It seems that everyone has an opinion on crowdsourcing. Some say it is going to liberate the artists, others say that scammers will ruin it.
My observation is that the crowd has the ability to recognize quality and that good projects get funded.
Here are two examples:
Chris Jordan's Midway Project
Chris is a very talented and successful photographer who has launched an incredible project featuring the albatrosses on Midway in the north pacific ocean. You can learn more about Chris here. You can see the a video treatment of the idea here. And you can contribute on KickStarter here. In two days he is already at 238 backers and nearly $15,000 of his $100,000 goal.
Neal Stepheneson's Clang
Neal Stephenson is one of my favorite authors. Cryptonomicon is one of my favorite books of all time and I liked Reamde quite a bit too. He wants to revolutionize swordplay in video games and has launched an effort called Clang. Check it out here. In two days he has over 3,000 contributors and is about to push past $200,000 on the way to his $500,000 goal.
It is hard to watch either of these pitches and resist getting involved. And getting involved has never been easier.