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If you agree that the language you are speaking is English we all speak, then it is certainly a form investment or funding. You are making an assumption that i

• anigbrowl 12y ago
  'Investment' generally has connotations of owning a financial asset, and potential future profit-sharing. It's a legal term of art, and that's why Kickstarter makes it very clear in the terms of service that backers are not investors - otherwise Kickstarter would become subject to a lot of complex regulation which would wreck their business model. Casually, you might say that you 'invest' in a new computer that you bought at the computer store (because you plan to make money by using it). But legally, a purchase and investment are two very different things.
• mynameishere 12y ago
  It is technically a donation: http://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2013/09/09/donation-based-crowdfunding-sites-kickstarter-vs-indiegogo/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/chancebarnett/2013/09/09/donatio... ...when I first heard about it, it was frankly obvious that kickstarter was a devious way around SEC investment rules regarding the category of "accredited investor". Nothing since then has suggested to me otherwise. But that's how the scam works. It's a donation that feels like an investment. If people are actually stupid enough to donate money thinking they are "investing" that merely shows the success of the con.