Stilgherrian > Breakpoint+Ruxcon
A$4,030
of $1,800 targetyrs ago
Successful on 22nd Oct 2013 at 12:00AM.
[Update Thursday 17 October 2013, 0745 AEDT: This is astounding. The initial target was reached in less than 17 hours. Thank you. Any funds provided from here on go into the production pool — allowing me to write the stories you choose, which will then be released under a Creative Commons license. Scroll down for the details. — Stilgherrian.]
So here's a perfect match, a request, an experiment and an ultimatum all in one
I'm getting sick of the "journalism is dying" meme. The old media factories are in trouble, sure, but I reckon journalism can do just fine without them.
Crowdfunding could be perfect for financing journalism, especially for focused niche audiences, and especially for covering specific events or other fixed-duration projects.
Let's put that to the test.
In fact, why don't you become part of the experiment? When you support this project, you'll be part of my workshopping of what the stories are actually about. That's not a bad idea, eh? The people paying for the media get direct input into shaping it.
Now I'm a freelance writer, journalist and podcaster who covers information security. Infosec and hacking and privacy and all the cyberstuff is about two-thirds of what I do, for mastheads including ZDNet, CSO Online, Technology Spectator and, more generally, Crikey and ABC's The Drum. I'm a regular go-to person on these topics for radio and TV.
And It just so happens that there's two excellent hacker conferences coming up in Melbourne very soon, Breakpoint on 24-25 October and Ruxcon on 26-27 October.
Perfect match, right?
I know!
I really want to cover these events — and I've already got media accreditation — but I don't have the budget for travel. Neither do the mastheads I write for. So can you help out?
So there's the experiment, the perfect match and the request. The ultimatum?
If I don't get to these events, I'll whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge on Twitter the whole time. And furthermore, you'll be personally responsible for the death of technology journalism in Australia. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?
So here's a perfect match, a request, an experiment and an ultimatum all in one
I'm getting sick of the "journalism is dying" meme. The old media factories are in trouble, sure, but I reckon journalism can do just fine without them.
Crowdfunding could be perfect for financing journalism, especially for focused niche audiences, and especially for covering specific events or other fixed-duration projects.
Let's put that to the test.
In fact, why don't you become part of the experiment? When you support this project, you'll be part of my workshopping of what the stories are actually about. That's not a bad idea, eh? The people paying for the media get direct input into shaping it.
Now I'm a freelance writer, journalist and podcaster who covers information security. Infosec and hacking and privacy and all the cyberstuff is about two-thirds of what I do, for mastheads including ZDNet, CSO Online, Technology Spectator and, more generally, Crikey and ABC's The Drum. I'm a regular go-to person on these topics for radio and TV.
And It just so happens that there's two excellent hacker conferences coming up in Melbourne very soon, Breakpoint on 24-25 October and Ruxcon on 26-27 October.
Perfect match, right?
I know!
I really want to cover these events — and I've already got media accreditation — but I don't have the budget for travel. Neither do the mastheads I write for. So can you help out?
So there's the experiment, the perfect match and the request. The ultimatum?
If I don't get to these events, I'll whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge and whinge on Twitter the whole time. And furthermore, you'll be personally responsible for the death of technology journalism in Australia. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?
How the budget was calculated
I should probably begin by flagging that apart from my freelance writing, the only other source of income I have is a small profit from my legacy business Prussia.Net which, since I've been winding it back, is currently less than $400 per month.
As a freelancer, I have to cover my own time off for holidays (what?) or illness, saving for the future (huh?) and my own equipment. Every project not only has to cover my current living costs, but its share of those things.
Travel and accommodation costs are based on the available flights and hotels as of 15 October 2013. If I can find suitable accommodation at a lower price, the savings go into the production pool. If I have to pay more, I'll wear that.
I haven't gone for el-cheapo accommodation or couch-surfing because I know — from bitter experience! — that for conference coverage it simply doesn't work. I'll need to be up at 0500 and getting into my planned schedule every day without distractions, and with a suitable workspace. I know the price of accommodation that has to double as an office. I spend a lot of time in hotels.
The $500 figure for a 1000-word story is based on the Australian industry standard rate for freelancers in the technology media of 50 cents per word. I tend to write long, however, so the end result will be more material.
The $500 figure for a podcast is based on the fact that producing a podcast to the standard of Corrupted Nerds — including planing and researching the topic; preparing for the interview(s); organising the logistics; recording, editing and producing the podcast audio; preparing any associated graphics; writing the episode web page; and putting it all together — is roughly a full day's work, spread over time.
The per-day rate for a freelance journalist, at least as recommended by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, is $911. For photojournalists and videojournalists it's $1,135, presumably reflecting the richer complexity of their skill sets and the higher cost of maintaining their equipment. Since there's some synergies in the logistics for this project, I've roughly halved that.
As a freelancer, I have to cover my own time off for holidays (what?) or illness, saving for the future (huh?) and my own equipment. Every project not only has to cover my current living costs, but its share of those things.
Travel and accommodation costs are based on the available flights and hotels as of 15 October 2013. If I can find suitable accommodation at a lower price, the savings go into the production pool. If I have to pay more, I'll wear that.
I haven't gone for el-cheapo accommodation or couch-surfing because I know — from bitter experience! — that for conference coverage it simply doesn't work. I'll need to be up at 0500 and getting into my planned schedule every day without distractions, and with a suitable workspace. I know the price of accommodation that has to double as an office. I spend a lot of time in hotels.
The $500 figure for a 1000-word story is based on the Australian industry standard rate for freelancers in the technology media of 50 cents per word. I tend to write long, however, so the end result will be more material.
The $500 figure for a podcast is based on the fact that producing a podcast to the standard of Corrupted Nerds — including planing and researching the topic; preparing for the interview(s); organising the logistics; recording, editing and producing the podcast audio; preparing any associated graphics; writing the episode web page; and putting it all together — is roughly a full day's work, spread over time.
The per-day rate for a freelance journalist, at least as recommended by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, is $911. For photojournalists and videojournalists it's $1,135, presumably reflecting the richer complexity of their skill sets and the higher cost of maintaining their equipment. Since there's some synergies in the logistics for this project, I've roughly halved that.
The Challenges
Producing media, and managing other people who produce media, are what I've been doing for most of my adult life. There's no real challenge here. I do this stuff every week.
The keys risks when producing any media to a defined schedule are that there won't be any interesting content, that the production crew runs out of time, or they're suddenly not available due to illness, accident or disaster.
We're certainly not short of potentially interesting content. In fact the real challenge — not that there are any challenges, sorry — the real production issue will be selecting what to cover from two fascinating conference programs. You'll be helping with that.
As for the schedule, I know precisely how long it takes to make media. I've already blocked out time in my schedule for the core project work, and I'll block out the post-production work as the funds get committed.
The worst-case scenario — unless I'm actually completely incapacitated or even dead for the duration of both conferences — is that the delivery of the finished media objects and rewards gets delayed.
If I die, you've blown your money.
The keys risks when producing any media to a defined schedule are that there won't be any interesting content, that the production crew runs out of time, or they're suddenly not available due to illness, accident or disaster.
We're certainly not short of potentially interesting content. In fact the real challenge — not that there are any challenges, sorry — the real production issue will be selecting what to cover from two fascinating conference programs. You'll be helping with that.
As for the schedule, I know precisely how long it takes to make media. I've already blocked out time in my schedule for the core project work, and I'll block out the post-production work as the funds get committed.
The worst-case scenario — unless I'm actually completely incapacitated or even dead for the duration of both conferences — is that the delivery of the finished media objects and rewards gets delayed.
If I die, you've blown your money.
PERSONAL 1A: Your name on the project's thank-you page and my sincere thanks.
3 chosen
Est. delivery is Oct 13
PERSONAL 2A: The ebook emailed to you, plus your name on the project's thank-you page and my sincere thanks.
23 chosen
Est. delivery is Nov 13
PERSONAL 3A: A postcard from Melbourne with a personal message, plus the ebook, plus your name on the project's thank-you page and my sincere thanks.
32 chosen / 68 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13
PERSONAL 4A: A postcard from Melbourne with a personal message, plus the ebook, plus, as a SPECIAL SUPPORTER, your name on every project page and in a special shout-out in a podcast episode, and my sincere thanks.
3 chosen / 17 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13
PERSONAL 5A: As an EXTRA SPECIAL SUPPORTER, a personalised bonus edition ebook, plus a postcard with a personal message, plus the ebook, plus your name on every project page and in a special shout-out in a podcast episode, and my sincere thanks.
5 chosen / 15 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13
COMMERCIAL 1A: A thank-you on each Stream 2 article and in each podcast, your logo on the thank-you page and the Pozible project page, and my sincere thanks.
2 chosen / 8 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13
COMMERCIAL 2A: A thank-you including a 30-word message and a link on a Stream 2 article, a mention in each podcast, your logo on the thank-you page and the Pozible project page, and my sincere thanks.
0 chosen / 6 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13
COMMERCIAL 3A: Sponsorship of a podcast episode, including a 30-second message top and tail, a 30-word message and link on the episode's web page, your logo on the thank-you page and the Pozible project page, and my sincere thanks.
1 chosen / 5 available
Est. delivery is Nov 13