Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other crowdfunding platforms aren’t there for funding that $1,000 camera you’ve been drooling over.
Today in “face palm-worthy stuff you find in the Internet”, we spotted an Indiegogo campaign by someone asking funding for photography equipment, and subsequently, his stint as an amateur photographer. This is not meant to shame the person to a pulp, but more to raise awareness for people like him about what crowdfunding platforms are made for. And it’s definitely not for funding your next camera purchase.
I’m not even including the campaign owner’s name here; you can go ahead and see it right there on the screengrab above of the Indiegogo page. There, he’s asking $1 from potential backers to reach his $1,000 goal. He merely says he wants to be an amateur photographer, he needs inspiration, and needs equipment. There’s not even a story; he didn’t even bother taking out the template’s text for that section. Either he doesn’t understand what that is for, or he doesn’t have anything to put there. He just needs people to fund his photography equipment.
Platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter are there not so you can ask random people to fund whatever whim you have in mind. Certainly not something like photography equipment for the sake of it. These funding channels are there to help creators, project managers, inventors, artists, storytellers, designers, and more get their dream projects done, whether it’s a new product, a pioneering tech, a book, a movie, or even a start-up company. In return for the support, backers get first dibs on their products, services, and other “perks.” That’s how it’s fair, and that’s how it works.
While I must admit I have no idea about this person’s background or ability to purchase his own camera, I’m sure everyone will agree that this isn’t the right way to do it. He could just borrow a camera to practice with, or buy a second hand one (like the beloved Fujifilm X100). Then, maybe once he comes up with a photography project, that’s when he can consider going back to the crowdfunding route.
It’s not surprising that he hasn’t made a single $ (but who knows, there are two months left). But I sincerely wish he’ll find the means to get the equipment that he wants — or at least he can start with.
