The holiday season approaches, and it is time to whip out your wallet and spend your year’s savings on the people in your life who grudgingly tolerate you so long as you keep them plied with new toys. This year, we’ve funded a heap of projects on sites like Kickstarter, and we’ve seen somewhat fewer finished products than that. But there are more than ever that have successfully navigated the waters from crowdfunding to the market. There’s something particularly cool about the fact that the next gift you buy may have been one validated and funded entirely by consumers, taking back power from giant corporate deciders. Needless to say, Steve Jobs would not be happy about this state of affairs, but there’s plenty to like about it. What could you be stuffing stockings with this year?
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.