Ever thought of being a VC or Angel Investor, but couldn't afford to invest or commit? Well, Kickstarter is the platform for you to become an investor on some very cool projects. A group of friends that periodically invest in some interesting projects end up in my feed, which end up becoming a social way to invest. It is empowering and fun!

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-kickstarter-page-for-greece

This comes out to $606.76 per minute.

Just like an annual report (but more interactive and engaging), Kickstarter publishes some stats and some projects for the public, [Just click here to visit]. But I will summarize some of the numbers below. All art belongs to Kickstarter, but I had to modify the screens so they fit in my blog.

Interesting list of categories and how much they made as a group. I believe games win at ~$83 million:

Here is a stat for those in music:

Here are a couple of music projects look pretty interesting (a movement to bring classical or new classical music back):

Now for funny projects that I have to revisit:

Other projects for me to revisit:

Art/Culture/Travel.

Engineering/Robotics/Science

Design/Environmental Design/Architecture/Urban Planning

Design/Graphic Design/Urban Planning/Legal (offering "public domain" fonts)

A former colleague of mine, Britta Riley at NYU/ITP grad program founded this project:

Design/Environment/Interior Design/Nutrition/Education

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Even Stanford University is teaching Kickstarter for college credit:

And Kickstarter is parodied by major publications like The New Yorker:
http://www.kickstarter.com/year/2012#pledged_minute
The caption reads: "Thanks to Kickstarter, we're buidling a tunnel." Click here to view original.

More funny links:

http://www.kick-stopper.com/ [The Daily Show]

The Onion:
http://www.theonion.com/video/internet-scam-alert-most-kickstarter-projects-just,28655/

IFC (Portlandia):
http://www.ifc.com/portlandia/videos/portlandia-kickstarter

McSweeny's:
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/welcome-to-the-official-kickstarter-page-for-greece

Funny or Die [Rated PG-13]:
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/70f7ef3d34/bar-refaeli-s-sex-tape-kickstarter