Why I believe in crowdfunding

This is the way the world should work, right?  People who have some financial means helping others chase down the things that are most important to them.  

I'll admit that I am what my friend Kate would call - "capitalist hippy" but that notion certainly feels right to me.  It's all of the good parts of the internet wrapped into one.  A meeting of the minds where people can help one another do great things.    

So yeah, I'm in on crowdfunding as a concept.  

And I'm not alone.  Kickstarter - a site focused on funding creative projects - just announced that over 1 Billion dollars have been pledged on their site. With a B.  Other sites have received massive funding as they go global and extend their platforms.  And I've been able to help my favorite drummer, Stanton Moore, create a new album and support my friend Erin in bringing together an amazing dance show in Brooklyn without having to solely dig into her own pockets.

When I first told my parents that I was going to work at a crowd funding startup, my father asked why anyone would give.  I didn’t have a great answer then, but I do now. Because giving makes people feel good. Because seeing the people they care about succeed is a reward unto itself. And because putting money towards something of meaning is a better use of dollars than spending it on an extra latte or two.

The internet of 2014 takes a lot of heat.  Critics say that commenters are full of negativity and social media is dumbing down the youth of America. That most of what is done online is either not safe or not useful.  

But with the crowd funding revolution going on, I’d say this new world is pretty wonderful.