Thursday 26 July 2012

HARDtalk: The Dave Sim Interview (5)

Are you now converted to the idea of "crowd-funding" and the Kickstarter concept?  Has this changed your views on the possibilities of the Internet or do you still equate it to CB radio?

In terms of me, personally, I'm definitely convinced that "crowd-funding" and Kickstarter can definitely work well for HIGH SOCIETY audio/digital in June of 2012.  The possibilities of the Internet are pretty much limitless, I'm just not sure that they work for me or my work.  One of the things that drives things on the Internet is short-term novelty.  CEREBUS TV worked, briefly, for the first few months as it was intended to: to generate interest in e-Bay auctions of my artwork.  And then it didn't.  The bottom just dropped out of it.  I assume that Kickstarter and crowd-funding will be the same way.  It's a novelty and it's working really well for most people but not all people.  What happens when it's no longer a novelty is another question.  I do think you have to go where the people are.  Kickstarter has its own devotees just of the concept -- people who are hooked on finding cool campaigns and supporting them. This is a cool party because there are all these people here and the numbers are just rolling over and rolling over.  Who cares what the project is?  Being here is JUST COOL!  That's an exaggeration, but that's what I'm trying to think of now.

But, I'm also convinced that you can't look TOO FAR down the road.  I'm starting with the supposition that Kickstarter will still be a novelty and "where people go" through the end of the year or into 2013 so it's worth planning another campaign centred on the CEREBUS volume for 2013.  But Kickstarter could very well turn out to be a "Just Too, Too 2013" thing by 2014 and a CB radio.  CB radios were VERY popular for a while there.

I could never have imagined CEREBUS TV in 2008 and I could never have imagined HIGH SOCIETY audio/digitial in 2011.  I think it stands to reason that I couldn't possibly imagine what I will be doing for a living in 2013 just because it's 2012.  I'll know when I get there and it's time to do that thing -- whatever it is.  What I'll be doing in 2015 probably doesn't exist today even as a concept.

Stephen has his best BBC HARDtalk face on and he's literally pawing the turf, so let's give him our next question and our next cliffhanger.  Mr. Holland, sir?

Kickstarter and digitalisation.  Technologically you've gone from 0 to 60 mph (as we used to say when that was impressive) in less than five seconds and just in time, too.  Can we please get with the e-mail, now?

Don't miss all the Action when Hardtalk continues on Monday... Same Moment of Cerebus Time! Same Moment of Cerebus Channel!
Coming Soon: Cerebus TV DVDs

No comments: