Crowdfunding became a major way for projects to get off the ground in the past decade.
And, in some industries like video games, it is even being incorporated into broader business strategies.
But that doesn’t mean there aren’t more than a few bad apples here and there.
That’s probably one of the many motivations behind Indiegogo’s latest change to how users submit campaigns to its platform.
From now on, new campaigns will need to be vetted by a team at Indiegogo before going live. While this probably won’t avoid all of the downsides of crowdfunding, it is certainly a step in the right direction as far as making changes.
In a blog discussing the broader reforms to its platform, Indiegogo’s Vice President Will Haines wrote, “Candidly, we have not always lived up to our backers’ expectations. Matching the ethos of the late 2000s, Indiegogo was founded as an open platform where anyone could raise money for almost anything, with little restriction.”
Apparently, Indiegogo backers, the people that fund the campaigns on the site, want something different.
“However, I’ve learned that ‘open’ is not what our community wants. Crowdfunding is not shopping — people generally understand that now — but it also shouldn’t be a leap in the dark. And it certainly can’t be scamming. Our community of backers is the reason that anything happens on Indiegogo, and they are counting on the platform to be a safe, trusted space to engage with innovation.”
So, it’s about preventing fraud, right? Sort of, but it’s also about the broader Indiegogo community.
“Community and trust are the foundation of what makes crowdfunding work. Without them, taking the risk to get in early on a great idea doesn’t make sense. The risk has to be worth it, and backers need the tools to make an informed decision.”
The raft of changes the company is proposing to make should take up much of its time over the next year (meaning: Don’t expect anything it all to happen overnight).
Whether this will indicate a broader shift in the crowdfunding space remains to be seen but it should be interesting to watch.
What do you think of Indiegogo’s new policy? Will this help weed out the bad projects from the rest? Or simply make competitors the place to go if you want to crowdfund? Let us know your thoughts on Indiegogo’s changes in the comments below.
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[DPReview]
