept behind Gaymercon (aka GaymerX, aka Gaymer Connect), a convention for the sub-demographic of the gay gamer (and our friends/allies). The first con will be held this August in San Francisco’s Japan Town.
Opening: August 2013
Star Trek Bridge Restoration – a die-hard geek (Huston Huddleston) discovered the remains of the Star Trek TNG bridge on a studio lot, rusted and corroded from neglect. He has since become a geek GOD and is living the ultimate kickstarter dream, even meeting Star Trek legends like Bill Shatner and Patrick Stewart.
Launch: 2014-2016 (you can see parts of the bridge at various cons in the meantime)
Goji Smart Lock – Never lock yourself out of your house again! Lock and unlock your front door remotely, and even get a photo emailed to you anytime somebody tries to enter your house. An essential piece of the geek’s ultimate dream smart home.
Shipping: late 2013
