switzerland

wemakeit.ch – a new Swiss crowd-funding platform

by Andy Polaine on February 6, 2012

in General

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wemakeit.ch is a new Swiss crowd-funding platform in the style of Kickstarter. It is the “Schweizer Crowdfunding-Plattform für Kunst-, Musik-, Film-, Design- und andere kreative Projekte” – art, music, film, design and other creative projects – and the work of Jürg Lehni (@juerglehni), Rea Eggli and Johannes Gees (@johannesgees).

As with Kickstarter, you look through the projects and back the ones you are interested in. If it doesn’t get funded to its required amount, you don’t pay. If it does, you do. At the moment the projects definitely have a more film, theatre and art slant than Kickstarter, but it will be interesting to watch this develop over time.

It’s great to see a non-USA version of this happening. Not that there is anything wrong with the USA in this regard (I’ve backed a couple of Kickstarter projects), but they are naturally very US-centric. Note to my students: This is a huge opportunity for Swiss design graduates to get out there on their own without having to find a big commercial backer. Get on there now!

At the moment the site is in German, but French and English versions are coming in Spring, according to wemakeit’s Twitter updates.

(The image above is from the bid for the project, True Nature, “a crossover theatre project about the yoga boom and the mixing of business, spirituality and lifestyle.” They want backing to go on tour.)

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These people – five in total – were ticket inspectors on an early afternoon bus in Luzern, Switzerland, very much a tourist destination. So why are they dressed like armed police (no guns, but with pepper spray and earpieces)? And what is a security firm, Securitas, doing supplying ticket inspectors to a public transport company?

Luzern has its share of social problems, but is very safe compared to other cities and has nowhere near the kinds of issues cities like London or New York have. I have seen transport police on trains in London, but the blurring of the boundaries by the use of uniforms and attitude is a poorly thought through touchpoint, much like the TSA uniforms and badges that they are hopefully about to lose in the USA. If certain people in society have special powers over others, it is important to be able to recognise that straight away, not be left unsure as to your and their rights and responsibilities.

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Gap’s new pilot service, Sprize, deals with an age-old irritation. You buy something at full-price only to find it reduced in a sale a few days later. It is irritating for customers, who tend to feel ripped-off or cheated by the store or staff. But it is also a problem for stores, because it means [...]

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