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| Me and My Geek-A-Week cards, look at that happy face! |
I've been thinking about Consumerism a lot recently. A lot
of that probably comes from me purging a lot of possessions in order to move across
the Country and deciding what to keep and what to lose. Also what I had to lose
because moving said items was not an option. That is particularly difficult. I
had a lot of furniture that was my grandparents. I've known that furniture my
whole life. I had many positive memories associated with said furniture. The
smell of that armoire is still strong in my memory. Weird.
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| This Order of Worship was stuck to the inside of the Armoire since 1987 |
Anyways, here is the thing that kicked my brain into gear.
Len Peralta's Geek-A-Week.
These are really really cool baseball-card esque
collectables of famous geeks. It is really sweet. I've had several of them
autographed and it is just a fun collection to be part of.
I met Len at PAX East when he had his first set. I was
probably totally awkward, but I met him, chatted, and bought his cards. It was
my first Con so I was really overwhelmed by the whole experience. I'm sure if I
met him again I could be a little less awkward.
Len released subsequent sets of cards through Think Geek,
making up a deck of 52.
But since this is the age of social media, the digital
marketplace, and Crowdsourcing; Len turned to Kickstarter for his Season 2
& Season 3: Legends of Video Games sets.
It is a fantastic way for an artist to really reach his
audience. And there are rewards to being a part of something of this nature.
With Season Two I received a B&W sketch of whatever I wanted. I had Len
draw a Ninja Turtle Jedi. It is awesome. I have it framed and sitting in my
Nerd Shrine. With Season 3, I gave
enough to get the extra cards that were for backers only. Exclusivity is a
powerful tool, for good or ill.
Today his newest Kickstarter jumped from $19k to $40K (as of
publishing it is ), reaching his goal. I was worried that he wasn't going to reach
that $38k goal while looking at it last night. He only had 9 days left. Gotta
thank the internet for stepping up! I'm sure Len is blown away. I would be. I'm
very excited for this new set of 52, that is going to take over a year to
create and send my way. Yeah, I'm in it for the long haul.
When Len's Kickstarter jumped this morning, I tweeted at
him, congratulating him and said I was proud to be part of the Geek-A-Week
Collective. Originally I wrote "family" but "collective"
seemed to be a way geekier and appropriate title. We collect these cards but we
also help fund their creation. We fund them in a different way than ever
before.
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| Social Media can be cool. |
Throughout history the Church, corporations, and the wealthy;
commissioned Art and employed artists. Also, businesses had to search for
investors and loans to help get their ideas into reality. Now we have a
combination of these things with another incredible addition: Democratization
via Consumer Inclusion.
If you think about the idea of this it is incredible. This
has never truly existed until now. It has never really been possible until now.
We are both commissioning art as well as investing in the Artist. Now we aren't
"investing" in the traditional sense, in order to gain a profit. But
in the case of Len Peralta, we are investing in Him. We are providing financial
support that is in turn emotional support. We are saying, "Here is money
to do what you want to do, because we believe in You. We love what you make. Do
your thing and thrive!"
Looking at the larger scale, there are certain brands that I
hold dear and am emotionally invested in. Disney creates happy feelings, Brooks
Brothers makes me think Quality, and Nintendo rockets me to FunTown. But this
has always been a passive investment. I'm not really involved in what they
create. Yes, buy using my money to purchase what I want, I am using that dollar
to tell the corporation what to make, but I'm co-opted by other consumers who
may not care for what I enjoy. Niche markets have this problem. "Not
enough people bought said product, so we aren't going to make that
anymore." It is understandable but it is one of the flaws of Free Market
Capitalism.
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| Don't take things to seriously |
With Crowdsourcing something so niche as Geek
"celebrities", whom most people would never recognize, being immortalized
in collectable card form can not only exist but thrive. Versus pitching
Geek-A-Week to Baseball card manufacturer Topps. They are probably struggling
to exist due to the lack of interest in Baseball cards themselves. They used to
be ubiquitous, but now they are their own niche market, but with a history and
a wealthy consumer base full of nostalgia. How would you get Geek-A-Week off
the ground?
It is more than selling though. I feel invested. I feel as
if I'm a part of something. I helped bring into creation a thing that I want.
Would I buy this product? Yes. I did. I wasn't emotionally invested in Season
1. I just liked them. But from Season 2 onward, I've become part of
Geek-A-Week. Along with many others, whom I've dubbed the Geek-A-Week
Collective.
Now, I have some issues with Crowdsourceing. It is not all
sunshine and rainbows. When someone who has access to investors and money, for
example Zach Braff going to Kickstarter to help fund his film, that leaves a
very bad taste in my mouth. It doesn't seem Just to have someone with resources
to take to Crowdsourcing. Leave it to the people who need it. It seems like
some kind of perversion. But then again, Crowdsourcing is representative of a
Free Market. So as long as projects like Geek-A-Week, small Independent Films,
and crazy inventions like 'Bug-A-Salt'; keep getting funded, I will have no
real issue with major industry players also using Crowdsourcing to help fund
their projects.
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| Scrubs, Garden State, and a King of Photobombs |
It is part of "Conscientious Consumerism",
something that I am trying to be a part of. Knowing from where my products come,
what impact they have on the environment, and the conditions on which they are
made. We live in a Capitalist society. It is not a perfect economic system, but
it is the one we have. One day we may live in a Roddenberry-eque future where
there is no lack of resources and every individual can pursue their individual
passions, but until that time, We, as a society & species, need to use our
purchasing power to enable a better world. With Crowdsourcing as a viable and
very real tool at our disposal, the Consumer can take control away from
"the other" be they good or bad, and Democratize what we want to buy instead
of being told what to buy.
I don't know if Len thinks of his Geek-A-Week as a prime
example of how the Future of Humanity is very bright and hopeful. It may not be
that deep for him. But for us Internet Philosophers and Thinkers who are vain
enough to put our ideas into words and throw them out there for anyone to read,
he has made the World a better place. Thanks Len! Congratulations on your
funding! I hope you reach your stretch goals because more cards is better than
fewer cards. Also my Ninja Turtle Jedi is still badass.
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| so cool |
Shine on you crazy diamonds.
