weekipodnano7

UnderstandingtheRoleofCommunityinCrowdfundingWorkJulieS.
HuiSegalDesignInstituteNorthwesternUniversityEvanston,ILUSAjuliehui@u.
northwestern.
eduMichaelD.
GreenbergSegalDesignInstituteNorthwesternUniversityEvanston,ILUSAmdgreenb@u.
northwestern.
eduElizabethM.
GerberSegalDesignInstituteNorthwesternUniversityEvanston,ILUSAegerber@u.
northwestern.
eduABSTRACTCrowdfundingprovidesanewopportunityforentrepre-neurstolaunchventureswithouthavingtorelyontradi-tionalfundingmechanisms,suchasbanksandangelinvest-ing.
Despiteitsrapidgrowth,weunderstandlittleabouthowcrowdfundingusersbuildadhoconlinecommunitiestoundertakethisnewwayofperformingentrepreneurialwork.
Tobetterunderstandthisphenomenon,weperformedaqualitativestudyof47entrepreneurswhousecrowdfund-ingplatformstoraisefundsfortheirprojects.
Weidentifycommunityeffortstosupportcrowdfundingwork,suchasprovidingmentorshiptonovices,givingfeedbackoncam-paignpresentation,andbuildingarepositoryofexampleprojectstoserveasmodels.
Wealsoidentifywherecom-munityeffortsandtechnologiessucceedandfailatsupport-ingtheworkinordertoinformthedesignofcrowdfundingsupporttoolsandsystems.
AuthorKeywordsCrowdfunding;community;supporttools;entrepreneurship;crowdwork;distributedwork.
ACMClassificationKeywordsH.
5.
3[GroupandOrganizationInterfaces]:DesignGeneralTermsDesignINTRODUCTIONEntrepreneurshipisoftencollaborativework—sharingin-formation,resources,andconnectionsinordertoexploitnewopportunities[43].
Suchcollaborationshaveaccelerat-edoverthepastfewdecadesastheInternethascreatednewopportunitiesforexchange,especiallyamonggeographical-lydistributedcollaborators.
CrowdfundinghasemergedasthemostrecentInternetbasedtechnologytosupportcommunityinentrepreneur-ship.
Crowdfunding–theonlinerequestforresourcesfromadistributedaudienceofteninexchangeforareward[16]—providesanewwayforentrepreneurstosolicitfinancialsupportfromadistributednetworkthatcanrangeinsizefromdozenstothousandsofsupporters.
Crowdfundingplatforms,suchasKickstarter,inviteentre-preneurstobring"projectsbigandsmalltolife"bylaunchingafundraisingcampaignontheirplatform[24].
Theyheraldsuccessfulexamplesontheirwebsites,suchastheteamthatraisedmorethan$10,000,000inamonthfrom60,000supporterstomanufactureanddistributeavideogameconsole[53]andanotherteamthatraisedover$30,000from2,000supporterstodesignandproduceaneco-friendlypencil[54].
Entrepreneurs,particularlynovic-eswithlimitednetworksandproventrackrecords,haveacceptedtheinvitation,launchingmorethan1millionpro-jectsin2011[13].
Despitethepopularityofcrowdfunding,ourempiricalun-derstandingofthecooperativeworkpracticesinvolvedinthissystemislimited.
Asresearchersofcomputersupport-edcooperativework(CSCW),weaiminthispapertoun-derstandthecollaborativeeffortsandday-to-dayactivitiesofcrowdfundinguserstodesignandimprovecrowdfundingsupporttools[36].
Webeganourstudybyaskingtheques-tion:WhatistheworkofcrowdfundingOnceweidentifiedagrowingthemeofcommunity,weaddedthequestion:Permissiontomakedigitalorhardcopiesofallorpartofthisworkforpersonalorclassroomuseisgrantedwithoutfeeprovidedthatcopiesarenotmadeordistributedforprofitorcommercialadvantageandthatcopiesbearthisnoticeandthefullcita-tiononthefirstpage.
CopyrightsforcomponentsofthisworkownedbyothersthanACMmustbehonored.
Abstractingwithcreditispermitted.
Tocopyotherwise,orrepublish,topostonserversortoredistributetolists,requirespriorspecificpermis-sionand/orafee.
RequestpermissionsfromPermissions@acm.
org.
CSCW'14,February15-192014,Baltimore,MD,USACopyright2014ACM978-1-4503-2540-0/14/02!
$15.
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http://dx.
doi.
org/10.
1145/2531602.
2531715Figure1:Acampaignpageonthecrowdfundingplatform,Kickstarter.
WhatroledoescommunityplayincrowdfundingworkInordertounderstandexistingtechnologiesthatsupporttheworkinvolved[47],weasked:WhatcurrenttechnologiessupportcrowdfundingworkAndhowcantheybeimprovedThroughaqualitativestudyof47crowdfundingusers,wefoundthattheycarryoutfivemaintypesofwork—preparingthecampaignmaterial,testingthematerial,pub-licizingtheproject,followingthroughwithprojectgoals,andreciprocatingresourcestothecommunity.
Duringeachstageofwork,theycollaboratewithothers--solicitingandgivingadvicebasedontheircrowdfundingexperience,en-gagingdonorsinonlineconversation,andencouragingtheirsocialnetworktospreadtheword[30].
Inadditiontousinggeneralcomputermediatedplanningandcreativetools,suchasemail,groupcalendars,andvideoeditingsoftware,usershavealsostartedusingcrowdfunding-specifictools,suchascrowdfundingprojectsearchwebsitesandsupportermanagementplatforms.
Byunderstandinghowthesecom-munityeffortsandtechnologiessucceedandfailatsupport-ingcrowdfundingwork,wecanidentifyhowtobetterde-signtoolsthatsupportcollaborationwithinthecrowdfund-ingcommunity.
Weorganizedthepaperintothreesections.
Thefirstsectionintroducescrowdfundingworkandrelatedresearch.
Thesecondsectionpresentsourfindings,identifyingandde-scribingcrowdfundingwork,theroleofcommunity,andexistingtechnologiesused.
Thethirdsectiondiscussesde-signimplicationsandtheneedfortoolsandsystemsthatfacilitatetheworkpractices.
CROWDFUNDINGThefirstcrowdfundingplatformwaslaunchedin2001[52]andhasgrowntoover452platformsworldwide[13].
Theseplatformsuseexistingsystemstofacilitatetheexchangeofresourcesbetweenentrepreneursandsupporters,suchasweb-basedpaymentsystems(e.
g.
AmazonPayments),mes-sagingsystems(e.
g.
commentthreads),socialmedia(e.
g.
Facebook)andvideosharingplatforms(e.
g.
YouTube)toraiseawarenessabouttheproject.
Unliketraditionalfund-raisingmethods,suchasapplyingforfundsfrombanksorfoundations,crowdfundingallowscreators,peoplewhorequestresources,toappealforfundsdirectlyfromsup-porters,peoplewhogiveresources,withoutgivinguppro-jectownership[16].
Inordertostartacrowdfundingcampaignonanonlineplatform,creatorsdevelopaprojectprofile,whichtypicallyincludesatitle,video,descriptionofplanneduseoffunds,fundinggoal,campaignduration,andrewarddescriptions.
Creatorsfillouttheserecommendedandrequiredfieldsonline,andiftheprojectisapproved,thecrowdfundingplatformpoststheirworkinapre-formattedpublicpagewheresupporterscanchoosetodonate(seeFigure1).
RELATEDWORKWefoundthatcrowdfundingisatypeofentrepreneurialworkthatreliesheavilyoncommunitybuilding,distributedwork,andcrowdwork.
Wereviewrelevantliteratureintheserelatedareas.
EntrepreneurialWorkEntrepreneurialworkinvolvesthediscovery,evaluation,andexploitationofopportunitiestointroducenovelprod-ucts,services,andorganizations[42,43,48].
Entrepreneursassessopportunitiesthroughpsychologicalandenviron-mentalfactorssuchasone'sriskaversionandemploymentstatus[43].
Whenobtainingresources,scholarsfindthatthemajorityofentrepreneursusetheirownsavingseitheroutofnecessityortomaintaincontrol[3].
Entrepreneursthenexploitopportunitiesbycreatinganewfirmormarketmechanisms[43]throughtheorganizationofequipment,employees,productionprocesses,andlegalobligations[48].
Althoughscholarsarguethattheactofdiscoveringentre-preneurialopportunitiesisasolitaryendeavor,theexploita-tionoftheentrepreneurialopportunityisoftencollaborative[43].
Entrepreneursworkinteamsorformallianceswithpartneringorganizationstobenefitfromotherpeople'sskillsetsandtoeasetheworkload[20,27,29,39].
However,entrepreneursprimarilycollaboratetomaintainacompeti-tiveadvantageoverotherentrepreneurs,andthereforerare-lysharetheirbestpracticeswiththepublic[43].
Thiscom-petitiveenvironmentmakesitdifficultforentrepreneurstoengagewithcommunitiesinanopenmanner,whichiscon-sideredacommonpracticeincrowdfunding.
Therefore,whilecrowdfundersalsocoordinateeffortsandexploitop-portunitiestofollowthroughwiththeirprojectgoals,theyaremoreopenabouttheirprocessandinteractmorecloselywiththeircommunitytoachievetheirwork.
OnlineCommunitiesOnlinecommunitiesareanyvirtualspacewherepeopleinteracttoconverse,exchangeinformationorresources,learn,orplay[38].
Inthesespaces,memberscancontributetothecommunitygrowthbyperformingmenialtasks,suchasvoting,orcoordinatingcontentproduction,suchasman-agingaforum.
Krautidentifiesfivemaindesignchallengestocreateandmaintainonlinecommunities,includingstart-ingupthecommunity,attractingmembers,motivatingcommitment,motivatingcontributions,andregulatingcommunityhealthandwellness.
Similartocrowdfundingprojectcreators,communitydesignersovercomethesechal-lengesbydecidingwhatcontenttopost,communicatingwithmembers,andofferingfeedbackandrewardstomem-bers[38].
Tomotivatepeopletojoin,scholarsstressthatcommunityleadersshouldreachouttopotentialmemberspersonally[32,33],sendclearandeasytoactonmessages,gethighstatusoracriticalnumberofpeopletojointhecause[19,33],giveevidencethatmembershipwillmakeadiffer-enceoncommunitywellbeing[31],andshowthatthereisanurgencytojoin[31].
Crowdfundingprojectcreatorsac-complishthesetasksbysendingpersonalizedemails,askingfriendsandnewsmediatopublicizetheirproject,showmembercontributionthroughafundingbar,andexpresstheneedtoraisefundsbyacertaindeadline.
DistributedWorkandCrowdWorkDistributedandcrowdworkinvolvethecollaborativeef-fortsofmanypeopletoachieveacommongoal.
Distributedworkinvolvescollaboratingwithaknownbutphysicallydistributedgroupofindividuals[37],whilecrowdworkinvolvesmanydistributedanonymousworkersperformingonlinetasks[26].
Indistributedwork,toaddressthechallengesofworkingdistantlyandonline,workersmustestablishamutualun-derstandingoftheworkanddeterminethemosteffectivemodeofonlinecommunication[37].
Byinteractingregu-larlyandoftenusingcommunicationtechnologies,workerswithanilldefinedtaskcanquicklygainamutualunder-standingofprojectgoalsandresponsibilities[37].
Workerstakeintoaccountthenatureofthetasktodeterminetheextentandmodeofcommunication,suchaswhethertoworksynchronouslyorasynchronously,throughe-mailorgroupconferencing[37].
Theeffectivenessofusingsuchtechnologiesdependsonthepre-establishedcultureofworkercollaboration[37].
Unlikedistributedwork[37],requestorsofcrowdworkhavelimitedinformationaboutworkersandassigntasksthroughamediatedonlineplatform(e.
g.
AmazonMechani-calTurk).
Crowdworkcanbevoluntaryorpaid[26].
Tocreatewell-designedcrowdworktasks,requestorsmusttakeintoaccounttheorderoftasks,thepairingoftaskswithworkers,andwaystoenablecollaboration[26].
Creat-ingtasksthatfollowtheseguidelinessupportsanenviron-mentwherecrowdworkersproducebetterqualityworkandhaveagreaterroleintheentireprocess[26].
Crowdfundingcreatorsperformdistributedworkbymanag-ingteamefforts,outsourcedlabor,andsupporterswhomtheypersonallyknow.
Concurrently,theyperformcrowdworkbymotivatingpeopleoutsidetheirsocialnetworktojointhecauseandspreadthewordaboutone'sproject[30].
However,unlikedistributedandcrowdwork,crowdfundingsupportersprimarilycontributefundsratherthanlabor.
ResearchonCrowdfundingEconomics,management,andbusinessscholarsinitiatedresearchintocrowdfundingbecauseofthepotentialdisrup-tiontotheeconomy.
Economistsstrivetounderstandhowcrowdfundingcanbeusedasamechanismtogatherdataonconsumerwillingnesstopay[6].
Economistsfindthatcrowdfundinghasmarketadvantagessuchasincreasingconsumerawarenessanddisseminatingproductinformation[6].
Managementscholarsstudyhowcrowdfundingcanovercomeofflinebarrierstofinancialtransactions[1].
Theyfindthatcrowdfundingmainlyeliminatestheeffectsofdistancefromsupporterswhomcreatorsdidnotpreviouslyknow[1].
Businessscholarsstrivetounderstandhowcrowdfundingcanprovideinsightintotheexperiencegoodsmarket[49].
Theyfindthatcrowdfundingsupportismainlycontrolledbypeereffects[49].
However,fewscholarshaveexaminedcrowdfundingfromacommunitystandpointinordertounderstandhowcom-munitiesofcreatorsandsupportersinteractwitheachothertoaccomplishcrowdfundinggoals.
Thosewhodohaveonlystudied"enterprisecrowdfunding"whereemployeesgivemoneytoprojectsofotheremployeestoimprovewith-in-companycollaborationandinnovation[35].
Thestudyon"enterprisecrowdfunding"wasdoneinaclosedenvi-ronmentofonecompany,whilethecrowdfundingcommu-nitythatwestudyisopen.
AsdesignersandCSCWresearchers,westrivetounder-standwhypeoplechoosetouseandinteractwithinthisnewtypeofonlineplatform.
Inapreviousstudyofcrowdfund-ing,researchersuncoveredcreatorandsupportermotiva-tionsanddeterrentstocrowdfund[16].
Theyfoundthatcreatorswerenotonlymotivatedtoraisefunds,butalsotoexpandawarenessoftheirwork,establishconnections,gainapproval,maintaincontrol,andlearnnewskills.
Supporterswerenotonlymotivatedtocollectrewards,butalsotohelpothers,bepartofacommunity,andsupportcausesinwhichtheybelievestrongly.
However,creatorswerealsowaryofattractingnegativepublicexposure,thetimecommitment,andhowprojectcreatorswouldusethefunds[17].
Duringthestudyofmotivationsforparticipation,creatorsroutinelyexpressedconcernsaboutthedisparitybetweentheperceptionsofcrowdfundingworkinthepopularpressandwhattheyactuallyexperienced.
Whilethepresspub-lishessensationalarticlesaboutformer"nobody's"raisingmillionsofdollarsthroughsocialmediamarketing[55],projectcreatorswhomweintervieweddescribedthediffi-cultiescreatingacampaignandcommunicatingandcoordi-natingwithalargeonlineaudience.
Thesefindingsin-spiredthecurrentresearchwepresent.
METHODSInterviewParticipantsWeinterviewed47crowdfundingprojectcreatorsfromthreecrowdfundingplatforms—Kickstarter,IndieGoGo,andRockethub—themostpopularandsuccessfulplatformsintheUS[4].
ProjectsincludedArt(7),Comics(1),Dance(1),Design(15),Education(1),Fashion(2),Film&Video(7),Food(4),Games(10),Music(3),Photography(3),Publishing(6),Science(4),Technology(1),andTheater(3).
Approximately50%ofprojectcreatorsmettheirfund-raisinggoalonatleastoneoftheirprojects,whichissimi-lartothesuccessrateofKickstarter,thelargestcrowdfund-ingplatformthatwestudied[56].
Mostcreatorsmaintainedfulltimeprofessionaldayjobs–spendingbetween30minutesand7hoursadayonweek-nightsorweekendsworkingontheircrowdfundingproject.
Threeinformantsreliedoncrowdfundingastheirprimarysourceofincome.
Participantagesrangedfrom20to52yearsoldandraisedbetween$71and$313,371.
Thirteencreatorslaunchedmorethanonecampaign,rangingbe-tweenonetoninecampaignspercreatorinterviewed.
Inter-vieweeswerenotcompensatedfortheirparticipation.
Wefoundthatoursampleofparticipantsisrepresentativeofthecrowdfundingpopulationbasedonsuccessrateandspreadofprojecttypes[56].
ProcedureWerecruitedinterviewparticipantsthroughrandomandsnowballsampling,whichallowedustoidentifytypicalandatypicalparticipantsfromthecrowdfundingpopulation.
Oursemi-structuredinterviewprotocolwasdividedintotwosections.
Inthefirstsection,weaskedparticipantsabouttheirprofessionalbackgroundandhowtheylearnedaboutandbecameengagedincrowdfunding.
Duringthesecondphase,weaskedparticipantstodescribetheworkinvolved-bothcollaborativeandindependent.
Webeganeachinterviewbyexplainingthatwewereresearchersnotaffiliatedwithanycrowdfundingplatformandthatpersonalinformationwouldremainanonymous.
Interviewdatacollectionlastedfor11monthswithanaver-ageinterviewlengthof30minutes.
Interviewswerecon-ductedovervideoconferencing,phone,andinperson.
In-terviewswereconductedduringandafterthecreators'campaigns.
Advantagesofthisresearchapproachincludecollectingbothreflectiveandinsitudata.
Disadvantagesincludebiasesfromself-report[44].
AnalysisWeusedselectivecodingandanalysis[44]tounderstandtheworkinvolvedincrowdfunding.
First,weflaggedeachinstancedescribingwork.
Afteridentifyingallofthein-stances,weclusteredtasksintoconceptualcategories.
Ini-tialdataanalysisforthesemi-structuredinterviewsbeganafter10interviews,whiletheremaininginterviewswereusedtogatherdatapertainingtoemergentthemes[34].
CROWDFUNDINGWORKWeidentifiedfivemaintypesofcrowdfundingwork:(1)preparingcampaigncontentandinitialprototypes,(2)test-ingthecampaignmaterial,(3)publicizingthecrowdfundingprojecttopotentialsupporters,(4)followingthroughwithprojectgoals,and(5)reciprocatingresourcestothecrowd-fundingcommunity.
Ineachofthesestages,weidentifyhowcommunityandsupporttoolsfacilitateorhindertheworkprocess.
PreparetheCampaignMaterialPreparingthecampaignmaterialincludesallcrowdfundingrelatedeffortspriortothecampaignlaunch,whichtypicallyincludescreatingavideo,projectdescription,fundinggoal,campaigntimeline,andrewarddescriptionstobepostedonthecampaignpage(seeFigure1).
Fromourinitialdata,wefoundthatcreatorshaddifficultieslearningthetechnologiesandskillsneededtoperformthesepreparationtasks,suchasusingvideoeditingsoftwareorwritingaconvincingde-scription.
Inordertogainthenecessaryknowledgeandskills,projectcreatorsreliedonthecommunitybyusingsimilarexistingprojectsasmodelsfortheirown,andread-ingblogpostsandsolicitingadvicefromexperiencedpro-jectcreators.
Basedonourinterviews,preparingthesematerialscanlastthreetosixmonthsbeforethecampaignduringwhichtimethecreatorsspendextensiveeffortsunderstandingthepro-cessandlearningnewskills.
Acreatorofascienceprojectdescribedchallengeswithpreparation:"Itwasenvelopingintermsoftakinguptimeandemotionandoveralleffort.
Creatingavideo,obviously,isdifficult.
Ifeltlikeitwasagoodopportunityandagoodexperience,butnonetheless,ittakesalotoftimedevelopingascript,collectingallthevideos,editing,etc.
"-p11Tofacilitatelearningfromothers,crowdfundingplatformsprovideprojectsearchcapabilities,suchasfindingprojectsbasedonlocationandcategory.
Investigatingotherprojectshelpscreatorsdecideonrewardideas,videoideas,projectdescriptionlanguage,andnatureofcommunicationwithsupporters.
Acreatorofapublishingprojectexplained:"It'salwaysgoodtoseewhatworksfortheseprojectsandwhatdoesn'twork.
Howthey'repromoting,[performing]backerupdates…Allofthosedifferentpartsofit,youkindoftakethoseasinspirationandfigureouthowtoadaptthattoyourownvoice.
"-p6However,Kickstarter,IndieGoGo,andRockethubdonotoffertheabilitytosearchforotherspeople'sprojectsbyfailedprojectsorbyfundinggoal,numberofsupporters,orcampaignduration,campaignfeaturesthatprojectcreatorsciteaswaystocompareandcontrasttotheirowncampaigntoothers.
Inresponse,frustratedcreatorshavestartedtocreatetheirowntools,suchastheprojectsearchplatformsKickspy[57]andTheKickbackMachine[58].
Theseplat-formsallowcreatorstofindprojectssimilartotheirsbasedonvariousprojectattributesinordertolearnfromtheexpe-riencesofothers.
Creatorsalsoreportedreadingadviceblogs,whereothercreatorshavedocumentedtheircrowdfundingexperience,asausefulwaytopreparefortheirowncampaign.
Onecreatorofaphotographyprojectdescribedhowhegotin-spirationfromarelatedproject:"Iwasreadingsomebody'sTumblr…Itwasanotherphotoproject…That'showIcameupwithalotofmyrewards…Ikindofwastryingtotakealittlefromalotofpeople[to]comeupwithrewardsthatpeoplearekindofinto.
"-p20Somecreatorsalsodescribedrelyingonexpertswithcertainskillsetswithinthecommunitytopreparecampaignmateri-al.
Acreatorofachildren'sfoodprojectdescribedhowshereliedonthefreecounselingofafilmexperttohelpmakeherprojectvideo:"Thegirlwhohelpeduswiththefilm…shegaveustipsonscriptandstufflikethat.
Wehadacouplemeetingswithher,andshediditinhersparetimetoo.
So,thatwaspartofthechallengebecauseweweredependingonotherpeo-plewhowerekindofgivingtheirtimeforit.
"-p17Novicecrowdfundershavebeguntoturntoself-proclaimed"crowdfundingconsultants"whohavemadeanameforthemselvesasexpertcrowdfundersinthecrowdfundingcommunity.
Oneprojectcreatorexplainedhowsheagreedtogive7.
5%ofherpost-campaignprofitstoaconsultantwhohadsuccessfullyranseveralofhisowncrowdfundingcampaignsinexchangeforhisadvice.
Becausethecam-paignmaterialistheinitialtouchpointbetweencreatorsandpotentialsupporters,somecreatorsdecidetospendextramoneytoseektheiradvice.
Thetopicofcrowdfund-ingmentorswillbediscussedfurtherintheReciprocateResourcessection.
Inaddition,allthreeplatformsprovidetutorial/informationpagestoexplaincrowdfundingresponsibilities.
But,fewcreatorscitedusingthesetutorialsasamajormethodofpreparingfortheircampaign.
Rathertheypreferredtofol-lowadviceblogsorlookatotherprojectsforideas.
Thissuggeststhatmoreresearchisneededtounderstandwhatmakescrowdfunding-specifictoolsusefulornotuseful.
Overall,creatorsdescribedtheusefulnessoftoolsthatsup-portlearningfromanalogy[15],suchasreadingadviceblogsandsearchingforinspirationalprojects,andrelyonotherpeople'sskillsetstoaccomplishthework.
Whilepar-ticipantsdescribedtheusefulnessofsearchtools,theyex-presseddifficultieslearningmorecomplicatedtechnologies,suchasvideoeditingsoftware.
TesttheCampaignMaterialCreatorstesttheircampaignmaterialbyaskingforfeed-backfromtheirpersonalnetworkandcommunityofsup-porters.
Theamountoftestingvariesfromcreatortocrea-tor,somegettingfeedbackfromasmanypeopleaspossiblewhileothersproducingtheirworkwithoutinputfromoth-ers.
Wefindthatcreatorswhoactivelyseekfeedbackbe-foreandduringthecampaigntendtobemoresuccessful,whichisconsistentwithresearchontheimportanceofget-tingfeedbackduringthedesignprocess[21].
Creatorsfirstlooktotheirpersonalnetwork,suchasfriendsandfamily,togiveinitialfeedback.
Creatorspreferredtobejudgedinaprivatesettingwithclosefriendsratherthansharingmaterialswithapublicaudiencethatcouldrejecttheirwork.
Aprofessorandcreatorofascienceprojectde-scribedhowhefeltwhenshowinghisvideopubliclytohisundergraduateclasstogetfeedback:"Iwasnervousbecauseit'sonethingtobesittinginfrontofacomputer,andit'squiteanotherthingtoshowavideotoanaudiencewhereyoucanactuallyheartheirreac-tion…AretheyactuallygoingtofindthisfunnyWhenyouhaven'tdonesomethinglikethatbefore,it'salittleintimi-dating.
"-p31CrowdfundingWorkDefinitionRoleofCommunityPreparePreparecampaignmaterialsProvideexampleprojectsasmodelsProvidegeneraladviceblogsGiveone-on-oneadviceOfferspecializedskillexpertiseTestTestcampaignmaterialsGivefeedbackoncampaignmaterialsProvideopinionondesigndirectionPublicizeMarkettheprojectbyusingcampaignmaterialsSpreadthewordBuildanaudienceFollowThroughFollowthroughwithprojectgoalsandsendrewardsProvidemanufacturingorshippingsupportOfferspecializedskillexpertiseReciprocateReciprocateresourcesbacktothecrowdfund-ingcommunityProvideadviceProvidefinancialresourcesTable1:Tableofcrowdfundingwork,includingdefinitionsandsummaryoftheroleofcommunitythroughouttheworkprocess.
Figure2:Kickspy'sprojectsearchbar,whichallowscrea-torstosearchforcrowdfundingprojectsbasedonkey-words,campaignstatus,projectcategory,amountraised,numberofbackers,campaigndurationandwhatmonthsthecampaignwaslive.
Othercreatorsreportedturningtotheirsupportersduringthecampaigntogetfeedbackonprojectdirectionandde-sign.
Onecreatorofapoetrybookprojectposteddailypoemsandusedhisaudiencetogaugethequalityofhiswriting:"Someofthebackershavebeenemailingmethattheylikethedifferentpoems,like,'Oh,thepoemtodaywasgreat,'othersaretellingme,'They'reokay.
"-p24Anothercreatorofasnowshoedesignprojectlethissup-portersdecidethecoloroftheshoestraps.
Unliketradition-alcompany-consumerrelationships,suchasbuyingaprod-uctonAmazon,crowdfundingprojectcreatorsareabletoinvolvethesupportersinthedesignprocessbypollingfortheiropinionsorconversingwiththemonadiscussionboardthroughoutthedesignprocess.
Recognizingtheneedtoincentivizegivingandgettingfeedback,Rockethub'sSciFundChallengerequirescreatorstogivefeedbacktoothercreatorsintheplatformcommuni-tywikipage.
Onecreatordescribedhowsheusedthisplat-form-basedsupportnetworktoimprovehercampaignma-terial:"IdidhavethehelpoftheotherSciFundpeople.
Wehadawiki.
Weallputupourprojects,andpeoplewouldcommentonthem,soIgotalotofgoodfeedbackfromtheotherpeo-plewhowerealsoputtingupprojects,andIcommentedontheirprojects.
"-p3Currentlythereexistsnoonlinemechanismspecificallyforgettingfeedbackoncrowdfundingmaterialsfromthecrowdinaprivatesetting.
Creatorsareabletogatherfeedbackpubliclythroughsocialmediaplatforms,suchasFacebookandReddit,togaugehowtheonlinecrowdwillreacttotheircampaign.
Testingcampaignmaterialandprojectprototypesbeforethecampaignactsastypeofsoftlaunch,releasingaproductorserviceearlytoalimitedaudience,whiletestingthema-terialafterthecampaignlaunchesallowscreatorstoitera-tivelyimprovetheirpagetoduringthecampaign.
Creatorsoftenemphasizedtheimportanceofeditingtheirmaterialpriortolaunchbecausetheywillbepreoccupiedpublicizingtheirworkandcommunicatingwithsupportersduringthecampaign.
Thosewhodidnottesttheircampaignmaterialexpresseddifficultiesfindinganaudiencetosolicitquickandhonestfeedback.
Peoplewhoturnedtotheircommunityoffriendsandfamilyexpressedthattheiropin-ionswereoftennotrepresentativeofthepublicasshownbytheircampaignsuccessorfailure.
Participantsalsoex-pressedworriesthataskingforhelpbeforethecampaignwoulduseupsocialcapital[10,12]thattheyhadhopedtosaveforpublicityeffortslateron.
PublicizetheProjectCreatorsmarkettheirprojectbypublicizingtheirideathroughsocialmedia,contactingpeopleindividuallythroughemail,andsendingpressreleasestonewsmediaoutletstoreachawideraudience.
Althoughcreatorsreport-edrelyingoncommunityeffortstohelpthempublicizetheirproject,theystillexpresseddifficultiesbuildinganaudience,gettingpeopletospreadtheword,andmanagingdiscussionswithsupporters.
Onecreatorofafoodprojectdescribedthetimecommitmentduringalivecampaign:"It'shonestly,like,it'safulltimejob.
Ifyou'regoingtolaunchaKickstarter,youhavetobepreparedtodevote4-5hoursadayjustmakingsurethatyouarepromotingitorfollowinguponit,youknow,oranythinglikethat.
"-p8Creatorsreportedspending2-11hoursadaymarketingduringalivecampaignthatusuallylasts0.
5-2.
0months,whichoftenleadstoapaytotime-spentratiolessthanmin-imumwage.
Inanefforttoharnessthepoweroftheirsocialnetwork,creatorsasktheirfriendsandfamilytospreadtheword[14].
Forinstance,acreatorofanotherfoodprojectde-scribed:"HelpIgetfrommygoodfriendsisjustrepostingit…echoingitoutonontotheirnetworksandtheirFace-bookorLinkedInorTwitteraccounts.
"-p18Othersreachouttoexistingonlinenichecommunities,suchasSubreddits,inordertocontactpeoplethatareinterestedinthespecificprojecttopic.
Forexample,thecreatorsofthegameproject,PlanetaryAnnihilation,onKickstarter,raisedover$2millionfromover40,000supportersandmaintainanactiveSubredditof2,800followersinwhichtheykeepsupportersupdatedonthecampaignandgameprogress.
Notonlymustcreatorsactastheirownpublicist,theymustalsoperformpublicrelationsbyaddressingquestionsandconcernsfromhundredsorthousandsofsupporters.
Byaddressingquestionsandpostingregularupdates,creatorsmaintainsupporterrelationsandupholdareputationofbe-ingresponsibleandtrustworthy.
Acreatorofagameprojectdescribedhowhekeepshissupportersinformedonpro-gress:Figure3:PostsontheKickstarterSubredditwhereprojectcreatorsseekadviceontheircampaignmaterialpriortolaunching.
"IwillmakesurethatIsendupdatesonhowit'sgoing…I'mabletosharerealtimevideosofhowIlayoutabookdesign,andsoIcansharetheprocessasitgoesthrough.
Thebackersappreciatethat,andthatseemstokindofbuilduptrustthatIcanfulfillontheseprojects,whichisonebigquestionmarkearlyon.
"-p27However,notallcreatorsrealizethatsupporterswanttoengageintheprojectcreationprocess,andthereforefailtowriteenoughprojectupdatesorrespondtotheircomments.
Someofourparticipantscitednotinteractingwiththeirsupportersenoughasamajorreasonforwhytheircam-paigndidnotgainwidespreadpublicity.
Inordertocontinuouslygaintractionwithpersonalconnec-tions,creatorsreportedsendingemailsonceortwiceaweektoremindpeopletosupportthecampaign.
"Iwasemailingpeopleindividuallyaskingforsupport…Iwouldsay,heyperson'sname,Iamdoingthisproject.
It'sreallycool,andgivethemlikeadescriptionofit,andattheendofit,Iwouldsay,IknowthatthisprojectwillbeverysuccessfulonKickstarterbecauseofsupporterslikeyou.
"-p1Whilesomereportedtheirprojectgoingviral,leadingtoaboostinsupport:"IpostedonGoogle+.
IpostedonTwitter.
Ipostedonmyblog…ItwaspickedupontwitterbyaBritishsciencejour-nalist…andthenCNNcoveredit,andForbescoveredit,andtheneverythingjustwentcrazyafterthat.
"-p3Othershadtroublemakinganyimpactintheonlinespace:"I'vereachedouttodozensanddozensofblogsandnews-papersandentertainmentsites…AndI'vejustgottenacou-pleofmentions,whichreallysurprisesme.
It'sbeenverydifficultgettingthewordoutthere…IhavegoodfriendsthatIhaven'tbeenabletogettothesite.
It'sveryshocking.
Itkindofshowsyouwhoyourrealfriendsare.
"-p24Suchcommentssuggestthatcreatorsdonothaveanaccu-rateunderstandingoftheirsocialnetworkorcrowdfundingcommunity,andmayneedfurtherguidanceinlearninghowtoleveragetheirconnections.
Themajorityoffailedprojectcreatorscitedtheinabilitytosuccessfullyleverageanonlineaudienceasamainreasonforfailing.
AccordingtoKickstarter,56%ofprojectcreatorsfailtoreachtheirfund-inggoal[56].
Creatorswhoreportedhavingpreviousexperiencepubliciz-ingtheirworktendedtobemoresuccessful.
Forinstance,wefoundthatcreatorswithanestablishedcareerintheartshadlesstroublemarketingtheirworkthancreatorsofsci-enceresearchprojects.
Becauseartprojectcreatorsde-scribedhavingexperienceorganizingpublicfundraisingeffortsthroughouttheircareer,theyfeltmorecomfortableaskingtheirfriendsandfamilyforsupportandhadalreadydevelopedaninterestedaudiencepriortolaunchingtheircampaign.
Byregularlyinteractingwithanonlineaudiencethroughmarketingefforts,participatingindiscussions,sendingup-dates,andinquiringforsupportiveefforts,creatorsbuildanadhoccommunityofsupporters.
Whiletheworkofmain-tainingthiscommunitytakespublicrelationsskillsandisverytimeconsuming,creatorsareabletocreateafollowingthatlaststhroughouttheircampaignandpossiblyforfutureprojects.
FollowThroughwithProjectGoalsCreatorsfollowthroughwiththeircampaignbycarryingoutprojectgoalsanddeliveringrewards.
Creatorswhomakeittothisstageofcrowdfundingfindthepubliccom-mitmentofmanufacturingandshippingrewardstobeoverwhelmingbecausetheymustanswertohundredsorthousandsofsupporters[9].
Inanefforttoeasetheirre-sponsibilities,somecreatorsdescribetappingintocommu-nitiesofskilledlabortooutsourcesomeofthework.
Acreatorofaboardgameprojectdescribedhowheandotherscollaboratewithpeoplewithneededskillsetsinaresourceexchangeoffundsandlabor:"Sayyoudolayoutoryoudoediting,there'ssortofthisrelationshipnowthatyougetwithprojectcreatorswhereyoucansortofagreehandshakedealtoworkontheirpro-jectontheconditionthatitbefundedfirst…So,thoughnomoneyhasexchangedhands,andnoone'sreallycontrac-tuallyobligedto…youcanstillcometoagreementsthataremutuallybeneficial.
"-p27However,manyprojectcreatorsarenotpartofanexistingcommunitywhomtheycancallonforprojectsupport.
Peo-plewithlesscommunityconnectionsandfundraisingexpe-riencedescribebeingillpreparedforthisstageofthecrowdfundingprocess.
Afirst-timecreatorofapublicationprojectdescribedhowshewasunpreparedtoproduceonalargescale:Figure4:ApostbyacrowdfundingprojectcreatoraskingFacebookfriendstospreadthewordaboutthecampaign.
"We'reaonepersoncompanyforthemostpart.
I'mtheonlyfulltimepersonworkingonthisoverhere…It'sjustalottogetallthesethingsouttothatmanypeople.
"-p7Tothedismayofhersupporters,p7couldnotsendherre-wardsoutuntilmonthsafterherpromiseddeadline.
Send-ingoutrewardsaftertheproposedshippingdatehasbe-comeaprominentissueinpopularpress[50].
Ofthe47peopleweinterviewed,creatorsreportedhavingtomanagebetween3and3,258supporters.
Thosewithextrafundsoftendecidetohireoutsidehelp.
Forexample,acreatorofadanceprojectexplained:"IwasveryluckyinthatIdidn'thandlethemailingmyself.
Myassistantdid.
But,Ithinkshewantedtothrottlemeandthepostalservicebytheend.
"-p15Inresponsetodifficultiesduringcampaignfollowthrough,projectcreatorsandothercompanieshavebeguntodeveloptoolstosupporttheorganizationofsupporterinformationandrewardshipment(seeFigure5)[59,60,61].
Creatorsreportedtheuseofgeneralplanningandcommu-nicationtools,suchasExcel,email,andGoogleCalendartomanageordersandcollaboratewithothers.
Manyexpresseddifficultiesknowinghowtousethesetechnologiestoac-complishtheworksincesimplyknowinghowtouseExceldoesnotmeanthatonehasbudgetmanagementexperience.
Althoughtherehasbeenanincreaseinthenumberofcrowdfunding-specifictools,fewofthecreatorsinter-viewedknewoftheirexistence.
ReciprocateResourcesWhilesomewouldconsiderthepreviousfourtypesofworktofullydescribecrowdfunding,wealsotakeintoaccountreciprocatingresources,includingprovidingcrowdfundingadviceandfundsbacktothecommunity.
Creatorsconsidercontributingasacriticaltasktomaintainingasustainableecosystemthatsupportscollaborationratherthancompeti-tion.
Creatorscontributebackknowledgebypostingrele-vantonlineresources,suchasblogsontheirexperience,orofferingone-on-onehelpinpersonorthoughemailorvideochat.
Creatorsalsocontributebackfundstosupportothercreatorsthewaythecrowdfundingcommunityfirstsup-portedthem.
Forinstance,onefilmcreatorexplained:"There'sakindofetiquettein[myfilmprogram].
Ifsome-onefundedme,thenI'msupposedtofundthemback.
Oth-erwise,itwouldbealittleawkward.
"-p30Anothercreatorofapublishingprojectdescribedhowthisworkwasaboutmorethanjustgivingmoney:"ThefunnythingisIprobablygaveotherpeopleasmuchmoneyasI'vejustmadeonthisKickstartercampaign.
.
.
Icouldhavekeptthatmoneyinmypocket,butthewholethingislike,aloadofconfidence.
"-p32Shedescribedhowcrowdfundingservedaspublicvalida-tionforherwork,somethingthatcreatorscannotmeasurewhenbeingfundedbyasingleinvestor.
Creatorsalsosupporteachotherbysharingcrowdfundingadvicewithnovicecreators.
Oneboardgamecreatorex-plainedhowhecreatedaPinterestboard(seeFigure6)wherehepostslinkstoarticlesthatanswercommonlyaskedquestions:"I'veput[advice]onaPinterestboardthatItrytosharewhenpeoplecometomenowandask,'HowdoIdoaKick-starter'…Kickstarteritselfactuallydocumentssomeoftheseanswers,butIthinkpeoplejustlookatitandkindofgetalittle,Idon'tknow,glassy-eyedAndso,toanextent,they'rejustlookingfor,'Well,wheredoIstarttryingtofigureoutwhatIwanttodohere,'andthat'swhatthepinboardwasfor.
"-p33Experiencedcreatorsprovideadviceatdifferentstagesofthecampaign.
Anothermentordescribedgivingmorefeed-backonpeople'scampaignmaterialratherthanadvicebe-foretheystartedplanningforthecampaign:Figure6:Screenshotofacreator'sPinterestadviceboardthathemadetohelpmentornoviceprojectcreators.
Figure5:ScreenshotoftheBackerKitinterface,aplat-formthatwasstartedbyexperiencedcrowdfunders,tohelpprojectcreatorskeeptrackofsupportersandre-wardsafterthecampaignends.
"Everyweekorso,somebodyemailsmeaskingquestionsaboutKickstarter,like,'MyprojectgotrejectedbyKick-starter,howdoIredoit'AndI'mlike,'Youneedtochangethis,this,andthis.
"-p6AnothersuccessfulcrowdfundingteamcreatedpublicGoogleDocumentstemplatesofhowtoformatasupporteremail,pressemail,mediamanagementspreadsheet,sup-portermanagementspreadsheet,andupdatedescription.
Whilesomecreatorshavebecomewellknowninthecrowdfundingcommunityasmentorsbecausetheypostadviceblogsandactivelyseekoutwaystosupportothers,mostprojectcreatorscontributebackbyhelpingoutoneortwopeoplewhoreachouttothem.
Forinstance,ahighschoolstudentwholaunchedacrowdfundingcitizensci-enceprojectdescribed:"TheotherdayIwasapproachedbya14yearoldwhowasinmedicalschoolinGuatemala,andIgavehersomehelpon[herproject]andshehelpedmeback.
So,I'mnotsureifI'mamentorbecauseshehelpedmeasmuchasIhelpedher.
But,IliketothinkthatIwillbehelpingotherpeopleasmuchastheyhelpedme.
"-p47Projectcreatorsfeelasenseofresponsibilityforgivingbacktothecommunitythatsupportedthem,whetherthatisfinanciallyorasamentor.
Thesepracticeshavecreatedanenvironmentthatismoresupportiveandlesscompetitivecomparedtocertainentrepreneurialpractices,suchasinno-vationcompetitionswhereentrepreneursmustmaintaininformationasymmetrytogettheresourcesthattheyneed.
Wefindthatcontributingknowledgeandfinancialre-sourcesbacktothecommunityiscriticalforthegrowthofcrowdfundingasacooperativecommunity.
DISCUSSIONTheongoingrelationshipthatcrowdfundersmaintainwiththeircommunityofcreatorsandsupporterssetsitapartfromtypicalentrepreneurialwork.
Scholarsstudyingentre-preneurshipfindthatlessthan30perceptofentrepreneursmaintaineddirectorindirecttieswithinvestorsorcustom-ers[7].
Thisstandsincontrasttocrowdfundingcreatorswhoareadvisedtomaintainregularcontactwiththeircommunityofsupportersthroughprojectupdatesanddis-cussionboards.
Ourfindingssuggestthecommunityaspectofcrowdfunding,includingpublicizingtothegeneralInter-netaudienceandmanaginghundredsorthousandsofsup-porters,introducesuniquedifficultiestothetypicalentre-preneurialprocess.
Althoughthecampaigndurationislimited,manyprojectcreatorsaremotivatedtobuildlastingrelationshipswithsupporters,othercreators,andresourceproviderslongaftertheircampaignends.
Todothis,creatorsfollowcommunitybuildingpractices,suchasengagingwithsupportersper-sonallybyexplainingthevalueoftheirsupport[32],re-cruitingsupporterstospreadthewordaboutthecampaigninordertoreachacriticalmassofmembers[19,30,33],aswellasextrinsicallymotivatingpeopletocontributebypromisingrewards[28,40].
Unlikeinentrepreneurship,crowdfundingcreatorsdescribetheirrelationshipwiththepublicasasupportiveratherthancompetitiverelationship.
Shanestressesthattheactofiden-tifyingentrepreneurialopportunitiesisnotacollectiveact,buttheworkofanindividualformulatinganewmeans-endsframework[43].
Whileheexplainsthattheentrepre-neurialprocessinvolvescollaborationwithteammatesandotherfirms,heemphasizesthatentrepreneursaimtomain-taininformationasymmetryinordertohaveacompetitiveadvantage.
Thisisdifferentfromcrowdfundingwherepro-jectcreatorsfeelresponsibleforhelpingotherprojectcrea-torsbysharingadviceandfeedback.
Tosupportthemen-torshipandvicariouslylearningfromother,projectcreatorsseekhelpononlineforumsandusesearchfeaturestosup-portresearchingcampaigns[57,58].
Similartoentrepreneurship,theevaluationofcrowdfundingprojectsreliesonasocio-culturalenvironmentwheresocie-tyultimatelymakesthedecisiononwhatprojectsshouldorshouldnotbefunded[43].
Inthiscase,theheavyrelianceoncommunityisbeneficialforcrowdfundingcreatorsbe-causetheirworkisconstantlybeingassessedbythecon-sumersthroughoutthecampaign.
Creatorsacknowledgetheusefulnessofgettingfeedbackfromthecrowd[21],butfewattempttodoitonalargescaleforfearofpublicrejection[9].
Thosethatwanttotesttheirmaterialswiththecrowdfacedifficultiesinfindingenoughmotivatedpeopletogivedetailedfeedbackoutsideoftheirpersonalnetwork.
Wefoundthatcrowdfundingworkreliesonamixofdis-tributedworkandcrowdworksincecreatorsmayworkwithdistributedteammembersandsupporterstoorganizecampaigneffortswhilesolicitingpublicityhelpfromhun-dredsofpeoplethattheyhavenevermetbefore.
Similartocrowdwork,creatorsmusttailortheirrequeststothesup-portercommunitytomotivatecontributions[26].
Similartodistributedwork,contextstillmatters[37]incommuni-catingwithcrowdfundingsupporters(e.
g.
bysocialmedia,blogposts,etc.
).
Creatorsalsousevariousweb-basedtech-nologies,suchasvideo,email,andpersonalblogs,toachievecommongroundwiththeirsupporterswhenex-plainingtheirprojectideaandvalue.
Unlikecrowdanddistributedwork,crowdfundingsupportersmainlycontrib-utemoneywhilecrowdworkerstypicallycontributeser-vicesinexchangeformoney.
Creatorsalsoexpressdifficultiesspreadingthewordabouttheirprojectandmobilizinginterest,whichcouldbeex-plainedbycreatorshavinglessbusiness,marketing,andmanagementexperience[41],aswellaslowersocialstatus[45]andfewersocialties[2,11,18].
Lescovec,Adamic,andHuberman'sresearchinviralmarketinghasalsoshownthatthereexistsasaturationpointtothenumberofrecommen-dationsapersoncanreceivetopurchaseaproduct[30].
Weobservesimilaractivityinthecrowdfundingconsumerspacewherecreatorswhomarkettheirprojecttoooftenbecomeignoredbytheirsocialnetwork,whichmaycon-tributetotheirinabilitytopublicizetheirprojecteffective-ly.
Thissuggeststhatmoreresearchneedstobedoneonfindingwaystogagecommunitywillingnesstohelp.
Thepracticeofrelyingonothersforoutsourcedhelp,men-torship,andfeedbackhascreatedacommunitywherethecrowdfundstheworkandcreatorscollaboratewithhelpfulindividualsthroughamutuallybeneficialpartnership.
Dur-ingfollowthrough,creatorshavebeguntoformconnec-tionswithcompaniesandpeoplewithspecificskillsetstoperformcertaintasks.
Similarly,entrepreneurialworkem-phasizestheusefulnessofteams[27,39]andformingalli-ances[23]tohelpeaseworkresponsibilities.
Whilebothentrepreneurshipandcrowdfundingrelyoncol-laborationtoachieveprojectgoals,crowdfundinginherent-lyreliesmoreoncommunitysupportforprojectsuccess.
Wefindthatcreatorsrelyoncommunityeffortstoover-comedifficultiesofgettingadvice,designingone'scam-paign,gettingfeedback,publicity,andshippingrewards.
Wecallforthecreationofsystemstailoredtotheneedsofcrowdfundingprojectcreators.
DESIGNIMPLICATIONSFORSUPPORTTOOLSBasedonourfindings,weprovideanoverviewofcurrentcrowdfundingsupporttools,andhowtheydoordonotsupportcoordinationandcollaborationthroughoutthecrowdfundingworkprocess.
Weidentifyopportunitiesforimprovementintheareasoffeedbackandmentorship.
Wealsoacknowledgethattooladoptionisaprimaryissueastheremayneedtobebettermechanismsthatassistinnewtechnologyvisibilityorcheaperandeasierwaystoonboard.
SupportcampaignpreparationDuringthepreparationstage,projectcreatorsdescribedsearchingforexampleprojects,readingadviceblogs,seek-ingone-on-oneadvice,andoutsourcingpreparationtasks.
Becausemanycrowdfundingplatforms,includingKick-starter,IndieGoGo,andRockethub,donotallowprojectcreatorstosearchforfailedprojectsorbycertainattributes,platformssuchasTheKickbackMachine[58]andKickspy[57]weredesignedtohelpprojectcreatorsfindcrowdfund-ingprojectsfromwhichcreatorscanlearnstrategiestofol-loworavoid.
Althoughcrowdfundingarticlesandblogsstresstheneedtoresearchothercampaignsbeforelaunch-ingone'sown,mostofourparticipantssaidtheydidnotresearchenough,andfewknewoftheexistenceofthesesearchtools.
Thissuggeststhatextrastepsmustbetakentogetthecrowdfundingsupporttoolsintothehandsofnovicecreatorsperhapsthroughestablishingpartnershipsbetweencrowdfundingplatformsandindependentcrowdfundingsupporttools.
Frominitialinterviews,thereappearedtobeadisconnectbetweencreatorsofcrowdfundingsupporttoolsandmanagersofcrowdfundingplatforms,asthefor-mersaythatplatformmanagershaveneverreachedouttothem,whilethelatterdescribehavinglittletimetopartnerwithotherwebsites.
SupportcampaignmaterialtestingTherearealsonoplatformsdedicatedtoprovidingcrowd-fundingadviceorfeedback.
Rather,creatorsfindfeedbackprovidersmentorsthroughwordofmouthoronlineforumsthatserveasmeetingplacesforpeoplewhogiveandseekadvice.
However,theseforumsoffermainlyone-timeinter-actions,andmoregeneralcrowdfundingadviceratherthanmoreusefulone-on-onefeedback.
Mostoftheprojectcrea-torsdescribedseekingfeedbackfromafewclosefriendsorfamilymembers.
Projectcreatorsdescribedbeingunwillingtoshowtheircampaignmaterialtoawideraudience,suchasweaktiesonsocialmediasites,priortolaunchfearingtheywoulduseupsocialcapital[10].
Becausefeedbackprovidesinsightsonhowtoimproveprojectquality[46],onepotentialdesignsolutionistocreateaservicethathelpscreatorstesttheirworkwithananonymouscrowd,suchasonAmazonMechanicalTurk.
AsMechanicalTurkbe-comesanincreasinglypopulartestinggroundfornewideasinresearch[25],wecouldemploysimilarmethodstohelpcreatorssystematicallycollectandsynthesizefeedbackabouttheirprojectfromanonlinecrowd.
Currently,crowd-fundingresearchersarebeginningtodeveloptoolsthatal-lowprojectcreatorstoseeklargeamountsoffeedbackinaprivatesettingfromananonymouscrowd[51],whichwouldallowthemtotesttheirideaswithoutwastingsocialcapital.
SupportpublicitymanagementWehavealsoidentifiedanumberoftoolsthatsupportpub-licityandsupportermanagement.
Projectcreatorsdescribepublicizingthecampaignasoneofthemostdifficultstagesofcrowdfunding.
However,becausemanyofthesetoolswerelaunchedinthepastyear,fewofthepeopleweinter-viewedwereabletousethemfortheircampaignorwereunawareoftheirexistence.
Tosupporttheworkloadofrunningacampaign,creatorscouldusepersonalvirtualassistantsprovidedbyplatforms,suchasZirtual[62],whichallowspeopletohireonlineassistantstohelpwithpublicityeffortsorcommunityman-agement.
However,manyofourparticipantsdescribedhav-Figure7:ScreenshotoftheKickstarterStatusBoard,whichallowscreatorstotrackwhoispostingabouttheircampaignonwhichsocialmediasites,andwhichofthoselinksdrivesthemosttraffictothecrowdfundingcampaignpage.
inglittletonoextrafundstohireanassistant,especiallyonetheyhadnevermetbefore,asisthecasewithZirtual.
Insteadmostattempttoperformsocialmediamarketingontheirown,findingthatpostingontheirFacebookwallorTwitterfeedquicklyreachesitsimpactlimitbeforethepro-jectisclosetoreachingitsfundinggoal.
Inanefforttohelpprojectcreatorsbetterorganizetheirpublicityefforts,peopleinthecrowdfundingcommunityhavecreatedpublicitytrackingsupporttools,includingtheKickstarterStatusBoard[5],whichallowsprojectcreatorstotrackallpostsmadeabouttheirprojectonFacebook,Twitter,andnewsmedia.
Participantsalsodescribeddiffi-cultiescontactingtheircommunityofsupportersonalargescale.
OnetoolthatsupportsthisfeatureisNationbuilder[63],whichallowscampaignmanagerstocollect,organize,andcontactlargeamountsofsupporterspersonally.
WhileNationbuilderoffersawidevarietyoffeaturesthatsupportcrowdfundingwork,itisnotfreeandismarketedtowardsmoreintensivecampaigns,suchasrunninganonprofitcompanyorapoliticalcampaign,thatmaylastmanymonthsoryears.
Learningtouseitssystemmaytaketoomuchextratimeandmoney,especiallyforpeoplewhoarecrowdfundingforonlyafewweeksinadditiontotheirday-timejobs.
SupportcampaignfollowthroughToolshavealsobeenlaunchedtosupportcrowdfundingfollowthroughwork,includingBackerkit[59],whichal-lowsprojectcreatorstoorganizesupporterandrewardin-formation,Teelaunch[60],whichprintsandshipst-shirtrewardsforcrowdfundingcampaigns,andFullfillrite[61],whichmanagescrowdfundingrewardshippingefforts.
Inanefforttostrengthenthe"meta-economy"alreadybeingformed,HCIdesignerscoulddesignamatchmakingserviceinanefforttobuildacommunitybetweenprojectcreatorswholackskillsandpeoplewithskillsbutinneedofem-ployment.
Thereexistsearchagenciesthatfindpeoplewithspecializedskillsets,suchasOdesk[64],whichdirectlyconnectspeopleinsearchofhelptopeoplewhocanpro-videit.
However,thedynamicofcrowdfundingwherecrea-torscannotpayoutsourcedhelpuntilafterhavingasuc-cessfulcampaign,mayaffectwhoiswillingtooffertheirservicesasnotallcreatorsareabletoguaranteepaymentiftheprojectfallsthrough.
Thissuggeststhattheremaybeaneedfortrust-basedconnectionservicesforcrowdfundingwherecreatorsandpeoplewhoprovideskilledlabormutu-allyunderstandthetenuouspaymentsituation.
SupportreciprocatingresourcesIntermsofreciprocatingresources,projectcreatorshavepostedonblogsandpersonalwebsites,participatedincrowdfundingonlineforums,createdadviceboards(seeFigure2),andrespondedtoquestionsthroughemail.
How-ever,participantsdescribedhearingaboutadviceandmen-torsthroughwordofmouth,whichmeansthatmuchadvicegoesunheard,andpeoplewithmoretiestothecrowdfund-ingcommunityaremorelikelytofindhelp.
Whileonlineforums,suchasthecrowdfundingSubreddit,bringtogethermentorsandpeopleinsearchofadvice,therelationshipisnotpersonalbecauseusersareanonymous,andverybriefbecausepeoplecancomeandgowithoutbeingresponsibleforfollowingup.
Whileanyadviceishelpful,creatorspre-ferredmorepersonalone-on-oneadvicefrommentorswithwhomtheycouldmaintainalong-termtrustingrelationship.
Thissuggeststhatcreatorswouldbenefitfromamentorshipservicewherenovicesarepairedwithexperiencedcrowd-funderswhoarewillinganswerquestionsthroughoutthecampaign.
Whiletherehasbeenagrowthinthenumberofcrowdfund-ingsupporttoolsinthepastyears,manyprojectcreatorshavenotstartedusingthemorevenknowoftheirexistence.
Thisadoptionfailurecouldbeafactorofcost,visibility,oronboardingeffort.
Manyofthesetoolshavealreadybeguntoaddresscrowdfundingdifficultiesidentifiedinthisstudy,suchasprojectsearch,publicitytracking,andrewardful-fillment.
However,therestillexistmanyopportunitiesforimprovement,suchaswaystogetcrowdfeedbackpriortocampaignlaunchoreasierwaystoconnectcrowdfundingmentorstonovicecreators.
Bybuildingonrelevantre-searchinHCIandonlinecommunities,wetaketheoppor-tunitytocreatedesignsolutionsthathelpcreatorsaccom-plishcrowdfundingwork.
FUTURERESEARCHOurfindingspresentmanynewquestionsforfuturere-search.
First,weseektodiscoverwhysomepeoplemeettheirgoalandothersdonot.
Possibleexplanationsmayincludetimemanagement,teamsize,positioninnetwork,andtheabilitytousesocialmediaeffectively.
Whencon-sideringfutureattemptstocrowdfund,onecreatorsaidhewoulddothesamework,butallocatehistimedifferently–spendingmoretimeonmarketingpriortothelaunchofhiscampaign.
Anothercreatorsaidhemightexpandhisteamtoincludememberswithneededskillsets.
Believingthatcrowdfundingisthequantificationofone'ssocialcapital,anothercreatorsuggestedthathewouldbuildhisnetworkofflinebeforeattemptingacrowdfundingprojectwithalargerfundraisinggoal.
Thisperspectiveisconsistentwithresearchthatfindsthatnetworkpositioninfluencesaccesstoresources[8].
Wealsointendtostudyhowpriorexperienceinfluencescrowdfundingwork.
Inthisstudy,wefoundthatcreatorsofartisticprojectstendedtoreportlessdifficultiescrowdfund-ingthancreatorsofscienceprojects.
Creatorsofartisticprojectsreportedhavinghadtorelyonotherformsofcrowdfunding(e.
g.
holdingfundraisers)beforeonlinecrowdfundingplatformsexisted.
Theyreportedfindingiteasytoaskpeopletogivefundsortopromotetheirprojecttoasmanypeopleaspossible.
Scientificresearchersontheotherhand,whotypicallysolicitfundsfromasinglecontactthroughgovernmentandprivatefoundationgrants,foundthisworkmoredifficult.
Whilewehopetobetterunderstandfactorsleadingtosuc-cess,itisimportanttonotethatitisnotourgoaltogetallcreatorstosucceed.
Weacknowledgethatinorderforasustainablefundingeconomytoexist,somemustsucceedandsomemustfail.
Ratherwehopetomakethepathtosuccessmoretransparent.
Lastly,wehopetostudytheroleofemotionincrowdfund-ingwork.
Ascrowdfundingisapublicaction,creatorshaveexpressedreservationsaboutsharingtheirworkwiththepublic,fearingideatheft,publicrejection,andhavingtoaskforhelppublicly[16].
Bydrawingfromworkoncostlypublicaction[9]andfailureaversion[22],wehopetofur-theruncoverhowthepublicaspectofcrowdfundingandemotionaffectthisnewtypeofentrepreneurialwork.
CONCLUSIONWemustseektounderstandhowtheinvolvementofcom-munitysupportischangingtheentrepreneurialworkpro-cess.
Inthisqualitativestudyofcrowdfundingwork,wefindthatmanypeopleunderestimatetheworkinvolvedandfindthemselvesoverwhelmedwiththeresponsibilitiesofcoordinatingandansweringtoalargecrowdofsupporters.
Toovercomesuchobstacles,acommunityofcollaborationhasevolvedwherecreatorsrelyonmentorship,supporttools,andoutsourcedhelptoaccomplishtheirgoals.
WehopetobuildonthisenvironmentofmutualsupportbycallingforCSCWresearchersanddesignerstocreatecrowdfundingsupporttoolsandsystemsthatwillhelpthecommunitycontinuetogrowandprosper.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWearegratefultoourinformantswhoprovidedinsightsintothiswork.
Wethankourcolleaguesfortheirhelpfulcommentsonpreviousversionsofthisdocumentandfortranscribingtheinterviews.
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