Indie Game Developer Points Out That It's Better To Give People Reasons To Buy Than Worry About 'Piracy'
from the figuring-things-out dept
Jay was the first of a whole bunch of you to submit the blog post by indie game developer Markus Persson that's been making the rounds, where he talks about why it's better to give people a reason to buy than to worry about "piracy":
Instead of just relying on guilt tripping pirates into buying, or wasting time and money trying to stop them, I can offer online-only services that actually add to the game experience. Online level saving, centralized skins, friends lists and secure name verification for multiplayer. None of these features can be accessed by people with pirated versions of the game, and hopefully they can be features that turn pirates from thieves into potential customers.
He also notes that the impact of unauthorized copies is somewhat ambiguous:
If someone pirates Minecraft instead of buying it, it means I've lost some "potential" revenue. Not actual revenue, as I can never go into debt by people pirating the game too much, but I might've made even more if that person had bought the game instead. But what if that person likes that game, talks about it to his or her friends, and then I manage to convince three of them to buy the game? I'd make three actual sales instead of blocking out the potentially missed sale of the original person which never cost me any money in the first case.
In the end, he makes the same point we've tried to make here for years: worrying about and fighting unauthorized copies just doesn't seem to be nearly as productive an approach as focusing on ways to actually give people reasons to buy. He doesn't support "piracy," but suggests that it's happening, and there are much better ways of dealing with it than fighting it. Nice to see more people recognizing this key point.
18 Comments | Leave a Comment..
Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.
The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.
If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need.
1. FirstGiving
The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.
It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.
2. Crowdrise
We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.
Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebook
3. Kickstarter
Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.
Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”
A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.
4. WhatGives
WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.
You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.
5. Change.org
Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.
Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.
6. Chipin
Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.
Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.
7. Razoo
Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.
What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.
8. Convio
Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.
For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.
If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.
9. Facebook Causes
Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.
10. StayClassy
A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.
The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.
Brought to you by theThis post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.
Date: Monday, September 20, 2010
Image courtesy of iStockphoto
For more Social Good coverage:
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Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Photokina 2010: Sigma has announced the SD1 digital SLR, which uses a brand new 46Mp 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers). Designed as the company's flagship camera, the SD1 has a ...
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robert shumake
More Fallout Online art dribbles out MMO <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our MMO news of More Fallout Online art dribbles out.
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Digital Photography Review
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Photokina 2010: Sigma has announced the SD1 digital SLR, which uses a brand new 46Mp 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers). Designed as the company's flagship camera, the SD1 has a ...
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 9/21 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning Chiefs fans! Another serving of Kansas City Chiefs news waits below. I have mixed thoughts after watching most of last night's game. The 49ers looked good, but shot themselves in the foot a few times. I'm hoping Arrowhead ...
Indie Game Developer Points Out That It's Better To Give People Reasons To Buy Than Worry About 'Piracy'
from the figuring-things-out dept
Jay was the first of a whole bunch of you to submit the blog post by indie game developer Markus Persson that's been making the rounds, where he talks about why it's better to give people a reason to buy than to worry about "piracy":
Instead of just relying on guilt tripping pirates into buying, or wasting time and money trying to stop them, I can offer online-only services that actually add to the game experience. Online level saving, centralized skins, friends lists and secure name verification for multiplayer. None of these features can be accessed by people with pirated versions of the game, and hopefully they can be features that turn pirates from thieves into potential customers.
He also notes that the impact of unauthorized copies is somewhat ambiguous:
If someone pirates Minecraft instead of buying it, it means I've lost some "potential" revenue. Not actual revenue, as I can never go into debt by people pirating the game too much, but I might've made even more if that person had bought the game instead. But what if that person likes that game, talks about it to his or her friends, and then I manage to convince three of them to buy the game? I'd make three actual sales instead of blocking out the potentially missed sale of the original person which never cost me any money in the first case.
In the end, he makes the same point we've tried to make here for years: worrying about and fighting unauthorized copies just doesn't seem to be nearly as productive an approach as focusing on ways to actually give people reasons to buy. He doesn't support "piracy," but suggests that it's happening, and there are much better ways of dealing with it than fighting it. Nice to see more people recognizing this key point.
18 Comments | Leave a Comment..
Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.
The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.
If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need.
1. FirstGiving
The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.
It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.
2. Crowdrise
We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.
Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebook
3. Kickstarter
Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.
Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”
A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.
4. WhatGives
WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.
You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.
5. Change.org
Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.
Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.
6. Chipin
Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.
Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.
7. Razoo
Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.
What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.
8. Convio
Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.
For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.
If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.
9. Facebook Causes
Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.
10. StayClassy
A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.
The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.
Brought to you by theThis post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.
Date: Monday, September 20, 2010
Image courtesy of iStockphoto
For more Social Good coverage:
robert shumake
More Fallout Online art dribbles out MMO <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our MMO news of More Fallout Online art dribbles out.
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Digital Photography Review
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Photokina 2010: Sigma has announced the SD1 digital SLR, which uses a brand new 46Mp 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers). Designed as the company's flagship camera, the SD1 has a ...
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 9/21 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning Chiefs fans! Another serving of Kansas City Chiefs news waits below. I have mixed thoughts after watching most of last night's game. The 49ers looked good, but shot themselves in the foot a few times. I'm hoping Arrowhead ...
robert shumake
More Fallout Online art dribbles out MMO <b>News</b> - Page 1 | Eurogamer.net
Read our MMO news of More Fallout Online art dribbles out.
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Digital Photography Review
Sigma releases SD1 flagship digital SLR: Photokina 2010: Sigma has announced the SD1 digital SLR, which uses a brand new 46Mp 1.5x crop Foveon X3 sensor (4800 x 3200 x 3 layers). Designed as the company's flagship camera, the SD1 has a ...
Arrowheadlines: Chiefs <b>News</b> 9/21 - Arrowhead Pride
Good morning Chiefs fans! Another serving of Kansas City Chiefs news waits below. I have mixed thoughts after watching most of last night's game. The 49ers looked good, but shot themselves in the foot a few times. I'm hoping Arrowhead ...
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