Opinion

My problem with Kickstarter and the like

17.11.2022

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

Crowdfunding is often associated with long waiting periods and uncertainty. I can live with that. The bigger problem is my ever-changing taste.

It’s April 2021 and I’ve got Matrix fever. At the end of the year, the fourth movie will finally come to cinemas. In my euphoria, I discover a group buy for a keyboard, namely the Glitch by Protozoa. The look reminds me of the iconic computer code – Matrix digital rain – from the film series. The thing is supposed to be delivered within four months after the group buy. I decide to go for it. I should have the keyboard right in time for the movie’s release – perfect! If only.

Of group buys and banana skins

On crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, you team up with others to fund a product. If a defined campaign goal is achieved, the project comes to fruition; if not, then it doesn’t. The same principle applies to keyboard group buys. You have no guarantee that you’ll ever hold the finished product in your hands or if it’ll meet your expectations. Add to that the fact that production only starts after a successful campaign and (long) waiting times and delays are the norm.

This is all part of the Kickstarter concept – and I’m perfectly okay with that. Over the past few years, I’ve participated in numerous group buys, so I know the deal. However, I always forget to take my ever-changing taste into account. Even at nearly 40 years of age, it’s still a fickle fellow.

When your taste changes

After several postponements, I learn at the end of September 2022 – almost a year after the original delivery date – that the Glitch is somewhere on a ship between China and Europe. That means it should arrive soon, right? After all, there’s no Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal anymore.

Wrong. It’s mid-November, and I’m still waiting for it. Actually, I’m not really waiting for it anymore, just waiting. After seeing the movie, I wasn’t feeling Matrix anymore. And with that, I’m not feeling the Matrix digital rain keyboard either. I just don’t like it anymore. Unfortunately, this group buy doesn’t allow me to cancel my order. To be fair, had I received the keyboard immediately after purchase, I probably wouldn’t be into the look regardless. But at least I would have enjoyed typing on it for a while.

Waiting a year and a half for a product that’s so dependent on taste is obviously not something I’m capable of. But that’s the very DNA of crowdfunding. The problem with Kickstarter and the like isn’t the long delivery times or the uncertainty of the product. The problem is my erratic taste. Next time I pitch in to crowdfunding, I’ll think it through better – or so I hope.

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Kevin Hofer

Senior Editor

kevin.hofer@digitecgalaxus.ch

From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.

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