Kickstarter Technology Projects Ship 100
An anonymous reader writes "Shocking Kickstarter news this morning, not only did I actually I receive my Brydge this morning, but a Kickstarter software project shipped on time! Connectify Dispatch, the load balancing software for Windows, was released today as well. Perhaps the Kickstarter model of funding technology is not nearly as doomed as some naysayers here would have it. Why are so many here hostile to crowdsourcing? Shouldn't we be glad to have Venture Capitalists cut out of the loop so that companies actually listen to us?"
The problem with being open about funding... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm waiting for venture capital to start cherry picking ideas from Kickstarter and racing them to market. Kickstarter is almost like free market research.
Sure, a Kickstarter project might engender loyalty, but how long will that last after Kickstarter projects get a reputation for late delivery and failure?
Re:The negativity surrounding KickStarter (Score:5, Insightful)
I think the only real problem is in your "C", and not through any fault of Kickstarter's. I'm not sure when people lost all their brain cells, but it has always been a crowdfunding site, not a store.
I don't know about everyone else, but to me that says, "You're funding a proposed project. That means it may fail. Do not expect to donate $5 and get the cure for cancer shipped to your doorstep by 3pm tomorrow. Make good decisions with your money." And for those that are too dense to infer that, Kickstarter spells it out.
But as with most things, people just up-and-decide that they want goodies without risk. And that's not to say Kickstarter shouldn't police (as best they can) for outright scams... but there's no logical reason they should be on the hook for failed or behind-schedule projects.
All of this throws all the issues surrounding crowdfunding for equity into sharp relief. You'd think people would understand that "risk" means "might not be good for you". Unfortunately it sometimes looks like people really do want to be protected from themselves.