Why Are We Doing This?
X-Geek Media was founded by a group of friends, all amateur podcasters (and geeks), who grew fed up with the current means of distributing their content and having no way to break into a unified format to take advantage of crossover marketing. While providing it's own original content such as live music broadcasts and at-con interviews, X-Geek will also be a platform on which other podcasters within geek culture could present their idea and be given at least a trial run on a widely visited media hub.
While at launch we will prominently feature our own work, our goal is to open our doors to publicly submitted content within the first 18 months, where people can apply for a 90 day trial run of their podcast on our site at no cost to them, while in turn gaining the much needed exposure for their work that so many talented podcasters and would-be web personalities just can't seem to find. Since so many podcasts exist, and can literally be on any topic imagineable, we've decided to focus our content on geek culture. We will have a focus in the areas of:
- Music (Especially EDM or Electronic Dance Music, and Live DJ Mixes)
- Anime (Japanese Animated Drama)
- Television and Movies (Especially traditional "Geek" genres like Sci-Fi)
- Anime and Sci-Fi Convention Related Material
- Technology
- Video Games
In addition, our own locally established podcasts will launch with the site, and we are already in talks with other content provider's to have a wealth of engaging, entertaining, and informative content right away while we build out the user submitted side and prepare for its launch. No one on the project is looking to get rich, and our goal is to have this project "feed itself" through advertising revenue.
Why Do We Need You?
We need your help. We are seeking $5000 to help cover our start up costs. A website like ours, that features our own original content, has a lot of needs. We are blessed to be working with some of the most talented individuals in the geek community to launch our site, but it still requires time and money to get it off the ground. Even a small contribution of just $5 or $10 can mean we purchase the adapter or cable that we couldn't complete a project or broadcast without. Here's how we breakdown the $5000:
- Web Development and Hosting
The most important need we have by far. We are working with an incredibly talented webdeveloper, who has already been kind enough to devote a lot of her own personal time to our team to get us off the ground, and development of the actual website hasn't even begun yet! Once it does begin she will be devoting a large quantity of her free time to working with us on development and we want to be able to pay her for that time and effort. We also need to purchase computer equipment and hosting space/bandwidth online to run the website once it's complete.
A website like ours, dedicated to assiting wouldbe podcasters, has a lot of technology needs. To be successful, we need professional grade audio, video, and computer equipment to put that extra level of polish on our own work, and to assist others with bringing their ideas to life. While we have a lot of our own equipment already, we seek to purchase 2 higher quality cameras, better condenser microphones, HD video capture boxes, additional storage drives for our audio and video content, make some much needed processor upgrades to a few of our computers to assist with rendering and file conversion tasks, purchase professional software we need for video editing and capture, as well as streaming software for our live broadcasts to add a professional feel to our content.
Any funds left over will be used to cover travel costs to Anime and Sci-Fi conventions so we can get the word out about our site and create more live content. These 3 and 4 day weekend typically carry a price tag of $300 per person before food costs, even when we cram 6-8 people in a single hotel room! While we all have day jobs, some of our team members can't always fit conventions into their budget, and to be at the top of our game we need our whole team present. Typically, a small contribution of even $30 could cover the entry fee for one of our team members for the whole convention!
Additional Funds/Stretch Goals
If we were to exceed our funding target, all additional funds would be put to work immediately by purchasing even better equipment and implementing more features into our website. It would also allow us to get to more events and do more PR and marketing work over the next 12 months to help drive traffic to our website. Additional technology upgrades would include even more storage drives to keep a better archive of our media content, hosting service upgrades for our live broadcasts to support more simultaneous viewers, upgrades to our DJ and live sound equipment for use by our 4 DJ's on staff, and upgrades to our stage lighting system to assist with providing much better picture quality for the podcasts we produce.
Additional project goals and funding needs will be revealed as we continue to hit funding milestones of $5000. The more funding we get, the better X-Geek will be and the faster we can grow.
The Contingency Plan
In the unfortunate event we don't meet our goal, we're going to launch anyways! Even a partially funded campaign will help get us on the road to success. We have prioritized all funding metrics and equipment purchases in an effort to plan for any funding we may (or may not) receive.
What's In It For You?
In addition to the personal satisfaction you'll have for assisting us with our dream of launching an open podcast site where anyone with an idea can get the shot they deserve (not to mention, our eternal gratitude), we are offering a number of rewards for contributing to the cause! Even a donation of just $5 will get you permanently listed in our special founders section of the website, A custom title and avatar on our message board at $10, access to our exclusive elite founders forum at $25, and a button with our x-geek logo (in addition to ALL of the other rewards) at $50 that will be designed and printed exclusively for our IGG donors! Bigger rewards are listed in detail in the rewards section.
I LOVE The Idea Guys, But...
Hey, it's ok! We understand that not everyone can afford to contribute to the cause! Many in our target market are poor college students like we all used to be (and in some cases still are). You can still help! Share our IndieGoGo page with your friends on your social network! Find us on Facebook and give us a like! Find us at a local convention in the midwest and say hi (bring your friends too)! It ALL helps.
