What have you backed on KickStarter?

I've tended to stay away from Kickstarter.. not because I don't trust it or don't believe the projects are well-intentioned.. Have a family to take care of.

However, one project that I did back from KS is Reading Rainbow. I made mention of that in its own thread in the Current Events section. Top 5 projects aside, I think RR is probably the best project I've seen on Kickstarter.

BL.

None. I'm very tight by nature!

Apple fanboy said:

None. I'm very tight by nature!

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Hmm.. From your .sig:

Late 2012 21" iMac 2.9GHz i5, ITB FD, 16G RAM, 2 TB TC, iPhone 5 32GB, iPad Air 32G, iPad 4 32G, iPad 2 16G, ATV2, iPod touch 8G, Xbox 360 Nikon D7100/D300 70-200 24-70 14-24 60 10.5 mm (all 2.8)

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Could have fooled us!

BL.

Two Joshua Harker projects, and a metal comb project.

Acerone said:

My dog would have loved this... She always took a nap under my chair...

Puppy Crib by Puppy Crib http://kck.st/1lEzRiO

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Cute project there. If I had a miniature schnauzer again, I'd back it.

But our guide dog would have crawled into that and taken out the chair.

BL.

Just the Keyport Slide 2.0 and that was only because they were an established company already shipping a product. I just backed the newer version of it.

I supported the Open Goldberg Variations project. You can download the public domain recording and score here.

Just did my first one a few weeks ago on the Sense.

Thermodo and iblazr.

I have very little disposable money, so I can only do the small stuff.

If memory serves me right, I've backed only 2 - musicians, one reached his goal and the other, unfortunately did not. Though, there were some gadgets that I thought of backing, but never went through it for one reason or another. Currently, I'm thinking about backing a clothing one and since they've already surpassed their goal, it's pretty much a done deal. Just can't decide if I want to have first dibs on the product.

I've backed a few things:

2 music projects, both by artists I enjoy

a tarot deck project (present for my mother, who does tarot)

I check Kickstarter every so often to see what's going on, but there's a lot of random silly stuff (especially ever since that joke meal thing happened). I'm particularly interested in the technology and science stuff.

Wow. A lot. A couple of the successful backing were: Cookoo Watch, Almond+ Router, Shroud of the Avatar MMO

Several bands produce albums, a couple of self published novels and at least 6 comics or graphic novels

I don't because it seems like making an investment in something that could be making inflated claims as compared to a final product. If a kick star donation is made, and a threshold is not reached, do they return your investment? Will you still have to purchase the program when it is released? Just curious.

I have purchased games with pre-release status on Steam, but those are further along, more certain, such as Space Engineers.

bradl said:

Hmm.. From your .sig:



Could have fooled us!

BL.

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All the camera gear was second hand or refurb.

Huntn said:

If a kick star donation is made, and a threshold is not reached, do they return your investment? Will you still have to purchase the program when it is released? Just curious.

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Nope, you get refunded if the project does not meet its goal. From the FAQ:

"If a project on Kickstarter does not reach its funding goal, no backers are charged and no money changes hands. But there are still positives: creators can get useful feedback and often find new people interested in their work. Creators are welcome to relaunch their projects on Kickstarter and apply lessons learned from the first go-around."

I funded a book, Jett Smith and the Alien Grave. My son and I both read it, and liked it.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/370583796/jett-smith-and-the-alien-grave?ref=nav_search

Apple fanboy said:

All the camera gear was second hand or refurb.

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That may be true, but you're sitting on slightly over $2000 of apple products.. not exactly what you'd call 'tight'; Hence, the joke.

BL.

Elite: Dangerous

I had so many fond memories of the original game that I had to shell out. It got its funding and they will also be making a Mac version!

That's the only thing I've backed, so far. I donated to someone making an album too but I can't remember who it was or if it was definitely on Kickstarter.

bradl said:

That may be true, but you're sitting on slightly over $2000 of apple products.. not exactly what you'd call 'tight'; Hence, the joke.

BL.

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Well that was all bought new. But I am apple fanboy. What do you expect!

I help fund the Gecko Tag - which was an awesome idea, but has been a complete disaster: The accompanying app is barely functional, crashes, REQUIRES an internet connection to even boot up (had I known I would never have given them money), and won't work on anything but an iPhone 5S (neither pieces of information having been provided beforehand). I have a model older iPhone plus an iPad... so I'm up the creek. The gadget's response (to shakes and movements) is very inconsistent as well. $25 I could have been more useful being flushed down the toilet, literally.

The other item was a spinning top. I've loved tops since I was little, and these are handmade and machined and come in a nice little package. Funding is finished but they haven't shipped yet. It looks like the Totem from Inception... though that's not why I helped fund it.

Crowdfunding is iffy imo. The people who do those things have no legal responsibility to actually put the money to use; Kickstarter and Indiegogo both say "we take accountability very seriously... blah blah... if the project doesn't end up being fulfilled we may close their account... blah blah... contribute at your discretion..." which isn't a guarantee at all. And some ideas are downright dumb. Crowdfunding movies made by famous actors who already have the ability to make the movie regardless doesn't make much sense to me. There are needier things to spend money on. :/

I haven't backed anything on Kickstarter, but I did fund the Robobrrd IndieGogo campaign to have something fun to build with my daughter.

Suture said:

Nope, you get refunded if the project does not meet its goal. From the FAQ:

"If a project on Kickstarter does not reach its funding goal, no backers are charged and no money changes hands. But there are still positives: creators can get useful feedback and often find new people interested in their work. Creators are welcome to relaunch their projects on Kickstarter and apply lessons learned from the first go-around."

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My son works with a guy who has "invested" several hundred dollars in Star Citizen.

13 different projects so far, mostly games and tabletop related games. Out of those, 1 was canceled, 1 didnt make it, and 1 most likely wont make it. The rest have delivered or will surely deliver the final product.