Kickstarter, the site launched in 2009 where entrepreneurs, makers, and everyday people can take product and project ideas in hopes that others will help provide the funds to make those ideas into reality, reached $1 billion in pledges on March 3. According to the site, more than half of that amount was pledged in the past 12 months alone.
Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites like Indiegogo allow project creators to create fundraising campaigns for their ideas. Backers pledge amounts to help the creator reach his or her funding goal, typically in conjunction with various reward tiers related to the project. When the campaign ends, the creator gets the pledged money (assuming that the fundraising was successful) and gets to work on the project. As with most things, of course, it's not always that simple.
image: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net
