The Pebble watch is about to ship. That shipment will be a milestone in Crowdfunding history.
The Pebble watch is a famous, rewards-based crowdfunding project.
Rewards CF has made (is making) an impressive impact on the economy. It's the kind of serendipitous thing an economist could never have predicted. It's one of those 2 + 2 = 5 things.
The Web Needed to Mature Before Rewards-based Crowdfunding Could Flourish
Web 1.0 was about experts creating web sites that the masses could see. In Web 1.0 Amazon was able to build a store and sell to the masses.
Web 2.0 was about the masses being able to talk and create and share content publicly and cheaply (via youtube, Myspace, facebook, twitter). Eventually, as Web 2.0 really became cheap and integral to our lives, a new form of economic activity emerged: rewards crowdfunding.
A New Economic Tradition
Rewards Crowdfunding broke traditional models. It did not give equity (stock) or IOUs (debt) to backers because those financial instruments carry too much baggage. Rewards Crowdfunding is not a mere charity transaction. It is something beautifully new.
Rewards Crowdfunding is about telling a story to people who are spread all over the place, involving people in the story, showing people they will get a little piece of the story and keeping people engaged in the story. It creates new companies and new jobs in an otherwise ossified economy.
–Benjamin Wright
The Pebble watch is a famous, rewards-based crowdfunding project.
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| Web History |
The Web Needed to Mature Before Rewards-based Crowdfunding Could Flourish
Web 1.0 was about experts creating web sites that the masses could see. In Web 1.0 Amazon was able to build a store and sell to the masses.
Web 2.0 was about the masses being able to talk and create and share content publicly and cheaply (via youtube, Myspace, facebook, twitter). Eventually, as Web 2.0 really became cheap and integral to our lives, a new form of economic activity emerged: rewards crowdfunding.
A New Economic Tradition
Rewards Crowdfunding broke traditional models. It did not give equity (stock) or IOUs (debt) to backers because those financial instruments carry too much baggage. Rewards Crowdfunding is not a mere charity transaction. It is something beautifully new.
Rewards Crowdfunding is about telling a story to people who are spread all over the place, involving people in the story, showing people they will get a little piece of the story and keeping people engaged in the story. It creates new companies and new jobs in an otherwise ossified economy.
–Benjamin Wright
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