When I wrote software for a living (back in the 1980's - yes, there was computing - and even some computer networking - before the Web ;-) I spent a lot of time trying different paths to get to a desired result. Programming required experimentation. Things I thought would work sometimes did not work. Sometimes I could figure out why, but it was also not unusual to simply try something else to achieve result X instead of trying to understand precisely why an earlier attempt to achieve X didn't work.
I am discovering that crowdfunding -- and in particular trying to spread the word about our crowdfunding project http://www.indiegogo.com/notes-from-when -- is much the same. It requires experimentation. Sometimes things just don't work as expected.
It's not always a bug - sometimes it's simply a different choice by the programmers who wrote the tools. I've just discovered, for example, that when I add an image in an update to indiegogo, that image is automatically added to the project's gallery, so I didn't need to add it separately after all.
Sometimes, though, it is a bug. YouTube offers an annotation editor that is supposed to let me add a link to my fundraising project within a video. The link shows up OK, but it's not clickable. I'm not the only one who's experienced this problem, according to forum entries http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/youtube/XzrDZb-jdGo.
I'm also discovering the value of images and experimentation with images. Programmers write programs largely in text - most if not all source code is text. But there's as much complexity - as many options and opportunities to benefit from judgment and experience - in the choice and manipulation of images as there is in the choice and manipulation of data structures and algorithms. Luckily, I'm married to a professional graphic designer (http://krisimagery.com/) who is also really good with computers :-) For instance, on my own I would have simply posted a simple text example of the kind of automatically generated note my project software will produce once the project is funded and the software is implemented. Instead, on her advice and with her expert help, I was able to upload a very nice image of the note instead, both to the project and to the project's facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NotesFromWhen. Turns out I was effectively experimenting with the project's visual marketing options when I asked her about the text, even though I didn't know it at the time! That's OK with me. Just like programming, marketing this crowdfunding project requires experimentation.
I'm taking tomorrow off for the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
A software crowdfunding blog
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
One project but several websites
Our crowdfunding project, http://indiegogo.com/notes-from-when, has several components on the Indiegogo website - a video, a list of perks for supporting the project, bio of the project's team, etc. But that website - key though it is - is only one of several websites that collectively contribute to the project. To also help get the word out, video is hosted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOIbflXkRcs, this blog is hosted here at http://notesfromwhen.blogspot.com/, and there's a Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NotesFromWhen. I also posted a link on Google+ https://plus.google.com/u/0/?wwc=1#107472984655716945649/posts.
Beyond the marketing sites, there are financial sites (PayPal and a bank; for Kickstarter this category would have included Amazon payments), email sites (multiple email addresses got involved - not sure if that's a good thing yet, or whether it's avoidable), and an as-yet-undeveloped website NotesFromWhen.com. Since I'm a patent attorney, you would also expect me to take steps to register and protect intellectual property rights, and you'd be correct - that brings in www.uspto.gov (US Patent and Trademark Office), http://www.copyright.gov/ (US Copyright Office), and a state dba registration site (http://corporations.utah.gov/ in my case).
In short, my experience so far is that managing a crowdfunding project involves a dozen or so websites, in one way or another, not just one site such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter. That's OK with me. In fact, despite its rough spots, the Internet is a very cool place :-)
Beyond the marketing sites, there are financial sites (PayPal and a bank; for Kickstarter this category would have included Amazon payments), email sites (multiple email addresses got involved - not sure if that's a good thing yet, or whether it's avoidable), and an as-yet-undeveloped website NotesFromWhen.com. Since I'm a patent attorney, you would also expect me to take steps to register and protect intellectual property rights, and you'd be correct - that brings in www.uspto.gov (US Patent and Trademark Office), http://www.copyright.gov/ (US Copyright Office), and a state dba registration site (http://corporations.utah.gov/ in my case).
In short, my experience so far is that managing a crowdfunding project involves a dozen or so websites, in one way or another, not just one site such as Indiegogo or Kickstarter. That's OK with me. In fact, despite its rough spots, the Internet is a very cool place :-)
This blog is a history of a software crowdfunding project. The project is at http://www.indiegogo.com/notes-from-when?a=1782875. The project is to fund implementation of software that will strengthen family ties by helping younger family members understand how the world has changed since older family members were their age, using automatically selected historic facts of interest to the younger member. For instance, if a child Adam is interested in animals and cars, the software could generate a message like this:
Adam, with your Grandpa George’s birthday just 6 days away, I thought you might like to know some ways the world has changed since Grandpa George was your age. When Grandpa George was 17, in 1934, the Central Park Zoo was opened in New York City, and the Nash Motor Company produced its 1,000,000th car. The world changes, but your Grandpa George will always be proud of you. Love, Dad
The project was initially targeted at Kickstarter, but after it was all assembled and submitted (video, rewards, bio, etc.), and after I had jumped the hoops to register with Amazon payments as Kickstarter requires, Kickstarter sent me an email saying they declined the project:
<URL redacted>
Kickstarter's decision was very disappointing, and I still do not understand the reasons for it; the email is vague and they didn't say which of the various criteria they considered unsatisfied.
But porting the project to Indiegogo was pretty easy - mostly a matter of shortening the descriptions of the rewards ("perks") offered for supporting the project. Indiegogo also accepts credit cards directly, which Kickstarter apparently does not. So in the long run, Kickstarter's narrower focus on projects to host will probably be a good thing for the Notes From WhenTM project.
It's 4:17 am and I've been up since 1:45, checking emails, assembling a list of the sites involved (more on that in a later post), writing this blog, etc. I really want this project to succeed! But as one piece of feedback said, We shall see. :-)
Adam, with your Grandpa George’s birthday just 6 days away, I thought you might like to know some ways the world has changed since Grandpa George was your age. When Grandpa George was 17, in 1934, the Central Park Zoo was opened in New York City, and the Nash Motor Company produced its 1,000,000th car. The world changes, but your Grandpa George will always be proud of you. Love, Dad
The project was initially targeted at Kickstarter, but after it was all assembled and submitted (video, rewards, bio, etc.), and after I had jumped the hoops to register with Amazon payments as Kickstarter requires, Kickstarter sent me an email saying they declined the project:
|
Hi John, Thanks for taking the time to share your project with Kickstarter. We review projects to ensure they meet our Project Guidelines (http://www.kickstarter.com/help/guidelines), which define how Kickstarter can be used. They express our commitment to being a platform for projects in the creative arts. Unfortunately, this project does not meet our guidelines. In the Design & Technology categories we have a "form as well as function" aesthetic focus that we apply to all project submissions. In short, we're looking for projects that are either anchored in the art and design world or the hacker/maker community. You'll see this listed in our prohibited items and explained in our Product Design & Tech guidelines. This isn't a judgment on the quality of this project, just a reflection of our focus. We wish you the best as you continue to pursue this endeavor. If you have future projects that meet our focus, we hope you'll consider Kickstarter again. Best, Kickstarter If you feel that your project meets the Kickstarter Project Guidelines, you can submit an appeal for reconsideration: |
Kickstarter's decision was very disappointing, and I still do not understand the reasons for it; the email is vague and they didn't say which of the various criteria they considered unsatisfied.
But porting the project to Indiegogo was pretty easy - mostly a matter of shortening the descriptions of the rewards ("perks") offered for supporting the project. Indiegogo also accepts credit cards directly, which Kickstarter apparently does not. So in the long run, Kickstarter's narrower focus on projects to host will probably be a good thing for the Notes From WhenTM project.
It's 4:17 am and I've been up since 1:45, checking emails, assembling a list of the sites involved (more on that in a later post), writing this blog, etc. I really want this project to succeed! But as one piece of feedback said, We shall see. :-)
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