That Robotboat Mark VI is really cool. I hope they make it!
I just got Tsuros of the Seas last week. Beautiful game. But most of my pledges have been for books and comics.
OK, before I sign up - how do they collect the money? Is there a paypal option?
They collect money via Amazon Payments - you give your cc to Amazon. They do it that way because Amazon won’t charge your card if the project doesn’t hit its funding target.
Thanks - signing up was painless and paying equally so.
Well with 48 hours to go, the Robotboat is within striking distance of success. They have over a thousand backers and if “Everyone” coughs up another $9-10, they will reach their funding target with room to spare. If they don’t, they receive no funds and nobody’s credit card is charged. Interesting system. (And as Khadaji points out, it’s rather painless: Amazon is a top notch payment processor.)
FWIW, I’ve allocated 2x+ more for this project than I have for any other ones that I’ve supported. Twenty-four hour motion sensitive automated cameras continue to advance our understanding of land-based ecology. As a former scuba diver, I’ve wondered about prospects for automated exploration of the wetter parts of the world.
There are no guarantees. But the principles have 8 patents, 2 companies and over 50 years of experience between them. There’s a for-profit market for their product. Their price point of ~$15,000+ per boat is an interesting one. It’s a little beyond hobbyist scale, but low enough that they could produce hundreds or even thousands of linked robots for systematic oceanic investigation. Fast, cheap and out of (direct) control: the boats dodge deitris automatically: they are not merely drones. But government grants will be hard to come by until they have a track record (they already have the prototype). So bringing open source datasets to the world requires a nudge. In their words, " Together we can make the dream of abundant, accurate, ocean data an irrefutable reality."
Irrefutable. Heh. If only…
Robotboat was successfully funded, though it wasn’t as over-funded as I would like. Still, 3 cheers!
Over at the New Republic, Noreen Malone pens a critical and superficial treatment of Kickstarter. For example, she doesn’t mention any of the group’s competitors, nor does she mention crowdfunding legislation passed earlier this year. A shorter whine along the same lines is at Gawker. If you’re going to be talk off the top of your head, at least be brief.
Four days to go to support the Yes Men’s 3rd movie, which has met its funding target. I haven’t moved to a final decision with this one admittedly. The Yes Men are media pranksters, working in the tradition of Joey Skaggs. The Yes Men - Wikipedia
I am up to 129 backed projects overall, 5 on IndieGoGo, the rest on Kickstarter. I don’t like IndieGoGo as well. The interface doesn’t appeal to me for some reason. So far, 16 of the projects I have backed have failed to reach their goals (On Kickstarter, only one of the IndieGoGo projects has reached the goal, but they all still got the money.) 26 of the finished projects are past due, although 7 of them have given me part of my rewards and others have given solid reasons for being late. (Mostly illness, too much success, or hard drive crashes. And Sandy.)
And I have received 36 of the rewards I have pledged money on. Well, 4 or 5 of them I did not actually chose a reward, just gave the money. But they did give me what I asked for, so I count them. 
At present, there are 48 rewards out there that have successfully funded, but not reached the deadline for delivery.
My current open pledges are
[ul]
[li]Leash and Cuff, by Peak Design - The first project I backed on Kickstarter was their Capture Clip, which is a very nice item for photographers. This looks like another nice addition.[/li][li]Camp Myth: The RPG - Another one that is from a prior project I backed. A decent backstory, the RPG looks like it could be fun.[/li][li]UP FRONT the card game - I have the original, I have been looking for a new copy for decades. This was a no brainer. I just hope they are able to get enough support for all the stretch goals. Well, at least up to the $180,000 mark.[/li][/ul]
Abstract animator wants sound track and 35mm print for his 6 minute short.
Only 25 hours to go!!!
And I apologize for the late notice. The animator has a track record, a grant from the Japanese government and assistants. I suspect the project will be completed regardless. But I like what I’ve seen of his work (YMMV - I am an animation freak). I’d like to give him a leg up. It is 80%+ funded.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/407135437/wonder-365-days-animation-project/posts
Update. With 24 hours to go, the project had 198 supporters and $3291 to raise, with the goal set at $17870. They raised an additional $4729, which is nice as it leaves them a little for print and advertising as well as covering the inevitable credit card renegs. 254 backers at the end. That’s $84 per new backer tops, as some of their older backers bumped up their contributions. Apparently those running these sorts of projects notice a big boost in the beginning and end of their funding periods.
Oh and the robotboat is fully constructed and floating.
There’s another crowdfunding website that supports scientific research: contributions may be tax deductible depending upon the grant recipient. Rewards are minimal, though they publish reports.
https://www.microryza.com/
One intriguing project involves constructing a gun violence dataset. The CDC has been banned from supporting such research, so I guess it’s up to crowdfunding. Well not quite but…
https://www.microryza.com/projects/gun-control-research-project
It is 33% funded with 15 days left. I have not completed due diligence on either the project or the website. Lots of bang for the buck… har har.
Has Petridish shut down? The only projects they appear to be currently listing are completed ones.
I haven’t figure out why this project hasn’t been funded yet. It’s Dr. Demento after all.
Robotech tabletop miniatures game
Backed by Kevin Siembieda, sweet minis, boatloads of unlocked minis at this point. As a long time Robotech fanboy I can’t wait for this, and I’m throwing as much money at them as I can.
I’m a fan of The Neverhood, so I jumped at this:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1949537745/armikrog
Funding period ends June 30. After only 3 days they’re over 40% funded.
Here are 2 comic projects.
The first is a fictional account of the 18th century robot that played chess. It was known as the Mechanical Turk and it was a marvel of the era. Also a scam of course.
Jane Irwin pens The Clockwork Game in glorious black and white. You can read it all online for free: kickstarter funds the print job. I’ve only read the early part of her graphic novel: I’m looking forward to the paper product. 16 days to go.
Citing the work of K. Anders Ericsson, Malcolm Gladwell claims that a prerequisite for great work is …10,000 hours of focus on the craft. The Beatles did it in Hamburg. Bill Gates spent 10,000 hours on a school computer he gained access to in 1968. Gladwell cites a study comparing the quality of the music played by different violinists at the Music Academy of West Berlin. Apparently a key factor was practice time, though I assume the quality of one’s practice plays a role as well.
Over at Kickstarter budding graphic artist Stephen McCranie launches Brick by Brick a 200 page comic on what he calls “Sustainable creativity”. How do you reach and sustain 10,000 hours of smart practice? I’m not sure about his answers (I haven’t read the work) but I think McCranie asks some very good questions. Worth a look and a visit to his website. Maybe even worth a Cafe Society thread or an entry at Boing Boing. 9 days to go.
And while we’re on the subject of comics discussing the creative process, I’d like to plug Radio: An Illustrated Guide, by Ira Glass of This American Life and alt comic artist Jessica Abel. Recommended.
I enjoyed both The Clockwork Game and Brick by Brick, now available at an online retailer near you.
I currently have 2 projects in the bin. Paperwallet is “A super thin tyvek wallet designed by artists.” The artistry is ok, but what attracts me is the thin but strong material. Maybe it would last a year. 3 days to go!
Number 2 is the comic Poorcraft: it’s a sequel covering inexpensive travel. Sample pages available. Pick up the first as well: you can get 2 .pdfs for $8. Cheap! 16 days to go!
TV Tropes has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to revamp their site.
Okay, I’m a dummy. I went to the Kickstarter site, but I’m still not understanding. I get that a person can donate money to fund projects, etc., but then what? Is that it? Is there return on investment (ROI)? Or is this just giving money to somebody for the hell of it?
It’s not an investment.
Think of it as an advance purchase. Or think of yourself as a patron of the arts, sort of like Medici but without the outrageous fortune. Or maybe it’s charity without a tax deduction (and in a few cases with a tax deduction). Most projects are somewhere on that spectrum. With Poorcraft you chip in $8 and get 2 .pdf comics in a few months. TVtropes is basically charity, with a t-shirt thrown in. Realize though that delays are to be expected and the project may fail. You are providing the creator with a kick start and sometimes the engine just won’t turn over. Caveat donor.
Thanks. I donate to Kiva, which helps start-up businesses in the third world. It also has no ROI, but your loan usually gets repaid (they have a phenomenal 98% repayment rate) so you can donate it again and again to other small businesses.