I am honestly amazed that this isn’t more obvious:
…the most successful crowdfunding projects aren’t charities. They’re ventures that produce something people wish they could buy.
Maybe it’s because most of the Kickstarter projects I’ve backed have been gaming-related, or just basic geekery. I’m very comfortable with the idea that advances in manufacturing and communications have reached the point where we can link up several hundred people in this country and turn time, money, and resources into a limited-edition print of Dogs Playing D&D. But apparently the company itself is at best startled, but much more likely worried, that more people are going to be using Kickstarter as much for the commerce as the art.
Which is a shame. I mean, Kickstarter is a wizzo way for me to pick up stuff that I didn’t know that I wanted until I saw it. I am truly sorry to hear that this bothers people… as long as being sorry to hear that doesn’t require me to change my habits, of course.
Moe Lane
If you go on Board game geek this is common complaint. Companies like Queen games and Game Salute seem to be using Kickstarter as a preorder system for games that are already in the pipeline to be produced.
I am truly sorry to hear that this bothers people
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I’m not. If they can’t grasp that they can make a choice where their money is spent, I don’t have much sympathy.
Well, duh.
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I don’t mind helping raise working capital by pre-purchasing a product that I want.
The company not having to borrow from a bank makes production more likely (as speculative business loans are far from certain of approval) and the product cost less (as loans come with many costs that would have to be passed on to the customers).
Crowd-funding, it seems to me, is the democratic ideal in action. I’d be willing to bet that everyone who is ‘bothered’ by it is politically ‘progressive’.
Well, you can arguably tell their politics by their whinging about too much commerce and not enough “art”.
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And their attempts to censor the Gosnell film project.