I’ve praised the whole crowdfunding model that’s become rather popular today thanks to the efforts of web sites like Kickstarter before; it’s really kind of wonderful to be able to kick in a few bucks to help someone with an idea for a piece of art or music or whatever that sounds like it woudl be of interest to you. It’s the “voting with your pocketbook” model that everyone always talks about, but it brings the consumer into the equation earlier in the process – rather than simply choosing amongst the products the market presents to you, you as the consumer get a say in what gets produced, which is always a good thing.

It’s really not that new of a model, really – wealthy patrons have been commissioning artwork for as long as there’s been money and artwork, after all – though the idea of “crowdsourcing” – getting lots of people to kick in a few dollars here and there in order to finance the creation and distribution of something, is one of the great internet ideas that really makes this series of tubes worthwhile.

Plus, you know, there’s the whole concept of “rewards” for backers, which are often pretty creative (the high-dollar rewards on Mikey Mason’s Impotent Nerd Rage project for example, are tons of fun – it begins at $50 and goes downhill from there). Most often, these rewards are copies of the funded work, and things like “thank you” acknowledgements and “producer” credits, which in themselves are cool, and add a personal connection between the patron and creator.

Also, many creators send out regular updates about the work, giving backers often interesting insights into the creative process.

So, the point of all this, really, besides my giving props to the model, is to point out a couple of projects I’ve contributed to, at least one of which could currently use your help!

♦ A Teddy Bear Tale, by author Nick Davis – This is a fun little children’s book that I found out about when I learned my comicon aquaintance Dan Nokes was contributing illustrations. For my totally reasonable donation, I got a copy of the book signed by author and illustrator, “producer” credit in the book, and a print of the book’s protagonist dressed up as fourth Doctor Tom Baker.

♦ Quantum Roleplaying Game: An ALL NEW Science Fantasy RPG, created by Joshua Frost – I learned about this one via fark, as the creator is, like me, a longtime farker with a sub-10k account number. Also, the idea of an RPG with magic, ray-guns and strange aliens happening on a Dyson Sphere world sounded cool. This project’s funded, and moving along. For my trouble, I’m getting a limited edition hardcover copy of the game, access to the pre-release beta playtest, some fancy maps, and acknowledgements in the book itself. Cool!

♦ Another Creepy Christmas – music from Jonah Knight; a collection of creepy christmas songs from the star of many a mid-atlantic sci-fi con music programs. Should be lots of fun, given the bit of a preview I’ve gotten so far.

♦ A Teddy Bear Tale II: Faithful, again from Nick Davis – Nick and Dan are currently funding the sequel to the first project I mentioned, and need a little help before the funding deadline. I can vouch for the quality of the first project, so if you have the scratch, please go toss a few bucks at this project before May 2, okay?