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Kickstarter is a great idea to crowd source small, actually useful projects, but it’s become a bit like a digital begging ground of late. Instead of signs on the street saying “will work for food”, these days its as if you’ve got the online homeless holding signs with “will kickstart for six figures” printed on them. Pay people oodles of money for some crummy idea that’ll never work anyway – that’s progress.
The Oatmeal State of the Web spring collection is out, including such gems as “Dear Valve: Please make a gaming console”; why Google Goggles will mean no one will ever sleep with you again, and Facebook paid how much for Instagram? Genius, yet again. [The Oatmeal]
RE the Googl+ one Matthew has made it clear that he was talking about other people not himself https://plus.google.com/u/0/100193529331792590881/posts/ipBJF9htm8h.
Also I shall use this post to drum up members for the Gizmodo UK Google+ circle. If you are on G+ come find me there and let me know and I’ll add you to the circle.
i thought they have achieved some decent funding for decent projects?
So basically what you’re saying is that Kickstarter can be a magnet for dumb investors?
ah, the oatmeal, the incredibly sexist and careless nerd publication du jour that isn’t xkcd
although i have to agree with the point. whilst there are some good kickstarters (david liebe hart’s punk album) there are more terrible ones (ron paul video game, atheist shoes)
“incredibly sexist and careless” – would you care to back up this statement with examples?
http://www.dailydot.com/society/oatmeal-sexist-female-gamer-comic-apology/
I don’t really see that as sexist. A clumsy generalisation and open to misinterpretation undoubtedly but not deliberately sexist
Tbh it does have an element of truth to it. You do have the creepy girl lover guys. But on the other side you have the verbal harrassing ones. It’s not sexist though, it’s not disrespecting either sex.
We may state that crowd funding is a honest modern use of the Internet as it is one of the few places that generates funds in a honest and transparent way. While many sites, including this one, are full of dirty adverts from anyone who will pay, as it has no real service to provide other than aggregate information under the pretence of journalism – the contract is interact here and make me money in return – a form of modern prostitution for easy money without talent or merit.
The point is we can twist metaphors all day but nobody comes out feeling good about it, I need a shower as I suddenly feel dirty. So lets just say crowd funding is business investment and aggregating news is journalism, and we can all move forwards pretending to be doing honourable things, otherwise if they are begging for funds then you are whoring content. You decide which it is?
Alternative title: “Hey guys, I read The Oatmeal!”