[Sixstrings]

Interesting trend out there lately: crowdfunding. Using social media to get small investors. Obama just signed a law that will make this easier.

With Kickstarter.com for example, a musician has raised $500k+ for her new album. Now my problem with this site is it appears that investors never get paid back or maybe I'm wrong and it's an "interest-free loan," but there's no profit sharing and you don't get a share of stock you can sell, rather the investors get other intangible rewards:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')t this very second, thousands of people are checking out projects on Kickstarter. They're rallying around their friends' ideas, backing projects from people they've long admired, and discovering things that make them laugh and smile.

Every project is independently crafted, put to all-or-nothing funding,
and supported by friends, fans, and the public in return for rewards.

Rewards are things like a copy of what’s being made, a limited edition, or a custom experience related to the project. This isn’t Best Buy – rewards aren’t shrink-wrapped and ready to ship. Once the project is funded, the journey to bring them to life begins.
http://www.kickstarter.com/

[The Practician]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'I')
As for crowdfunding -- it's sure interesting, but I think with the looser regulations a lot of small investors are going to get taken.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('The Practician', 'D')ave Cohen, who writes the Decline of the Empire Blog, did an excellent post on this issue back in March. you should check it out.

[radon]

Regulation is not panacea. It is an additional cost, and then there is always a question "who will regulate the regulators".

In microfinance, the cost of regulation may well be at par or exceed the amounts raised for the start up. So that the taxpayers or whoever would have to spend another grand on regulatory filings or the regulators' salaries for every grand raised.

The easiest way for them would be to prohibit any investment-type activities altogether, limiting the scope of contributions to donations. The start ups should be forbidden to make any promises regarding investor returns under the threat that violation would entail permanent ban and blacklisting. But then the contributors should be able to open up accounts with the website to which the recipients could later donate back whatever amounts they would like.

[SeaGypsy]

I'm going to put up an idea and see what comes of it. Something about throwing an outrigger together and sailing it on the fly from Australia to Asia via the last remaining aboriginal tribes. Being open source only matters if any Joe Blogs can take your concept to development. I personally don't see anything seriously wrong, given the constraints you bring up 6. There is way too much elitism when it comes to either investing or seeking investment. An Ebay level of accountability seems about right.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'I')'m going to put up an idea and see what comes of it.

[SeaGypsy]

I have just noted that it's all American. Doubtful I would get any help to do something in Australia, can't find a single funded entry outside the USA.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://www5.pcmag.com/media/images/341856-pebble-smartwatch.jpg?thumb=y[/img]

Pebble Smartwatch Sells Out, Collects $10 Million on Kickstarter

The Pebble smartwatch, a smartphone-connected watch that recently became the most-funded Kickstarter project ever, is sold out.

The team behind the watch stopped taking pre-orders on Thursday, after pre-selling 85,000 devices and raising more than $10 million on the crowd-sourced funding platform Kickstarter.

The Pebble team earlier this week updated its Kickstarter page to say that it would limit the number of pre-orders to 85,000. As of Thursday, the project had raised more than $10.1 million from 66,550 backers, with eight days left.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404295,00.asp

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SeaGypsy', 'I') have just noted that it's all American. Doubtful I would get any help to do something in Australia, can't find a single funded entry outside the USA.

[traderman6]

Y$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '[')img]http://www5.pcmag.com/media/images/341856-pebble-smartwatch.jpg?thumb=y[/img]

Pebble Smartwatch Sells Out, Collects $10 Million on Kickstarter

The Pebble smartwatch, a smartphone-connected watch that recently became the most-funded Kickstarter project ever, is sold out.

The team behind the watch stopped taking pre-orders on Thursday, after pre-selling 85,000 devices and raising more than $10 million on the crowd-sourced funding platform Kickstarter.

The Pebble team earlier this week updated its Kickstarter page to say that it would limit the number of pre-orders to 85,000. As of Thursday, the project had raised more than $10.1 million from 66,550 backers, with eight days left.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2404295,00.asp

[Sixstrings]

Lol, thought my posts in this thread sounded spammy but I was just interested.

Now I get a spam reply.

Go away spam!!!!

No I don't have a point about crowdfunding, we are humans talking here and aren't paid to talk, go away.

(I HATE spam)

[SeaGypsy]

If anything I don't like about that site it's the hype side of it. However it appear some fairly 'out there' stuff is getting funded, particularly in publishing, I have a brother who is flat out with a family and horticulture business, has a book's work of knowledge which has so far gone un-researched and un- published (Victorian Aboriginal Medicine and Food plants identification). He doesn't want to end up getting a tiny percentage and having to be a best seller to make any real money out of his many years work. So anyway, I introduced him to the links you provided here 6, he is seriously likely to get something up via crowdfunding. Neither of us had heard of this until your introduction, so thanks 6Strings!