They almost always use present tense which makes it seem like everything already exists. From the campaign:
"Located in New York City, Hackert0wn is an epicenter for innovation and education to advance green technology and sustainability."
NO IT'S NOT! It's an idea in 4 peoples' minds. It doesn't exist so you can't make claims about it like this.
Almost all of the photos they show are of related tech and have no bearing on this project. Do they actually have permission to use those photos? Some look like they're taken directly from product manufacturers and other copyright protected sources.
No wonder they're using indiegogo instead of Kickstarter. Kickstart would never let them get away with this.
http://www.indiegogo.com/hackert0wn?c=activity&a=1498290
Thanks,
psytek
P.S. We've also split the project into phases as per the suggestions and added much more concrete details. Keep the feedback coming!
They'd have fewer tasks to complete as well. What would be necessary for a good MVPt0wn?
Do they already own the land or something? It sounds like at least one of the partners already runs a hacker space so I assume they know what they're doing, but it sounds wildly implausible to me. The typos and errors on the page don't exactly inspire confidence either =P
http://weburbanist.com/2008/05/26/cargo-container-homes-and-...
That said I agree that this looks like its a very idealistic project that lacks an actual plan besides "cool ideas + money = awesome."
$1.5MM hardly seems modest.
Why do we need spaces specifically marketed to "hacking"? Hacking requires a computer, a table, a chair and electricity - just about any real estate fits those parameters.
On top of it 1.5 million through crowdsourcing for this sort of thing I have to doubt would come even close to cutting it for getting things off the ground. Syndication through real estate investors would probably give you a much better shot.
If you can't be bothered to have someone proofread your first sentence there is no way I'm even thinking about giving you money.
