Lesann Berry

KICKSTARTER is a crowdsourcing venue. Officially, they tag themselves as a funding platform for creative projects. And they are. It’s an interesting idea and I love browsing the projects for which people are seeking financial support.  There are so many cool and fun and bizarre things to check out.

One of the things I love about Kickstarter, is watching the video where hopefuls pitch their story. Sometimes these are incredibly heart-wrenching, often they’re funny and clever. They’re almost always great entertainment and there is an endless stream of incredibly creative ideas pouring through Kickstarter campaigns. You should check some out. Really.

sample of Freud’s handwriting

Here’s one about people hoping to create a font based on Sigmund Freud’s handwriting: SIGMUND FREUD TYPEFACE. You can write a letter to your psychiatrist in Freud’s hand… or your doctor can write one to you and perhaps channel the fine old gentleman. Hmm.

Here’s one I’ve opted to help finance: TWINSTERS is about two girls who found each other via the internet and discovered that not only do they look awfully familiar, but it turns out they were born on the same day, in the same city in Korea, both having been adopted out to families in other countries. You can help them discover each other and determine if their growing relationship will end with the genetic proof they are twins.

Here’s another that caught my eye, a story about a journey: WEST BY SEA. The tagline for this campaign is “join us (vicariously) as we circle the planet, and then transform 104 daily posts into a full-color treasure book” and is motivated by more than just a desire to travel. This is a fine reminder that it is better to live our dreams in the now.

The site is all about funding and following creativity. Not only do you get to feel good about helping someone achieve their dreams, but they offer you a perk so you can celebrate those mile markers along with them. The incentive levels for each project are selected and created by the person who makes the pitch. I’ve found them to be generous and engaging. I love the sense of community that lives at Kickstarter.

You can also create your own Kickstarter Campaign and ask folks to help you reach your goal. This is one of the beautiful aspects of living in today’s technological milieu – there are new ways to become patrons of the arts. Join. Interact. Support. Dream.

I find many worthy projects. So will you. Let’s have a competition to see how many we can fund between us, okay? Let’s help some of the friends we haven’t yet met, dream bigger and harder and farther. Let’s put some of our words about making the world a better place, into action. I will. Won’t you?