Wednesday, January 8, 2014

RocketHub--same as Kickstarter?

WIRED Magazine, Dec 2013, bills RocketHub.com as a scientific crowdfunding site, sans vanity movie projects by well-known movie stars and that sort of thing.

They touted it for a campaign to raise $250K to complete FDA studies on a drug to fight autoimmune diseases, an app to play whale songs and fund ocean research, and $18,700 for algae research..

Another project mentioned by WIRED was to examine Golden Eagle poo to see what they are eating. This only costs $1,600.

I went to the site and someone wanted money to replace his roof. Other projects seemed equally nice, but not really scientific.

What do you think of crowdfunding in general? I think it seems like a hard way to go. There is a time limit and the ones I have seen--including one for a great little independent film--seem impossible to fulfill.

But I guess people--sometimes--get what they need. And maybe it will be refined as time goes on.