Be a Creative Creative
Avri is using RocketHub to crowdfund his new boardgame. Phil is using RocketHub to crowdfund his new iPhone application. Nicole is using Rockethub to crowdfund an awesome party in New York. At RocketHub, creativity doesn’t fit into any mold. It can be musical and social. It can be bold and fun. It can be digital and real. It can be big or small. It can be casual or cool. It can be purely personal or completely giving. So think about what creative project you’ve always dreamed about developing and become a creative Creative. -Vlad
- March 25, 2010
Conversation is Cash
I’ve been reading Clay Shirky’s book “Here comes Everybody - The Power of Organizing Without Organizations”. In an early chapter he addresses “content” versus “conversation” - and points out that in the “old media world”, it was all about content. The song, the film, the show, the book - the content reigned supreme. Having the work written, recorded, produced, or complete was enough to generate a certain level of interest - especially if the work was great. But now, the new king is conversation - and content is “something to talk about”. With social media, discussions can pop up around a variety of content - and there is key value in an ability for the crowd to converse about a topic of interest. I happen to think Shirky’s right that conversation “trumps” content in the world of new media. Now what if we take the “social media conversation” a step further and apply it to crowdfunding? On RocketHub, the projects that are the most successful are the ones with the most conversation revolving around them. This makes sense. Projects like “Tireless Hearts” or “Fry’s Gig NYC” have a quite a bit of buzz on Facebook, Twitter, and their own RocketHub project pages - and as a result have gotten Fuelers on their projects early in their crowdfunding campaigns. So could conversation actually be a foundation for content? In regards to crowdfunding, I believe it could be. The conversation generates the interest, which generates the ability for the project to happen. Brian Meece
- March 25, 2010
Crowdfunding is Hard Work
At RocketHub, we are fostering a new creative economy - where Creatives are only accountable to their Fuelers. But there is one important tenet of the “old economy” that even we can’t avoid: There is no such thing as a free lunch. What this means is that to successfully crowdfund $500 or $2,500 or $25,000 real resources are needed. The project itself must be carefully and thoughtfully prepared - especially in regards to the rewards. Multimedia - music, photos, and videos - gives Creatives a much greater chance for success. But posting a project is just the beginning of the journey. A RocketHub project is a campaign. It requires active involvement, engagement, and promotion. It requires time and effort. It requires hard work. -Vlad
- March 22, 2010
Congratulations Bobby Cronin - To The First Flying Creative
Dear Bobby Cronin, Congratulations! You rock. You are the first RocketHub Creative to have your project fully Fuel. In only 14 days, you raised 143% of your initial goal. Your project is still flying high and now you’ll be able to turn your musical show into a reality. You are talented, passionate, and dedicated. You’ve paved the way for future Creatives and for the RocketHub community. Thank you for being a successful pioneer. Warm Regards and Continued Support, Jed, Brian, Vlad, and all of RocketHub
- March 18, 2010
Little Embers Inspire Me
When was the last time you heard a song so good that when you were done listening, you immediately hit rewind to hear it again? I’m very lucky to call Theresa and Anthony friends of mine. You may know them as Little Embers - the Queens based husband and wife duo that write amazing songs and perform with passion. In addition to being outstanding artists, they are lovely people - always honest and positive - and very fun to be around. When I first started playing in NYC - these two gave me some good words that kept me going creatively. Genuine good words that meant something special - considering their talents and accomplishments. RocketHub is also lucky to have Little Embers as friends in the community - and it’s not surprising to me that they also keep other projects going with support and encouragement. Today I happened to notice that they fueled multiple projects of folks that they know - and of folks that they don’t know yet - which is just another small example of just how cool Little Embers are. Check the link below and listen to the attached audio clip of one of my favorite songs called “Radio”. I have to stress that this is one of my fave songs ever - and I dare you to listen without hitting the rewind button after it’s done. http://www.rockethub.com/projects/11-little-embers-to-make-their-first-full-l… Thank you to The Little Embers for all the positive impact you have had. Brian Meece
- March 16, 2010
RocketHub Badges - Brought To You by the Masterful Robert Schober
You might have noticed some cool-looking spherical symbols next to your name. These are the newly introduced RocketHub badges. What are these badges? Fuelers and Creatives can unlock badges for completing certain tasks. The badges are meant to be a fun way to recognize you and your positive accomplishments as a part of the RocketHub community. Some badges are easy to unlock while others will probably take months of hard work. The RocketHub badges were design by Robert Schober - a.k.a. Roboshobo. Robo is a super-skilled director, animator, and all-around creative guy. He has worked with Brian Meece for nearly a decade and is a big RocketHub fan - he even made The RocketHub Story video for us, featured at the bottom of our homepage. Robo was recognized by Paste Magazine for making one of the best music videos of the past decade. He has created videos for such greats as Metallica, Mastodon, and the B52s. We are very grateful to him for leaving his talented mark on RocketHub - stay tuned for a Roboshobo RocketHub project… For a full rundown of the first batch of badges, check out the Badge Encyclopedia. We’ll be regularly introducing more badges so let us know what you think and what you want to see. -Vlad
- March 15, 2010
RocketHub Launch Party NYC - A Night to Remember
Last night was a lot of fun - one of those NYC nights I will remember for a long time. A few hundred of us celebrated a web-site built on creative community with a DIY sense of ethos and authenticty - a place where anybody with a dream can take a shot at making it happen. In an old recording studio in Midtown Manhattan gathered some of the most talented, intelligent and beautiful folks. The vibe of lovely music, combined with all the good people gathered, weaved into a wonderful event. In the house were musical juggernauts and good pals Aram Bajakian, Anthony Rizzo, The RockDoves, Jeneen Terrana, NYC Subway Girl, Silbin Sandovar, Kevin O’Leary, Andy Stack and so many others too. Board game designer Avri Klemer had his prototype of “Penguin Soccer” out for folks to play (and get addicted to). Rock N Roll Photog Janene Otten snapped shots and put out her good energy. Our board members Greg, Tony and Gus got rounds of applause as we ate all the pizza (and drank all the beer).Rudy made cake-art shaped like a Rocket. We all rocked out on Gibson guitars (thank you Jim and Mike). Jed gave a great speech, Vlad made a great joke, and I played ukulele. I also had the chance to listen to so many people with so many projects to make - RocketHub is for them and anybody else with a dream to launch. Thanks so much for the folks that came out. We are grateful to know you all.Brian Meece
- March 14, 2010
Penguin Soccer Board Game
Board Game Designer Avri Klemer launched his Project “Penguin Soccer Fanclub” on RocketHub and is halfway to his goal. According to his project page- “Penguin Soccer is a game in the tradition of Chess, Checkers and Go. There are no dice, no cards, no random elements - only the skill of the two players. But instead of stern soldiers marching about a battlefield, or abstract stones on a grid, Penguin Soccer is about two families of penguins sliding and spinning and chasing a soccer ball across a frozen field!” Sounds very groovy. Tomorrow night at our Launch Party Avri will have a prototype set up on display and I look forward to playing it. Avri has as one of his rewards a limited edition RocketHub branded copy of Penguin Soccer (I snagged mine already) - check out his project here: http://rockethub.com/projects/31-join-the-penguin-soccer-fan-club Cheers! Brian Meece
- March 11, 2010
Crowdfunding for the Modern Creative
The RocketHub team has met with a lot of awesome Creatives over the past few months - chatting about their creative passions, their financial needs, and the power of crowdfunding. What we strongly suspected but now fully confirmed is that the modern Creative possesses many talents and can not be pigeon-holed into a stereotypical description. Jeneen is a powerful musician with a knack for sweets. Dave is a compelling puppeteer and also one of the best banjo players we’ve ever heard. Korál makes emotional paintings and is a talented ballroom dancer…and the list goes on… What’s also interesting is how these Creatives have combined their skills to offer engaging rewards. The modern Creative already has the tools to successfully leverage the power of crowdfunding in imaginative and highly emotional ways. -Vlad
- March 11, 2010
