GoFundMeConquest
“Fix yourself upon the wealthy. In a word, take this for a golden rule through life: Never, never have a friend that is poorer than yourself”
- Douglas William Jerrold
A questionable quote in my eyes… But if Julius Caesar was to engage in a raucous night on the town in Ancient Rome, and after a few too many end up in a seedy tattoo parlor, perhaps this would be a suitable ‘inspirational’ quote to get etched across his chest. “At least it’s not another ‘Carpe Diem’”, the tattoo artist would probably exclaim.
Why this quote, you ask? Caesar was known to seek out rich friends to back his ambitions, considering it essential to advancing his political causes. One of these was politician Marcus Licinius Crassus, reputedly the richest man in Rome at the time with a net worth of 200 million sesterces, which is estimated to be $4.4bn in modern terms (Winters, 2011). Comparing this wealth to modern equivalents of currency isn’t very useful though, as it’s difficult to accurately compare across time periods, but let’s just say Caesar was verrrrryy keen to befriend him.
This got me thinking…what modern information systems could Caesar have used to enhance his strategy of raising funds from rich friends? The relatively modern phenomenon of crowdfunding immediately came to mind. Interestingly enough, the idea behind crowdfunding can be traced back to early 1700’s Ireland, where author Jonathan Swift was dubbed ‘the father of micro-credit’ (Fundable, 2019). The advent of the web and internet-based platforms has caused crowdfunding to gain traction over the last decade or so, facilitating life changing milestones like attending university, helping in challenging situations like accidents or illness, or giving small businesses the push they need to grow into successful enterprises. Kickstarter, IndieGoGo and GoFundMe are the platforms at the forefront of this craze.
Crowdfunding platforms are excellent examples of information systems. By leveraging the widespread availability of the internet nowadays, along with digital banking, people can spread their plea for funds to all corners of the globe and, if all goes to plan, receive financial backing from generous donors in return.
Some campaigns have been very practical — like the ‘An Hour of Code for Every Student’ campaign which raised over €4.5m in the hope of introducing computer science to over 100 million students worldwide (IndieGoGo, 2014). Others are truly heartwarming — like 9 year-old Andrew Emery, who set up a GoFundMe page alongside his lemonade stand, raising over $40'000 for his infant brother diagnosed with an incurable genetic condition (Hiltzik, 2019). Without the power of this information system, would these campaigns be able to raise sufficient funds to go towards their worthy causes? Probably not.
Not all campaigns are honorable, however. Enter the Dragonfly Futurefön. According to its crowdfunding campaign, this sleek, dual-screen smart device promised to revolutionize the mobile phone market (Robertson, 2019). While it wasn’t a sure bet, many backers thought it was a calculated risk worth taking. A closer look might’ve revealed some red flags; the specs seemed impossibly good and the Futurefön’s creator, Jeff Batio, had a record of suspect crowdfunding ventures in the past. Long story short, the campaign turned out to be a multi-million-dollar scam and Batio was convicted of fraud. A startling reminder that crowdfunding isn’t always for good!
So picture Julius Caesar’s situation. He was known to raise money from rich friends for his conquests, so how useful would a platform like GoFundMe have been? Money makes the world go round, and I can’t imagine it being any different in Roman times. The opportunity to spread his message rapidly among rich donors (or ‘friends’), perhaps including a fear-mongering message in his ‘GoFundMe Story’, could’ve further enhanced Caesar’s cause: “Provide me with financial aid… or else”. Resting in his tepidarium, Crassus could’ve simply popped in his credit card details and sent over a generous donation at the touch of a button. While Caesar’s campaigns would hardly fall under the heartwarming category, were they a scam? One would imagine that the chances of seeing a positive return on your investment, like nowadays if a startup you’ve backed succeeds and rewards you with a dividend greater than your stake, would be slim. So on that hand, you could call it a scam. On the other hand, if you refused to donate, one can only imagine your fate…
Bibliography:
Fundable. (2019, November). The History of Crowdfunding. Retrieved from Fundable.com: https://www.fundable.com/learn/resources/guides/crowdfunding/crowdfunding-history
Hiltzik, M. (2019, June 4). Column: That heartwarming story about a kid crowdfunding for his infant brother defines what’s wrong with U.S. healthcare. LA Times.
IndieGoGo. (2014, December). An Hour of Code for Every Student. Retrieved from IndieGoGo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/an-hour-of-code-for-every-student#/
Robertson, A. (2019, August 13). Split Screen: The crowdfunded phone of the future was a multimillion-dollar scam. Retrieved from The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/13/20758599/idealfuture-dragonfly-futurefon-indiegogo-crowdfunding-phone-scam-fraud-case
Winters, J. (2011). Oligarchy.
