Crowdfunding; the Win-Win Senario

So what is crowdfunding, you might ask? The idea is simple, but it’s power is far-reaching. Essentially, the internet is being used as a tool to allow people who have similar ideas to get together in a way that they never have been able to before. But with this newfound power to bring people together, comes the power to create positive change. Now we are seeing the implications of crowdfunding; When a truely great idea pops up, people are willing to support it. Crowdfunding a way to achieve large financial funding via small donations by posting your idea on the internet- if everyone who believes in the cause gives just a little bit of money, than huge, seemingly unthinkable goals can be achieved.

Take for example the popular crowdfunding site - Kickstarter. They tag their services, saying “Kickstarter is a funding platform for creative projects.” This company is widely popular, and has funded over 90,000 projects since it’s conception. An astounding 38,285 projects have been deemed successful, and this number continues to grow. Kickstarter allows anyone to start a project and ask for funding. These projects are typically accompanied by a short video created by the project’s team, and spotlight’s their idea. Anyone can donate any amount to any of these causes, but it is typical for the project starters to offer some kind of a bonus for people who donate different amounts. (i.e. rewards for spending more)

So why does something like crowdfunding work? By skipping over the “middle man,” it allows backers to directly support their cause. This new idea seems to create win-win scenarios, where the amount of money cut out by the middle man is minimized. After all, who likes to “support a cause” and find out that any portion of their money is not actually going to the cause at all? This attractive new model can be (and is) used for anything from art projects to films and music, to technological and scientific research!

3 awesome kickstarters:

AirQualityEgg - a sensor system designed to allow anyone to collect very high resolution readings of NO2 and CO concentrations outside of their home.  These two gases are the most indicative elements related to urban air pollution that are sense-able by inexpensive, DIY sensors.

3Doodler - The world’s first pen that can draw/print in 3D in realtime.

Oculus Rift - Oculus Rift is a new virtual reality (VR) headset designed specifically for video games that will change the way you think about gaming forever.

Who profits most?

Currently, the largest area of interest within crowdfunding are consumer electronics and video games. But needless to say, there are other great ideas and causes which are being taken up! For example, there’s tons of websites available where you can help crowdfund scientific research. Another example is the micro-lending based site KIVA, which allows you to loan your money to a cause and get paid back in full.

Implications.

It all comes down to the idea of cognitive surplus, a term coined by Clay Shirky. It’s the idea that everyone has free time in their life- but more specifically, free time that could be used productively but instead is being used to lets say, play on some iphone app. If somehow all the unproductive time of everybody in society could be aggregated into a huge resource, this is what is referred to by the term cognitive surplus. Typically, we say that cognitive surplus is an untapped potential to implement positive change- but crowdfunding is a way to get ideas heard, thoughts shared, and things done. Crowdfunding has become a call to action. As members of society, I believe we all have a responsibility to inspire positive change in this world. And while we aren’t obligated to do all the work that must be done, neither should we refrain from it.

In short, i think crowdfunding should be adopted by everyone- and if it was, who knows what could be accomplished?

Sources

1. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1azr7w/why_isnt_there_a_kickstarter_for_scientific/
2. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/edborden/air-quality-egg?ref=yir2012
3. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/MexicoSings/oceanic-verses-an-opera?ref=yir2012
4. http://thechrisvossshow.com/how-crowdfunding-works-infographic/
5. http://www.kiva.org/start
6. http://www.kickstarter.com/help/stats

Alpha Beta

In today’s fast pased soceity, people expect products to be released often, and to be of high quality. A big part of developing any product is quality assurance; the way that products are tested, and the way feedback shapes a product is crucial. From where i stand, the best products use feedback as a two way communication- interacting with the consumer, and having their input shape the product is as much a part of the development, as sitting in a room as a design team and making decisions is.

For sake of interest, let’s take video games as an example.

Alpha testing.

The goal of the alpha phase is to improve the quality of the product, and ensure that the product is going according to schedule. Essentially, ensure beta readiness.

Beta testing.

The goal of the beta phase is to improve the quality of the product, integrate consumer input on the nearly-complete product, and shape/introduce the features which truly make the product shine.

So why are “Alpha” and “Beta” testing such well known buzzwords?

Exclusivity

They give exclusivity to games. People love the exclusivity of new things. If there’s a game that only one quarter of people who have interest can get actually their hands on, it suddenly gains a ‘cool’ factor because it’s exclusive. This helps develop ‘hype’ for the game, and is just as important from a marketing perspective (getting the name out) as it is from a development point of view.

Leaving your mark

Another major reason why people are so fond of their Alpha and Beta tests is to “leave their mark” on it. People like to get their hands dirty, and they like to get their ideas heard. When someone plays your game, they generally give great feedback- and they do so because they want to contribute to making your game better! It is fair to say that people are the only true representation of the consumer within the stages of development, and listening to their advice is crucial.

sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minecraft
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_test
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta_test
4. http://www.centercode.com/blog/2011/01/alpha-vs-beta-testing/
5. http://igf.com/2013/01/2013_independent_games_festiva_3.html  
6. http://www.rickliebling.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/beta-testing.jpeg ( image )

Closing the Gap Between Technology and Real Life.

As technology and design continue to grow and innovate, the best designs typical provail. It can be argued that the best designs are the ones which are intuitive to use- the ones which help bridge the gap between tech. and real life. By this I mean that our gadgets should help us to interact with the world around us, rather than distract. I personally think that society will continue to select the most inherently intuitive designs, and help elevate and inspire toward the limelight.  

Do people need buttons? More and more today, we see touchscreens becoming the norm, but it can be argued that people don’t get the necessary tactile experience that they subconsciously expect when interacting with a flat surface. This begs the question- do we (as people) need buttons on our devices? I personally think we do. In my personal experience, when I’m texting on a phone which has tactile buttons, the task does not require as much attention as if I were to text on a flat touch-screen phone. I don’t think it’s a matter of getting used to touch screens, and i don’t think that we (as society) are getting better at using flat touch screen devices.

Case 1 - cell phone buttons

I’d like to point to Tactus Technology’s recent showcasing of its next-gen mobile tactile tech at SID Display. The display physically morphs to provide tactile buttons on a touchscreen display. In my opinion, this is without a doubt the direction that innovation will take our devices in the next few years. check out a cool video about it on the link below

vimeo.com/6376466

Case 2 - The Eyewriter

The eyewriter is one idea of how we can bridge the gap between real life and technology. It allows the user a way to write on their screen by only using the conscious movement of their eyes! check it out at the link below.

http://www.eyewriter.org/

Conclusion.

I personally think that society will continue to select the most inherently intuitive designs, and this will push technology more towards the way it interacts with real life.

Sources

1. http://www.eyewriter.org/
2. http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/63829-mobile-tactile-tech-gets-physical
3. http://www.futurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/robot_greeting_1-210x143.jpg ( image )