Kickstarter Pick: BushwickBK.com Relaunches As The Community-Funded 'Bushwick News'

 

When neighborhood blog BushwickBK decided to call it a day back in October, it took us a while to break our habit of constantly clicking over to the website for the latest local news. That's because the stories they published usually weren't something that you'd find anywhere else. They opted for locally-focused, locally-sourced reporting, from detailed community board rundowns and fascinating pieces like this global story about 99 cent stores to profiles of area musicians, restaurant reviews (and of course, some features on yours truly.) These types of articles aren't just copied-and-pasted press releases or SEO-maximized blog posts, but real journalism that requires time and legwork.

That sort of intensive, in-depth reporting isn't always the most profitable work, and that's what led BushwickBK founder Jeremy Sapienza decided to take a break, possibly for good. The resulting void was quite a big one, and after a few months of planning, Sapienza and the BushwickBK crew decided to try out a more community-supported approach. Earlier this month they launched a Kickstarter campaign to bring the website back to life as The Bushwick News, and they're offering a heap of rewards for supporters, from beverages at a variety of local establishments for a modest $5 to original works by some local artists and other goodies for more sizable donations.

While the $40,000 that they are aiming to raise is indeed an big sum, it's a testament to their ambitious goal of being more than just a blog:

We know 40K is a spicy meatball. But it's also a test of what can be done. We need to know that the community is willing to support our work. This is a huge undertaking!

For more info and a great visual explanation of what they want to do, watch their fundraising campaign video after the jump. We're huge fans of Kickstarter as a means for funding all sorts of awesome projects, but we think this campaign is particularly exciting, as it's a unique local resource funded by local businesses and local citizens through a new economic model. If that excites you too, help out and get some sweet rewards in return.

Now for the video—we really want to know what's down in that manhole!

-- John Ruscher

Kickstarter Pick: The Hundred Story House

Traveling, miniature, movable libraries aren't a new thing, but they are a wonderful thing, acting as both a mobile book lender and a friendly reminder to put down your phone and pick up a book (because, sadly folks, playing Words With Friends doesn't count as a literary pursuit.) The latest mobile library is Brooklyn's Hundred Story House, a "piece of interactive public art" modeled after a Brooklyn brownstone that literally opens its window to lend you books, about a hundred of them. Or at least it will if it gets funded on Kickstarter by March 2nd. 

The project's founders are asking for $13,000 to build, insure and maintain The Hundred Book House, though we'd bet that most of the subsequent maintenance and costs associated with moving the house around to other Brooklyn parks will mostly be a labor of love. And be honest: How can you not support that?

-- Perrin Drumm

Help 'Baker Movie' Bring the Culinary Olympics to the Big Screen

Maybe you caught wind of 3rd Ward's upcoming, new location--as in: our very own Culinary Incubator.

It may be a little way's off, but any time we think about it, our hunger drive starts to redline. Which is why the campaign to fund the documentary Baker Movie has particularly struck our fancy.

When the folks behind the Baker Movie Kickstarter campaign describe the Coupe de Monde de la Boulangerie as the World Cup of baking, they're being modest. It's an international, invitational artisan baking competition held only every three to four years, which makes it more like the baking Olympics. Teams from twelve countries must move up the ranks in regionals to be considered for an invitation to face off against the world's best bakers. Each team is made up of three members who specialize in Baguettes & Specialty Breads, Artistic Design and Viennoiserie, sweet, puffy, buttery goodies that fall somewhere between bread and pastries (think croissants, brioches and beignets). There's also a fourth category, Savory Selection, for which members must team up to create a sandwich.

Yes, we're salivating now too. But we're also a bit curious: With all the cook-offs and cake wars created for reality TV--what's a real-life, bonafide and insanely high-level baking competition like? If you want to know what it takes to bake the world's tastiest, crustiest baguette or the flakiest pain au chocolat, then go ahead and support Baker Movie on Kickstarter. The film will follow Mike Zakowski, a member of Bread Bakers Guild Team USA in the Baguette & Specialty Breads category. The actual Coupe de Monde de la Boulangerie's website is one of the most underwhelming we've seen in a while (have they never heard of food porn?!). So,if you want to get an inside look at some high stakes butter and yeast action (and clearly, we do), then you know what to do: support Baker Movie and then we can all try not to eat the movie screen together.

-- Perrin Drumm

Kickstarter Spotlight // Molly and Olly: Tasty, Aromatic Internet Robots

Like it or really, really hate it, tweeting has become a legitimate part of doing business. While tweeting and re-tweeting and adding followers can provide some bizarre form of gratification, you may be feeling like all your hard tweeting is going unappreciated. Well, no longer.  In this week's Kickstarter Spotlight--an ongoing series in which we highlight some of the most innovative campaigns brought to our attention--we bring you a truly strange (though possibly brilliant?), Pavlovian take on social media: Molly and Olly.

See, Molly and Olly is your very own personal Internet reward system. Molly is a "module that turns your tweets into sweets by counting how many times you get retweeted, then releasing a tasty candy when a number you've set it reached." While Olly, which can be stacked on top of Molly, is a web-connected robot "that turns your online notifications into smells." You can fill it with any scent--your girlfriend's perfume, an essential oil maybe--and sync that scent to specific notifications, say, every time your business gets a "like" on Facebook or someone buys something from your e-commerce site. 

If you want your office to be filled with the sweet smell (and taste) of success, consider hopping on board Molly and Olly's Kickstarter campaign. The project has quite a ways to go to meet its goal in just three days. Though just think: Help them out by tweeting this into the digital universe and you'll be warming up for all the sugar-fueled, aromatic goodness Molly & Olly can bring.

-- Perrin Drumm

HOW-TO // What to Do If Your Kickstarter Campaign Fails

So you didn't reach your Kickstarter goal. You're not alone! The scary truth is that less than half of all Kickstarter campaigns reach their goal--and as you probably know, if you don't reach your goal, you don't collect anything. You're a grown up, you know it's nothing personal. Raising money is tough any way you cut it and you always knew this was a possibility. So what now? It's time to dust yourself off and figure out how to make your dream come true.

We see a lot of campaigns get started, some have amazing, life-changing outcomes, some go a bit rockier. Either way, we want to help you see your ideas/businesses/causes through and in the event your Kickstarter doesn't go as planned, we've amassed some helpful tips for startin' fresh.

First bit of positive reinforcement: The good news is you've put together a lot of quality material detailing why you and your project are great. Now here's what to do with it:

• If you haven't already, see what's available in the way of grants and fellowships. Of course, this money is hard-earned--depending on which program(s) you apply for, you could be competing against thousands of applicants for just one or two positions. But often the applications are free, and the prestige from actually getting one of these things will look great to potential investors.
• Look into small business loans. This can be a bit intimidating; it means taking on debt and being beholden to lenders. But interest rates are generally low, and there actually is a lot of money available. Lenders may even want you to take more than you think you'll need, just to ensure you can do things right and become profitable.
• Ask your family. We're joking a little, and maybe you've already tried this and it didn't go so well. Or maybe it just feels like a hard pill to swallow. But family is the ultimate low-interest lender, and they have a vested interest in your success. Seriously, if you haven't done it and you have decent relationships with family members (and they have a little disposable income) just ask.
• Look for teammates. Find people who are successfully doing things that are complementary to your project and email them directly. Link them to your materials and explain why you think you should work together. The worst-case scenario is that they'll ignore you completely, and they're already doing that, so why not try?
• Do a bit of tweaking and restart your Kickstarter. Do everything you can to get your page featured on a curated site. Study Google Adwords to make it search-engine optimized. Link it Times Style trend pieces. Throw everything you've got at making it stand out.
• Contact the media. Email every blog, magazine, newspaper, web show, whatever you can think of and tell them what you're trying to do and where it went wrong. Again, the worst thing that will happen is you'll be get no response. But most of us media types are so inundated with soulless, grammatically hideous press releases that your heartfelt prose will move us...maybe even enough to take up your cause. 

The bottom line to resetting is knowing you're not in this alone. If you don't get your cash in the first round, it's more likely that your pitch neeeds work than that your idea does, so use the resources available to you (and if you're a 3rd Ward member, take full of advantage of this wonderful community you've helped build.)

No matter what: Keep at it. You will make it happen.

--Layla Schlack