There's been a little consternation online that someone has set up a GoFundMe campaign to solicit donations towards building his new O gauge layout. From what I've seen, people are not in favour, and at the time of writing, a couple of days after it went live, no money has been raised. Having said that, just because a few people online are grumpy, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with a plan.
The first big Internet pan-handling website was savekaryn.com - set up by TV producer Karyn Bosnak in 2002. After a move to New York, she racked up $20,000 on her credit cards which wasn't a problem until redundancy came knocking.
Setting the site up, she was completely honest that the debt was her own fault, but argued that if enough kind people gave her a little hand, she could be debt free with lessons learned. The site documented her selling possessions and also receiving donations until the cards were paid off.
Along the way, she took a lot of flack from those who disapproved of her actions, as well as spawning many imitators also looking for a handout. In the end, she had the last laugh, turning the story onto an entertaining book, which was then optioned for a film, although this hasn't appeared yet.
The key to her success, was she entertained people with regular posts on the site explaining how to avoid falling in to the same debt hole, and chronicling her efforts to get out of it. That, and being one of the first to do it, and certainly the first to garner media attention. I remember reading the website and being fascinated by the journey, even though I didn't pay a cent towards the trip.
Some have looked at the model railway pan-handling (to use an American term) and suggested it's no different from applying to a model railway club committee for funds. I disagree. In this case, you are applying as part of a team. The committee will weigh up the space required and number of members in the group as well as the money. I've seen an application for what was basically one-man project rejected within minutes, not helped by the applicant having gone trough every model catalogue hoping to build in every operating gizmo possible on a layout with no basis in reality (it wasn't me).
Also, a club layout is just that. It's a layout owned by a club, and generally intended to be taken to shows, partly to promote the club. It's not something owned by one bloke in his back garden shed.
The bigger problem I see for anyone looking for donations towards their project is that just like Bosnak, you are going to have to entertain the crowd. She imagined her role as a street performer rather than a beggar - payment was in the same manner as a busker passing around the hat at the end of a performance, and that's how many of those who sent money saw it too.
Now, what happens if you have raise a hundred quid for your layout from five people? They expect results, but that cash won't buy you a single loco. No matter, they will expect to see progress and don't care if you are short of funds, they have paid, now dance for the money! I'm sure I wouldn't like to be on the end of the abuse that this might generate.
Raising funds for model railways via the crowd doesn't have a good track record. There are a couple of very well-known modellers with Patreon accounts that bring in nothing more than a tiny trickle of income, despite all the effort that goes into producing video content. Even YouTube isn't the goldmine that the media would have you believe and the pressure is always going to be on to produce more content, and for each new piece to be more outrageous that the last. Yes, you can get a lot of views by slagging off RTR models, but each time, the stakes need to be raised a bit or the audience gets bored and wanders off.
Basically, people want to be entertained. They don't want to pay for that entertainment either.
Could this work?
In theory yes it could. Keep entertaining the punters, make them feel they are part of the project and the money might keep rolling in. It would be terrifically hard work, far harder then simply building the model, or just getting a job to bring in the money conventionally. Standards will need to be high, or the armchair modellers will throw a strop. It's probably best to explain the standards you'll build to up front.A proper project plan with a timeline would be a good idea, although being realistic about this might put people off.
A bigger problem will be that if it works, there will be copycats and many of these will definitely fail, leaving those who have given money out-of-pocket with nothing to see. You can be sure those people will be on forums venting their spleen.
Looking for donations towards your layout isn't illegal. As long as you
make it clear what people are getting, or not, then no-one can complain.
That won't stop them, welcome to the Internet.
(Incidentally, if you want to contribute to this free-to read blog, just click on the advert on the side every so often. It won't cost you anything, and I get a tiny amount of cash. You might even discover some interesting new products!)
6 comments:
Certainly a sign of the times! Thanks for a thoughtful and informative analysis Phil. We are in an age were unfortunately the philosophy of earning your money through productive work so that you can spend it on the basics and luxuries of life appears to be pushed to the side as YouTube and internet 'influencers' seemingly is a career desire by many. In harsh economic terms we cannot all be such things and would I want to fund someone unknown with no connection or no track record to evidence that they are going to do what they say? No. I would however contribute to a known organisation such as a preserved railway but maybe that is showing my age. Unfortunately the World of crowd funding and similar has far too many unknowns in it for my liking and there are a number of reported issues in the media. No doubt others will have other views which are always interesting to hear.
Woody
As a writer with several novels in various states of completion and none published, my main concern is that I'm not young enough to understand how all this works and how I could use it to my advantage. I don't have ethical concerns because, clearly, there is no compulsion on people to donate. Nor do I have any 'sociological' concerns because I don't have a fixed idea of how society should be. What I'm left with is frustration that the 'old' avenues to success are increasingly out of reach and I don't know how to take advantage of the new avenues to success.
On the internet/social media in particular the waters are especially cloudy because so much material is available for free or at minimal cost. Take this website http://www.ottgalleries.com/index.html it's a work of art in itself, before we get to the exquisite model-making and it costs me nothing to enjoy it. How can you monetise something when your competitors are offering the same product for free?
I don't know the answer but eventually someone will figure it out.
I bought (and enjoyed) but your books.
More please, but only when you have time!
Woody's point about preserved railways is interesting - lots of us contribute to restoration projects and I suppose we feel part of the success of the project in some small way. A layout build could be similar, but you need to take people with you on the journey.
I wonder though...
If it was a well-known modeller on, say RMWeb, might people be prepared to support it, and, more to the point, might it be a worthwhile thing to do? Or what if it was a layout for a child with a serious condition?
Or if it was a fund to preserve a well loved layout after the ownner's death.
James - I think preserving a layout might get some traction. A well-known person, maybe, at least you'd know the sort of modelling you are buying into.
Sick child - that would set off my scam detector. There have been a lot of fake ones in the past.
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