Yes, unfortunately social plays a larger role than you think. Which is why I prefer to think of all these crowd funding platforms as "social funding" platforms.
It'd be nice to create a true crowd funding platform where your project's success is based off the actual project rather than the creator's "klout".
But... the intangible part of a project is often the person/team behind it, whether you trust them to actually deliver, and whether you trust their instincts, perhaps based on previous interactions (hence the popularity aspect coming in to play).
I've had numerous people I've counseled (can't think of a better term) over the last 6 months with an app or product idea. Almost always their first plan is "I'm gonna do a kickstarter". Terrible terrible approach, imo, precisely because it's mostly a popularity contest, or 'who you know'. None of these people who I've spoken with have large networks, and their kickstarters have generally been poor turnouts. Correlation or causation? I'm inclined to causation.
But... the intangible part of a project is often the person/team behind it, whether you trust them to actually deliver, and whether you trust their instincts, perhaps based on previous interactions (hence the popularity aspect coming in to play).
That's precisely the issue to solve. How to show a "karma" that is close to your real capabilities.
Comments
Yes, unfortunately social plays a larger role than you think. Which is why I prefer to think of all these crowd funding platforms as "social funding" platforms.
It'd be nice to create a true crowd funding platform where your project's success is based off the actual project rather than the creator's "klout".
But... the intangible part of a project is often the person/team behind it, whether you trust them to actually deliver, and whether you trust their instincts, perhaps based on previous interactions (hence the popularity aspect coming in to play).
I've had numerous people I've counseled (can't think of a better term) over the last 6 months with an app or product idea. Almost always their first plan is "I'm gonna do a kickstarter". Terrible terrible approach, imo, precisely because it's mostly a popularity contest, or 'who you know'. None of these people who I've spoken with have large networks, and their kickstarters have generally been poor turnouts. Correlation or causation? I'm inclined to causation.
But... the intangible part of a project is often the person/team behind it, whether you trust them to actually deliver, and whether you trust their instincts, perhaps based on previous interactions (hence the popularity aspect coming in to play).
That's precisely the issue to solve. How to show a "karma" that is close to your real capabilities.