PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Georgia Tech researchers reveal phrases that pay on Kickstarter

New study finds that pitch language plays major role in success of projects on popular crowdfunding site

2014-01-14
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Phillip Taylor
ptaylor@cc.gatech.edu
404-894-7253
Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech researchers reveal phrases that pay on Kickstarter New study finds that pitch language plays major role in success of projects on popular crowdfunding site

Researchers at Georgia Tech studying the burgeoning phenomenon of crowdfunding have learned that the language used in online fundraising hold surprisingly predictive power about the success of such campaigns.

As part of their study of more than 45,000 projects on Kickstarter, Assistant Professor Eric Gilbert and doctoral candidate Tanushree Mitra reveal dozens of phrases that pay and a few dozen more that may signal the likely failure of a crowd-sourced effort.

"Our research revealed that the phrases used in successful Kickstarter campaigns exhibited general persuasion principles," said Gilbert, who runs the Comp. Social Lab at Georgia Tech. "For example, those campaigns that follow the concept of reciprocity – that is, offer a gift in return for a pledge – and the perceptions of social participation and authority, generated the greatest amount of funding."

While offering donors a gift may improve a campaign's success, the study found the language project creators used to express the reward made the difference. For example, the phrases "also receive two," "has pledged" and "project will be" strongly foretell that a project will reach funding status, while phrases such as "dressed up," "not been able" and "trusting" are attached to unfunded projects.

The researchers examined the success of Pebble, which is the most successful Kickstarter campaign to date with more than $10 million in pledges, and compared it to Ninja Baseball, a well-publicized PC game that only earned a third of its $10,000 goal.

"The discrepancy in funding success between projects like Pebble and Ninja Baseball prompted us to consider why some projects meet funding goals and others do not," Mitra said. "We found that the driving factors in crowdfunding ranged from social participation to encouragement to gifts – all of which are distinguished by the language used in the project description."

For their research, Gilbert and Mitra assembled a list of all Kickstarter projects launched as of June 2, 2012, and had reached their last date of fund collection. Of the more than 45,000 projects, 51.53 percent were successfully funded while 48.47 percent were not.

After controlling for variables such as funding goals, video, social media connections, categories and pledge levels, the researchers focused on more than 20,000 phrases before compiling a dictionary of more than 100 phrases with predictive powers of success or failure.

The research suggested that the language used by creators to pitch their project plays a major role in driving the project's success, accounting for 58.56 percent of the variance around success. The language generally fit into the following categories:



Reciprocity or the tendency to return a favor after receiving one as evidenced by phrases such as "also receive two," "pledged will" and "good karma and."

Scarcity or attachment to something rare as shown with "option is" and "given the chance."

Social Proof, which suggests that people depend on others for social cues on how to act as shown by the phrase "has pledged."

Social Identity or the feeling of belonging to a specific social group. Phrases such as "to build this" and "accessible to the" fit this category.

Liking, which reflects the fact that people comply with people or products that appeal to them.

Authority, where people resort to expert opinions for making efficient and quick decisions as shown by phrases such as "we can afford" and "project will be."



INFORMATION:

The team's findings are summarized in the paper "The Language that Gets People to Give: Phrases that Predict Success on Kickstarter." The paper will be formally presented at the 17th ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2014) to be held in Baltimore, Md., from Feb. 15 to 19.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Potential future data storage at domain boundaries

2014-01-14
Potential future data storage at domain boundaries Scientists discover polar domain walls in antiferroelectric materials This news release is available in German. Storing more and more in an ever-smaller space – what sounds impossible is in fact just ...

Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses

2014-01-14
Research shows early promise of new drug for cancers caused by viruses New Orleans, LA – Christopher Parsons, MD, Director of the HIV Malignancies Program at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, is the senior author of a paper that is the ...

Illinois study identifies 3 risk factors most highly correlated with child obesity

2014-01-14
Illinois study identifies 3 risk factors most highly correlated with child obesity URBANA, Ill. – A University of Illinois study has identified the three most significant risk factors for child ...

Scientists show how insulin-producing cells may fail in diabetes, how they might someday be restored

2014-01-14
Scientists show how insulin-producing cells may fail in diabetes, how they might someday be restored These cells may sometimes revert to a non-functional state, but other pancreatic cells may someday step in to replace them Two new studies led ...

NASA sees rainfall from System 94S over Australia's Arnhem region

2014-01-14
NASA sees rainfall from System 94S over Australia's Arnhem region The low pressure area designated as System 94S has been trying to organize off the northern coast of Australia's Northern Territory for a couple of days. NASA's TRMM satellite passed overhead on January ...

High levels of molecular chlorine found in arctic atmosphere

2014-01-14
High levels of molecular chlorine found in arctic atmosphere Scientists studying the atmosphere above Barrow, Alaska, have discovered unprecedented levels of molecular chlorine in the air, a new study reports. Molecular chlorine, from sea salt ...

Embargoed news: Panel at odds over new BP guidelines

2014-01-14
Embargoed news: Panel at odds over new BP guidelines Annals of Internal Medicine Jan. 14, 2014 tip sheet 1. Panel at odds over newly released blood pressure guidelines Panel members explain why they voted against raising systolic blood pressure targets Some ...

Discovery of new Tiktaalik roseae fossils reveals key link in evolution of hind limbs

2014-01-14
Discovery of new Tiktaalik roseae fossils reveals key link in evolution of hind limbs The discovery of well-preserved pelves and a partial pelvic fin from Tiktaalik roseae, a 375 million-year-old transitional species between fish and the first ...

Study questions anti-cancer mechanisms of drug tested in clinical trials

2014-01-14
Study questions anti-cancer mechanisms of drug tested in clinical trials CINCINNATI – The diabetes drug metformin is also being tested in numerous clinical trials for treating different cancers, and several studies point to its apparent ...

NHS cancer risk threshold 'too high' for patients, research indicates

2014-01-14
NHS cancer risk threshold 'too high' for patients, research indicates Patients have expressed an appetite for potential cancer symptoms to be checked out much sooner than current NHS thresholds guidelines suggest, new research has revealed. A study ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

UMass Amherst Nursing Professor Emerita honored as ‘Living Legend’

New guidelines aim to improve cystic fibrosis screening

Picky eaters by day, buffet by night: Butterfly, moth diets sync to plant aromas

Pennington Biomedical’s Dr. Leanne Redman honored with the E. V. McCollum Award from the American Society for Nutrition

CCNY physicists uncover electronic interactions mediated via spin waves

Researchers’ 3D-printing formula may transform future of foam

Nurture more important than nature for robotic hand

Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for one-two knockout punch

New study finds that over 95% of sponsored influencer posts on Twitter were not disclosed

New sea grant report helps great lakes fish farmers navigate aquaculture regulations

Strain “trick” improves perovskite solar cells’ efficiency

How GPS helps older drivers stay on the roads

Estrogen and progesterone stimulate the body to make opioids

Dancing with the cells – how acoustically levitating a diamond led to a breakthrough in biotech automation

Machine learning helps construct an evolutionary timeline of bacteria

Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed... offering new therapeutic options

Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity

Finding their way: GPS ignites independence in older adult drivers

Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time

‘Some insects are declining but what’s happening to the other 99%?’

Powerful new software platform could reshape biomedical research by making data analysis more accessible

Revealing capillaries and cells in living organs with ultrasound

American College of Physicians awards $260,000 in grants to address equity challenges in obesity care

Researchers from MARE ULisboa discover that the European catfish, an invasive species in Portugal, has a prolonged breeding season, enhancing its invasive potential

Rakesh K. Jain, PhD, FAACR, honored with the 2025 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

Solar cells made of moon dust could power future space exploration

Deporting immigrants may further shrink the health care workforce

Border region emergency medical services in migrant emergency care

Resident physician intentions regarding unionization

Healthy nutrition and physical lifestyle choices lower cancer mortality risk for survivors, new ACS study finds

[Press-News.org] Georgia Tech researchers reveal phrases that pay on Kickstarter
New study finds that pitch language plays major role in success of projects on popular crowdfunding site