This is dumb.
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, some high-profile crowdfunding campaigns are making waves. They’re breaking records, raising millions of dollars, and capitalizing on the celebrity power attached to the projects. It’s getting people talking. I love powerful conversations.
One thing is bugging me, though.
Some people are selling the “reward” of having a someone follow back on Twitter. I saw it on the Veronica Mars campaign in March. Now I’ve seen it on the Melissa Joan Hart campaign.
Is this becoming a trend?
Man, I hope not.
It’s dumb.
To explain, here are some words from Ken Levine, a blogger and film guy who recently wrote about Zach Braff’s campaign where he added a side bar about MJH’s twitter reward:
Did you see where Melissa Joan Hart is trying to get a project funded on Kickstarter? And here’s her big incentive: She’ll follow you on Twitter for a year. Oh, be still my heart! You and Melissa will be BFF’s! Every day she’ll go on Twitter to see how you’re coming on that dress you’re making for the prom. OR… she agrees to follow 20,000 people and never once looks at her Twitter page. Which do you think is more likely?
Then IndieWire touched on the subject in a recent article titled “Why Will Melissa Joan Hart’s Kickstarter Campaign Fail? Let’s Explain It All.” It’s a great article that explains a number of the reasons why I didn’t contribute to the campaign. Regarding the twitter “reward” they wrote:
Some of the most impressive(ly awkward) reward descriptions:
For a whole year?!?!…for $100
Two of our main cast members (not Melissa Joan Hart) will follow you on Twitter for a full year. We don’t know who they are yet, but we know you’ll want them following you (on Twitter only)! You’ll also receive…
Seriously. Y’all. Twitter is a free means of connecting with people.
I don’t understand why the “reward” of having someone follow you back is part of a Kickstarter project, much less one that’s listed at the $100+ level. You can follow these celebs, tweet them, and they can respond to you — without having them follow you on Twitter, much less donating to the campaign. Also, having them follow you doesn’t mean that they’ll see your tweets or even talk to you online — so what’s the point?
I feel like selling the promise to follow back as a Kickstarter reward is odd. And … wrong. It flies in the face of a lot of the rules of social media.
Am I alone in this thinking? If you disagree with me, please enlighten me. Use the comments. I’d love to know what you think about it.