The power of going viral to “kickstart” your project

June 26, 2011 @ 8:14AM

The power of going viral to “kickstart” your project

How one photographer's hope of $10,000 turned into a quarter of a million dollars

By Haje Jan Kamps

“Wow” seems to be the only word that entrepreneur Peter Dering can say about the response he’s received for his first product, which has the twitterverse buzzing and the photography world salivating.

Dering, a former civil engineer and amateur photographer, quit his engineering job last April to develop an idea he’d had for two years. He spent the better part of last year developing the Capture Camera Clip System, which is a small device that allows you to clip your SLR securely to any strap (belt, backpack, etc.)

Click-and-go

Dering was hoping to solve the problem that many SLR users face: where can you keep your camera so that it’s easily accessible but out of your way to use your hands, yet still well protected? Wearing a camera strap around your neck is great for access, but a heavy camera dangling around your neck is both uncomfortable and dangerous for the camera and lens. A camera bag offers great protection, but you may miss some great shots without your camera readily at hand.

Dering’s Capture System solves this problem with a small, lightweight device that has two components: one clips onto your strap and the other clips into your tripod mount on your camera. When the two components are secured, you have a quick and easy way of mounting your camera on your belt strap or backpack strap - or in the future your bicycle or the roof-rack of your car. There’s a quick-release button for easy access, but there’s also a redundant twist lock you can use for times when the quick-release might be accidentally triggered.

It’s a clever little piece of kit, and it was bound to be well received by the photography community - however the speed at which this is happening is what’s truly remarkable about this story.

Enter Kickstarter.com

Dering decided to use Kickstarter to try to fund the first production run of his device. His Kickstarter project went live on May 2, and by the powers of the viral qualities of the internet, he had reached (and quickly surpassed) his $10,000 funding goal by May 4.

At the time of writing this article, the project has 3,859 backers who have funded the project to $251,746 - a far cry from the $10,000 initial goal. So, how did this happen? How did a device go from no one hearing of it to being the next must-have photography gadget seemingly overnight?

The news of the gadget traveled far and wide through the type of viral speed and growth we’ve come to expect only from funny youtube videos. News was spreading fast via Twitter, Facebook, and tons of blogs. Loads of tech & photo websites, such as Gizmodo, Peta Pixel, Digital Trends and Photo Weekly Online all did articles about the Capture clip. It didn’t take long for this rush to “capture” the imaginations (and wallets) of the internet photographers.

Get involved!

The project will be funding until July 16 - so if you want to be one of the first to get your hands on the device you can pledge at least $50 on Kickstarter . Once the first run is done, the normal retail price is expected to be $70 plus shipping.

Perhaps Kickstarter is going to the next great tool for creating buzz around your photography ideas and gadgets - certainly many of the most successful projects on the site have come from the photography universe. Peter Dering seems to agree, and his gratitude is palpable: “This is absolutely mind blowing. Backers, bloggers, facebook status updaters...thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you!!!”