IMO, it's a two-sided problem. You've got indie developers with little understanding of the business pitching consumers who have even less understanding.
Sharper minds than mine have already demonstrated the emerging pattern on Kickstarter: that a majority of the "backers" don't really see themselves as investors, or even charitable givers. They see themselves as consumers pre-ordering hot products. They're handing over X dollars in exchange for Y goods (and maybe a tiny bit of Z street cred). It's a very transactional relationship. And the problem with such a transactional relationship is that the backers/buyers are expecting to get Y as quickly and cheaply as possible, nevermind how the sausage gets made. (Ironically, Kickstarter is all about the sausage-making process, but its users are uninterested in process; they want finished goods).
The article raises a lot of good points about the problems that the Kickstarter paradigm presents for indie developers, hobbyists, and enthusiasts. But it only scratches the surface of the backer-as-consumer issue, which, to me, is a much dicier one. In the long run, I think this dynamic will be net-beneficial to indie content and product development. In the short run, would-be developers and creators will need to think critically about precisely which stage of their fund-raising vs. sales vs. marketing activities take place on Kickstarter, and about who the Kickstarter audience represents in the lifecycle of their product launch. (Are Kickstarter backers your hardcore fans, with a higher willingness to pay to get the goods before everyone else does? Are they early product evangelists? Are they beta testers? Are they something else? And, most important, do they see themselves as any or all of these things?)
I suspect that the long-run winners at the Kickstarter game will be the ones who develop the most sophisticated and savvy method for differentiating both among Kickstarter user sets, and between Kickstarter users and mainstream consumers -- and, accordingly, the best ways to differentiate the product offering to these sets of users.
Sharper minds than mine have already demonstrated the emerging pattern on Kickstarter: that a majority of the "backers" don't really see themselves as investors, or even charitable givers. They see themselves as consumers pre-ordering hot products. They're handing over X dollars in exchange for Y goods (and maybe a tiny bit of Z street cred). It's a very transactional relationship. And the problem with such a transactional relationship is that the backers/buyers are expecting to get Y as quickly and cheaply as possible, nevermind how the sausage gets made. (Ironically, Kickstarter is all about the sausage-making process, but its users are uninterested in process; they want finished goods).
The article raises a lot of good points about the problems that the Kickstarter paradigm presents for indie developers, hobbyists, and enthusiasts. But it only scratches the surface of the backer-as-consumer issue, which, to me, is a much dicier one. In the long run, I think this dynamic will be net-beneficial to indie content and product development. In the short run, would-be developers and creators will need to think critically about precisely which stage of their fund-raising vs. sales vs. marketing activities take place on Kickstarter, and about who the Kickstarter audience represents in the lifecycle of their product launch. (Are Kickstarter backers your hardcore fans, with a higher willingness to pay to get the goods before everyone else does? Are they early product evangelists? Are they beta testers? Are they something else? And, most important, do they see themselves as any or all of these things?)
I suspect that the long-run winners at the Kickstarter game will be the ones who develop the most sophisticated and savvy method for differentiating both among Kickstarter user sets, and between Kickstarter users and mainstream consumers -- and, accordingly, the best ways to differentiate the product offering to these sets of users.