Almost every week it seems like yet another hot new tech toy or indie arts campaign is on the verge of setting one more Kickstarter record.
To date, backers have chipped in $378 million to more than 34,000 successful campaigns in every category on the crowdfunding site. And this year, for the first time since its 2009 launch, not one, but 17 campaigns crossed the million dollar mark, with one project reaching the major milestone in just over eight hours.
As our founder Om Malik has said, Kickstarter is more than a startup. It’s helping open the door to a new kind of economy that rewards the “makers,” not just the industrialists.
Yes, crowdfunding has problems that need to be ironed out — studies have shown that the majority of projects in design and technology miss their deadlines and questions remain regarding what happens when creators aren’t able to complete their projects. But Kickstarter has undeniably helped spark a crowdfunding craze, with new sites popping up to serve nearly every industry, from health and science to philanthropy and investing.
Given the collection of creativity on Kickstarter, singling out just a few noteworthy campaigns was a challenge. But here’s a roundup of our favorite crowdfunding campaigns to launch this year.
ArduSat
ATOMS Express Toys
LUMO Smart Posture Sensor
Matter
OUYA
Pebble E-Paper Watch
Safecast X
SmartThings
To Be or Not to Be
Ubi
Go to page 2 (of 12) on GigaOM .
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