Thomas Edison once said, “To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”
If the inventor were alive today, he might tweak that last word to “support.” As it turns out, inventing has shifted dramatically in the years since the first light bulb. What was once a solitary pursuit in relative darkness is now very much a crowd sport in the democratic glow of the web.
At least, it is over at Kickstarter.com, a site where everyday people pitch “projects” to potential “backers” from all over the world. Kickstarter, which calls itself a “new form of commerce and patronage,” operates with an all-or-nothing funding platform.
The creator, who can pitch a project for free, sets a “funding goal.” If the goal is reached — and only if it’s reached — the project goes forward and is deemed a success. Anyone with a major credit or debit card, meanwhile, can be a backer.
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