Without a doubt this decade has been the decade of crowdfunding product development. For good, better or worse.
As somebody interested in cool products I have often kept an eye on Kickstarter and IndieGogo looking for new cool products. Products I usually didn’t need but scratched an itch and brought an improved version of things.
At Steemhunt, crowdfunded products tend to be popular and often are accepted while other products may be rejected for “not cool” or “even generic”.
When some weeks ago I picked apart the Steemhunt posting guidelines, I twice referred to crowdfunding campaigns.
Your grill only fits on Steemhunt unless it’s a smart grill or validated as novel/innovative by a popular crowdfunding campaign.
Thrice?
An innovative take on the keyring overfunded 1,000% and backed with real money by more than 7,000 people? Why has nobody hunted it yet?
Kids, Don’t Try This at Home
One of the things which often happen is that we reject items at Steemhunt for being “not cool” or “too generic”. Despite the hunter thinking they are cool and innovative and whatnot.
Regularly this results in the hunter comparing with previously accepted hunts and feeling done wrong.
Before anything, two elements to keep in mind:
- Steemhunt mods love cool stuff, gadgets, the latest next biggest shiniest thing. We look at gadgets every day
- Just like any previous examples, all examples used are anecdotal and actual hunts received
Now let’s have a look at a concrete example, complete hunts which were accepted despite being similar.
#TripodGateJuly2018
I won’t mention any names, yet will strongly look in the direction of 
The Python P5 Tripod
A hunter submits a cool mini-tripod yet the hunt is rejected.
Rejection reason: It’s a generic product [category].
Anybody who isn’t like me and loves to stick their phone on a tripod (for selfie purposes?), has seen this type of snake/banana/monkey tripods for several years already.
As a gadget fan, without even looking, I know that AliBaba, AliExpress, and Amazon have plenty of this. I may or may not have had friends acquaintances who have one of those since years already.
Yet, the hunter isn’t satisfied and thinks that we have allowed similar and definitely much less cool products previously. They join us in Discord and drop links to past hunts, arguing their tripod should be accepted as well. Which is, obviously, within their right.
Dutifully, Mayhem puts on his Customer Service cape and gets the bat out looks at the hunts and products they think are worse.
1. The Pakpod Tripod
As hinted at before, I’m not a tripod specialist but from the images in Steemhunt’s slider I can immediately recognize the versatility of the Pakpod and also that it may be optimal for rugged terrain when a tripod needs additional stability. Not being a tripod specialist, I don’t know if this mini-tripod is truly innovative but it seems uncommon to me and the tag line seems fitting as well. 
2. The Stand Loop Fastener [for Tripods]
This was one I reviewed myself and my first feeling looking at the images was “Meh”. That product seemed lame and I could barely believe that it was innovative. It just didn’t “feel right” nor look innovative.
Yet, upon clicking the hunt’s product link I was taken to a Kickstarter campaign, a successful one.
The Stand Loop, with lotsa bonus make up!
Less than a minute later, after a quick plagiarism check, the hunt was approved.
Approval reason: 300 people decided the Stand Loop was good enough to actually spend money on an item they didn’t know would ever make it through the difficulties that come with crowdfunding campaigns.
While the campaign had a reasonably low target... product validated. Validated with real money and most likely considered “innovative” because otherwise the campaign would have failed on Kickstarter. Who was I to go against 300 people who backed an item with actual money.
3. The Pocket Tripod
Ok... this one is a really cool “tripod”.
Yes, of course, I’m biased here and that not only because I reviewed it and approved pretty much as soon as I could check the product images, read the description and do a plagiarism check, but also because I actually ordered one.
A foldable “tripod”, or rather stand, which fits in my wallet. Without making my wallet unnecessarily thick!
Maybe now I’ve lost all geek cred with you, dear reader but don’t judge too quickly!
If you’re going to judge me... know that you’re judging another at least 2,565 people!
Or the number of backers, backers with real money, who funded the Pocket Tripod’s Kickstarter campaign.
Now you may think this product was old already, too old for Steemhunt and maybe you are right but how many of these have you seen? How “mainstream” is this stand?
4. The Claw
Because I said I wasn’t going to mention any names, I will not mention that next
The World's Tiniest Multitool
Sometimes a pictures is worth 1,000 words.
Because I tend to write rather long winded elaborate posts, a second picture may be required to fill up the space it replaces.
Still not convinced about the “coolness” of The Claw?
Don’t take my word for it but maybe the opinion, and real money backing, of almost 4,000 people may convince you. Or a +3,100% successful crowdfunding campaign
Nobody Expects The Spanish Inquisition
Nor do I, so I’m pretty sure that if I wait long enough somebody will show up here and rant and rave complain that their hunt of a successful crowdfunded product was rejected.
I know... fishy, right!
It happens and I’m pretty sure the mod who rejected that hunt had a valid reason to do so.
Note
Apologies for the “trolling”,