Funny old thing, this crowd-funding business. The way you think it's going to work isn't always the way things turn out. For instance, I naively thought that if you tell all your friends about the whole idea as clearly and succinctly as possible, they will immediately rush to your support. And they do, of course, in an abstract "wow, that's a great idea" or "that's interesting - I hope it works out" kind of way.
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| "A Twist of Pearl" : Digital painting : Copyright © 2005 by Martin Herbert |
In internet terms, that kind of translates to a 'like' on Facebook. Unfortunately, that's it. Don't get me wrong, I mean it's great that someone 'likes' my meticulously crafted Facebook update which is promoting my equally meticulously crafted blog post, which is creatively illustrating my equally meticulously crafted and innovative creative business concept. That's great, and I'm really grateful for all and any attention we can garner for the project. Thanks - everyone!
However, as far as crowd-funding goes, there are 2 things necessary for it to work - firstly people have to give us actual money. There is a vast chasm between saying "best of luck with that" and saying "best of luck with that - here's £1". If 1000 people do the former, we receive a nice warm glow and a feeling that we're appreciated. And that's it. If, on the other hand, 1000 people do the latter, we receive a nice warm glow and £1000, which is enough to buy a good quality A2+ giclée printer. Spot the difference? I hope so!
The difference between a 'like' on Facebook and a 'share' on Facebook, on the other hand, is not as easy to spot, bit it's equally, if not even more, important. A 'like' says "I wish you luck", but a 'share' says "I wish you luck, and to show it I'm going to tell all my friends about your project!". Crowd-funding only works if your message is reaching a crowd, and a big one at that.
There is a third part of the equation which is even harder to grasp immediately. If you visit our campaign page it would be great if you could leave a comment! The reason - one thing which is guaranteed to make a campaign successful is if it gets featured in the indiegogo home page or in their newsletter. The campaigns that happens to are not selected by the indiegogo staff, but by their computer, according to some complex calculations that decide how popular your campaign is. That's not just about how much money you're raising, but many other things including the number of comments we receive. It's wonderful if everyone goes to the campaign page and appreciates it, but appreciating it visibly actually makes a big difference to our bottom line.(Look for the tab that says ´Comments´on it near the top of the page).
So, much as I hate to harangue and beseech our friends and relations, please take 10 minutes out of your life to read, donate, share and comment! To meticulously craft a creative metaphor, we've spent the last four months kneading the dough, encouraging it to rise, and trying to bake the perfect loaf. Our bread is well and truly cast upon the waters - whether it returns to us or not is in your hands.
I think it's far too easy for someone to click the 'like' button on anything nowadays. In terms of promoting a gig for instance, in my experience, it means absolutely nothing. A hundred people will like your poster for a gig at the Gremlin next week but guess what? Hardly anyone turns up. Much as I love the concept of the internet and social networking, I think it's created a nation (world) of people sat at their computers, at the kitchen table, like I am now, not actually leaving the house except to go to work. Okay, we don't have any money these days but we've been turned into secretaries. I never had this much social networking 'paperwork' to deal with before computers and the internet showed up. Of course I don't have any answers and I really feel for artistic folk who have spent months and years on a project, and now they need to see it fly. I'm in the same position (WARNING: personal plug coming up) with the rock opera I'm currently writing and recording. When it's finished I'll have the same slog to try and get some movement on it. BTW you can listen to tracks from it at www.scribbleman.bandcamp.com. (That was the personal plug). Perhaps we have to return to the days of 'patrons' ie people with stacks of cash who'll fund an artist's work. I guess that's what crowdfunding is trying to do. It's a slog when the big spenders aren't coming up with the dosh. I suppose, Martin, that 'sharing' might be the answer. It's not 'liking' anyway. That much I do know...
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