CATCHING UP (Pt. 2) - CROWDFUNDING

My hiatus is over. What follows are four "catch-up" posts in which I attempt to review thought leadership on four topics I'm tracking right now (Start-up Culture; Crowdfunding; Storytelling and Transmedia; and Video/Distribution). PART 2 presents some interesting links about the crowdfunding phenomenon.

Kickstarter has definitely turned a corner, not only in recognition and effectiveness, but in scale and revenue. The crowdfunding site is on pace to generate $300 million in funding this year, according to this post by Ben Popper at Venture Beat. 

Not everyone is a believer, however. "Are Kickstarter Investors Idiots or Geniuses?" turns a skeptical eye towards the crowd-funding phenomenon.

Kickstarter and IndieGogo are well-known crowd funding sites, but there are many more, lovingly detailed in this excellent "Crowdfunding Wiki.  I'm not entirely sure who generated all this great content, but I learned about it from Karine Halpern, @TransmediaReady Agency & Studio

One of the amazing things about the crowdfunding movement is its diversity. It's impossible to determine what the "crowd" will want to fund until the creators enter the market. As a result there are a lot of posts that offer advice on how to optimize one's chances on Kickstarter, like this  "25 Best Kickstarter Tips for Creative Students" The site Bachelors Degree Online is offering tips for student creators interested in Kickstarter, but the advice is good for anyone.

We are going to see a LOT of posting about the launch of equity crowdfunding in the wake of the passage of the "JOBS Act" that loosens regulations on small investors in start-ups, among other provisions. By far the harshest critique of equity crowdfunding I've read is Daniel Isenberg's post "The Road to Crowdfunding Hell" in the Harvard Business Review. 

Next Up: "STORYTELLING & TRANSMEDIA"