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    Futures Lab Update #103: Choosing a Crowdfunding Platform; the Shuffle News App

    by Reuben Stern
    April 23, 2015
    Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and Patreon all take a certain percentage of the total amount raised. If you raised $10,000, for example, Kickstarter and Patreon would both take $500, whereas IndieGoGo would take $400. But if you do not reach your goal, then IndieGoGo will actually charge you a $900 penalty fee. Screenshot courtesy of RJI.

    This week we look at three crowdfunding platforms to help you decide which to use; then we see how an app called Shuffle gives users stories the people around them are reading.

    "The nearby filter uses geolocation technology to pinpoint your location, find Shuffle users in that area, and feed you the news they are reading." -- Gabriel Jefferson, reporter, Futures Lab

    PART 1: Picking a crowdfunding platform

    Several online tools have made it easy to ask for money to support any endeavor. We evaluate three such tools — IndieGoGo, Kickstarter and Patreon  — to help you decide which might be right for your journalism-related project.

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    Reporting by Daniel Shapiro.
    [To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

    For more information:

    One of the newest entrants into the field is Byline.com, which launched in mid-April and is reportedly allowing journalists to use the platform for free for the site’s first three months

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    Crowdfunding Journalism Success Tips is a compilation of helpful articles put together by Through the Cracks, a website devoted specifically to information about crowd-supported reporting efforts.

    PART 2: Shuffle app

    Among the noteworthy features of the algorithmically driven Shuffle news app is an ability to tap a button and see a list of stories being read by other people nearby. We find out how it works from Shuffle Product Development Lead Adam Wojtonis.

    Reporting by Gabriel Jefferson.
    [To skip directly to this segment in YouTube, click here.]

    For more information:

    The Nieman Journalism Lab offers a detailed explanation of the app’s genesis and approach, which relies on using “both passive and active feedback when prioritizing content.”

    Reuben Stern is the deputy director of the Futures Lab at the Reynolds Journalism Institute and host and co-producer of the weekly Futures Lab video update.

    FuturesLabWebBanner-mediashiftThe Reynolds Journalism Institute’s Futures Lab video update features a roundup of fresh ideas, techniques and developments to help spark innovation and change in newsrooms across all media platforms. Visit the RJI website for the full archive of Futures Lab videos, or download the iPad app to watch the show wherever you go. You can also sign up to receive email notification of each new episode.

     

     

    Tagged: algorithms apps byline crowdfunding fixed funding flexible funding funding geotagging indiegogo kickstarter patreon shuffle app

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