Kickstarter — all the Rage
Crowdfunding should have never worked. Watching newspaper after newspaper fail after advertising spends softened and subscription prices couldn’t make up the difference, it seemed as though small payments made by a lot of people was a pipe dream in the same way cloud computing was supposed to “save” the computer industry.
While the jury is still out on cloud computing’s role in future technology, there’s no question that crowd funding is here to stay, and Kickstarter is at the forefront. From helping fund food carts to beverage holders and documentaries to poetry books, Kickstarter is open to just about anyone.
Some will tell you that an unwritten rule of crowd funding is that the cause should either be charitable or that the asking party should contribute as much as they possibly can. Others will say Kickstarter is NOT for established businesses or that every project must contribute to social good.
These people are wrong. While many may not like it that a Veronica Mars movie, produced by Warner Bros., recently surpassed their funding goal (many are concerned that funds are being paid to Warner, which owns the rights), is it really anyone’s business who others give their money to? While pitching in $10k just because it sounded cool is beyond the imagination of most of us, why does it matter in the slightest?
Maybe Veronica Mars’ success will prompt more corporations to bring back shows or products with cult followings. Perhaps we’ll see Mattel offer new G.I. Joe figures to the small percentage of 30-40 somethings that remember them or maybe we’ll get Tidwells TV series (Cuba Gooding, Jr.’s family from Jerry Maguire), but is that all bad?
Selfless giving is admirable. Wanting to help those with great ideas and not much money is as well, but the market gets what the market wants. Is it too late to fund a Sports Night flick?
