Help me with my Crowdsourcing!

[olryst]

Hi, I've got a campaign going on fundmytravel.com

https://www.fundmytravel.com/Stephen-O-Leary-1423599064/campaigns/Volunteering-and-studying-in-japan-1423600198/view

Help me out and tell me what you think.

Thank you.

Stephen.

[kurogane]

If you are looking to source a crowd, the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station is always a good source, IME. YMMV.

Hope that helps.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I need to start one of these to help achieve my dream of not working for a living. Is $10 million dollars too much to ask for?

[Takechanpoo]

I have an interest in Japanese culture and I train in the japanese martial art kendo.

among so-called japanese cultures, the original things' ones ( not stuffs' ones) are only bushido and budo after all.
the other ones are nothing more than arranged ones of chinese, indian or western ones.
and if you truely wanna know about budo, you should do aikido, not kendo. aikido is most exemplified what budo is.
i recommend this book to understand what budo is.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E4%BF%AE%E6%A5 ... roduct_top

[wagyl]

I'll start funding your campaign the minute you retroactively fund my self-funded efforts to move to Japan and make a life here.

tell me what you think.

Are you really sure you want to ask that?


Based on your location and being incredibly ethnocentric about your name, I am guessing that you have citizenship in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. Based on the glowing complexion in your photo (and the incredibly millennial nature of your request) I will guess that you are within the age for applying for a Working Holiday visa in both those countries. Once you start being realistic about the budget you are panhandling for, people might look on you a little more favorably. But I don't think that attitude will change by that much.

[kurogane]

Yeah, I thought of that later. Get a working holiday visa and you won't have to beg electornically. Or is that a cultural tendency? At any rate, the WHV is more dignified.

One thing I have wondered about lately is how many people that want to go to Japan and could get a WHV seem unable to find out about it. Is it that big a secret, or is it a Generation LMGTFY thing?

No offence to the OP.

[wagyl]

Just in case anyone is tempted to help this guy out, be aware that Fundmytravel keeps 5% of the funds (Overall, the platform will get GBP 175 if he reaches his target). Oh, and if you pay in the US, the payment processor WePay keeps a further 2.9% + 30 cents per donation. Outside the US, Paypal keeps 3.9% + a fixed rate e.g. JPY 40 from Japan.

Unless he has a specific charity in mind, I do not think he will be successful with a visa application. His funding plea does not state any charity, only that he

will be volunteering my time to help out normal people

but good luck locating any of them here.

Unlike some, I don't particularly care if I offend the OP.

[Samurai_Jerk]

I'll start funding your campaign the minute you retroactively fund my self-funded efforts to move to Japan and make a life here.

tell me what you think.

Are you really sure you want to ask that?


Based on your location and being incredibly ethnocentric about your name, I am guessing that you have citizenship in either the United Kingdom or Ireland. Based on the glowing complexion in your photo (and the incredibly millennial nature of your request) I will guess that you are within the age for applying for a Working Holiday visa in both those countries. Once you start being realistic about the budget you are panhandling for, people might look on you a little more favorably. But I don't think that attitude will change by that much.

Just based on the way he spelled "honours" I figured he was probably from a country whose citizens are eligible for the WHV.

[Grumpy Gramps]

WHV is the way to go. Work in ESL and you could be as cool as him:

[yanpa]

Unless he has a specific charity in mind, I do not think he will be successful with a visa application. His funding plea does not state any charity, only that he

will be volunteering my time to help out normal people

but good luck locating any of them here.

Why would normal people (assuming they can be located) be deserving of volunteered services, and what kind of volunteering is envisaged?

[wuchan]

Once I finish my degree I intend to work in Japan as an English teacher.

probably delusional or just naive. On the other hand this poster may like being abused for a barely liveable wage.

[wagyl]

Yeah, I thought of that later. Get a working holiday visa and you won't have to beg electornically. Or is that a cultural tendency? At any rate, the WHV is more dignified.

One thing I have wondered about lately is how many people that want to go to Japan and could get a WHV seem unable to find out about it. Is it that big a secret, or is it a Generation LMGTFY thing?

No offence to the OP.

Oh I'm sure he is aware of the Working Holiday Visa. Which makes it more of a mystery why he continues on this Quixotic quest.

Damn, I was thinking of pretending I was normal and handing him a shovel during the winter months (but if he damages my roof, he will pay), however

the scope of permissible activities does not include administration, food preparation, laundry and other manual work

I am beginning to agree that Admin work is manual labour. It does raise the question as to what a person without language skills can do other than manual labour, and what problem this visa category was designed to overcome.

[kurogane]

Eeeek. I remember that twerp.

If they weren't such emasculated douchebags I could almost admire this New Male ability to shed any hint of pride or self-respect if it means they can avoid having to be self-reliant. Those faggy jeans don't help much either.

[Russell]

Why would I provide funding if he didn't even include a little adventure in his itinerary, like climbing mount Fuji...

[wuchan]

Oh I'm sure he is aware of the Working Holiday Visa. Which makes it more of a mystery why he continues on this Quixotic quest.

I didn't see that. This dude is probably a virgin weaboo that has zero intension of even going to uni so he is looking for any way in he can find. He will probably marry the first buck toothed, daikon legged slut that gives him the time of day. Ten years later he will be a "global journalist" complaining that japan kicked him out.

[wagyl]

Well actually he knew about the Working Holiday Visa even before signing up here. We are not the first people he consulted. We get the crowdsourcing spam though.

Note to any other Millennials reading here: learn the difference between "need" and "want" when asking favours of strangers. It actually makes a difference to what those strangers think about you.

[yanpa]

Oh I'm sure he is aware of the Working Holiday Visa. Which makes it more of a mystery why he continues on this Quixotic quest.

I didn't see that. This dude is probably a virgin weaboo that has zero intension of even going to uni

In the interests of accuracy:

I'm currently working through a Honours Degree in English and I intend to do a TESOL Course during my final year.

Anyway this ClownKick StartSourcing lark seems quite the thing, certainly a step up from an "Eye Need" ad in the back of Private Eye. I wonder if I can pre-finance Yanpa Jr's upbringing?

[wagyl]

Anyway this ClownKick StartSourcing lark seems quite the thing, certainly a step up from an "Eye Need" ad in the back of Private Eye. I wonder if I can pre-finance Yanpa Jr's upbringing?

My recommendation would be to be one of the platforms raking 5% off every campaign, whether they fail or are oversubscribed. In the gold rushes, the guys who really struck it rich were the ones selling the shovels and whiskey.

[IparryU]

I need to start one of these to help achieve my dream of not working for a living. Is $10 million dollars too much to ask for?

well... one guy gets all his dates paid for with crowdsource, why not ask for 20M?

[wangta]

Hi, I've got a campaign going on fundmytravel.com

https://www.fundmytravel.com/Stephen-O-Leary-1423599064/campaigns/Volunteering-and-studying-in-japan-1423600198/view

Help me out and tell me what you think.

Thank you.

Stephen.

Wow Olyryst/ Stephen! Thanks for that!

Why on earth have I and others on this forum as well as countless others everywhere else got to Japan by being resourceful and independent - realising that if you want to travel and do things like study/work in another country and you're not loaded and you don't come from a rich family where paying all those expenses is easy, then you have to work at a shitload of jobs, sometimes ones that are not necessarily enjoyable and are hard graft, and save your money instead of going out and getting pissed with your mates or eating out every day or buying all the consumer items you want, and be frugal for as long as it takes to achieve your savings goals.

Geez - we should just have had the sense of entitlement that you do! Your credit card maxed up because you want to live abroad and study and have fun in other countries but you don't have the werewithal to go without things and actually take responsibility for getting your own cold hard cash instead of sponging off others? Of course the answer is to ask strangers for unsolicited donations to fund the lifestyle that you feel somehow you deserve by doing sweet fuck all!

Here's some good advice for you - ask your folks to buy the cheapest one way ticket to Japan that you can find on the net, go to Japan as a tourist, rock up to Narita Airport and tell J immigration that you want to stay in Japan for as long as you like and tell them that you also want to work in Japan. I guarantee a successful residency will be yours.

[wagyl]

Actually we shouldn't be so harsh: we have been punked. Fundmytravel is obviously a comedy/satire site.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Actually we shouldn't be so harsh: we have been punked. Fundmytravel is obviously a comedy/satire site.

My friend Celena recently went to Japan and at her *5’3” height she towered over everyone.

*That's 160 inches to those of you on the inferior metric system

[GargoyleTS]

These sites... Kickstarter made them famous but then..the leeches appeared.

No, not those silly kids with dreams and no idea how harsh the world really is. I mean the sites like that one, there to make money off the foolish and trusting. You're quite right to point out the horrible amount of money they are keeping for themselves to "host" these little beggars. Notice very few of them are willing to post completion rates? Success rates? Follow up from successfully completed campaigns?

Yeah, cause they are not there to help. Cause putting together a proper campaign to ask for investors, public or private, takes *gasp!* actual work!

This kid is a typical example, and so is the other one posted a few posts above this one. One says almost nothing about what he plans to do while in Japan, how he has budgeted his money (seriously, where was Lodging in his list? He gonna live on the street while taking those classes?), where he plans to visit for fun or for business (remember, he plans to spend time teaching English there someday so why wouldn't he visit a few schools?).

The other was even worse with her huge wall-o-text verbal vomit. It was seriously hard to get through and while it had information that was relevant to the trip itself, there was much that was completely irrelevant. Just...ugh.

And the sites don't give half a cat turd about it cause they get their 5% plus other costs no matter what. The ones that require full-funding to pay out are better about this cause if the campaign fails, they don't get money either. But the "open ended campaign" sites that let you constantly extend and move the goal posts on your campaign and let you collect even if you do not meet your goal take their money when its pledged and don't care one whit about the users.

My advise to ya kid: delete that campaign. Make your own website about your interest in Teaching, in Japan and its history, culture etc, and YOURSELF (because lets face it, that's what you are selling). And then once that is done, try this again. Add to your website, new and interesting things you find, your thoughts and dreams, the things you are doing to accomplish them. Show people not only that you want this, but that you are working to get to it even if no one else helps you. THEN ask for that help. You'll have a much better idea of what you want, you'll have read a lot more about it, talked to people about it, refined your dreams and desires down to a concrete plan of action for your future that you can point to, update, and PROVE you are getting closer every day. You'll become a source of inspiration for others who have not achieved their dreams and then, by helping YOU, they'll feel closer to their own dreams and be more inclined to help.

Its that hard and its that easy.

[kurogane]

I got a healthy chuckle when I saw that babblemonster girl got $50 of her thousands hoped for.

Hope springs eternal.

[matsuki]

As much as it boggles the mind, I first came here on a academic scholarship. Free $$ is awesome but it took a lil more effort than just filling out a few forms...

[wagyl]

I got a healthy chuckle when I saw that babblemonster girl got $50 of her thousands hoped for.

Hope springs eternal.

She only saw $45.45 of it. Half was from shortarse Celena too.

[wangta]

These sites... Kickstarter made them famous but then..the leeches appeared.

No, not those silly kids with dreams and no idea how harsh the world really is. I mean the sites like that one, there to make money off the foolish and trusting. You're quite right to point out the horrible amount of money they are keeping for themselves to "host" these little beggars. Notice very few of them are willing to post completion rates? Success rates? Follow up from successfully completed campaigns?

Yeah, cause they are not there to help. Cause putting together a proper campaign to ask for investors, public or private, takes *gasp!* actual work!

This kid is a typical example, and so is the other one posted a few posts above this one. One says almost nothing about what he plans to do while in Japan, how he has budgeted his money (seriously, where was Lodging in his list? He gonna live on the street while taking those classes?), where he plans to visit for fun or for business (remember, he plans to spend time teaching English there someday so why wouldn't he visit a few schools?).

The other was even worse with her huge wall-o-text verbal vomit. It was seriously hard to get through and while it had information that was relevant to the trip itself, there was much that was completely irrelevant. Just...ugh.

And the sites don't give half a cat turd about it cause they get their 5% plus other costs no matter what. The ones that require full-funding to pay out are better about this cause if the campaign fails, they don't get money either. But the "open ended campaign" sites that let you constantly extend and move the goal posts on your campaign and let you collect even if you do not meet your goal take their money when its pledged and don't care one whit about the users.

My advise to ya kid: delete that campaign. Make your own website about your interest in Teaching, in Japan and its history, culture etc, and YOURSELF (because lets face it, that's what you are selling). And then once that is done, try this again. Add to your website, new and interesting things you find, your thoughts and dreams, the things you are doing to accomplish them. Show people not only that you want this, but that you are working to get to it even if no one else helps you. THEN ask for that help. You'll have a much better idea of what you want, you'll have read a lot more about it, talked to people about it, refined your dreams and desires down to a concrete plan of action for your future that you can point to, update, and PROVE you are getting closer every day. You'll become a source of inspiration for others who have not achieved their dreams and then, by helping YOU, they'll feel closer to their own dreams and be more inclined to help.

Its that hard and its that easy.

Your post mostly hits the target but I beg to differ from your indulgence of 'kids with dreams'. The sense of entitlement on the girl's page (Ilona Maher or whatever) as well as most of the other under 30s who want money without working for it apparently is typical of the defining narcissism of those age groups who post such drivel on the net.

Working your arse off in menial jobs to accumulate savings can suck but it's also part of what my parents and grandparents used to mean when they talked about 'character building experiences'. Yeah, I wasn't overjoyed to be spending long hours in my uni vacations fruit picking while mates whose parents knew somebody or had professionals for parents did easy shit like sorting mail in the post office or working at advertising firms, museums, etc to get their money.

Other jobs like delivering phone books and local newspapers and then building fences in 40 plus degree heat wasn't exactly the skilled money making means I wanted to do but I did them. I knew that if I wanted something then it was going to happen through me and I had to be future oriented instead of having the expectation of being bailed out either by part time work gained through contacts or my parents giving me money. The Stephens and Ilonas don't seem willing to exhaust their options before trying to grub money from strangers or acquaintances.

My entry to Japan the first time around was a case of getting employed outside the country by an eikaiwa. I didn't get that through taking shortcuts like the narcissistic kids now want - I did it by getting two degrees and working at language/research oriented jobs, the first of which came about by qualifying through academic results. Then when I wanted to work in Japan I had the cv that caught my first (decent) school's eye.

Even though the lack of opportunities for North American graduates since around 6 years or so ago has meant a flooded EFL/ESL job market in Japan and Korea etc, Stephen and Ilona can still live and work in Japan or other Asian countries after they get a uni degree because it is clear looking at job ads that entry level positions are still the norm. Many J employers advertising that they don't require applicants to reside in Japan are also looking for graduates and under 30 gaijin native English speakers without much experience.

[wangta]

I got a healthy chuckle when I saw that babblemonster girl got $50 of her thousands hoped for.

Hope springs eternal.

Especially as she listed Tottori as one of the places she wanted to visit. During my last stint in Japan I accidentally got on the Tottori train at Okayama and decided to stay on as I had the day free. I was looking forward to some charming place and found bumfuck, ageing-problem Japan instead with arcades full of shuttered buildings, not to mention the horrendous weather blowing around while Okayama had been calm and mild that day.

The staff at Tottori Station were really nice, however. I am sure the people are fine but it slightly scared me with its decay especially as at one stage I thought of applying to a school there before I knew what it was like.

[yanpa]

I got a healthy chuckle when I saw that babblemonster girl got $50 of her thousands hoped for.

Hope springs eternal.

Especially as she listed Tottori as one of the places she wanted to visit. During my last stint in Japan I accidentally got on the Tottori train at Okayama and decided to stay on as I had the day free. I was looking forward to some charming place and found bumfuck, ageing-problem Japan instead with arcades full of shuttered buildings, not to mention the horrendous weather blowing around while Okayama had been calm and mild that day.

The staff at Tottori Station were really nice, however. I am sure the people are fine but it slightly scared me with its decay especially as at one stage I thought of applying to a school there before I knew what it was like.

Yes, but it has those dunes, you know! Desert in Japan, or something. I have vague memories of changing trains somewhere there in my Japan Railpass days, and having an hour or two to spare, checked out the local downtown, which struck me as the kind of place which really came alive at night - with the sound of coffin lids being scraped back. Mind you that's not the only place where I've got that impression.

[yanpa]

Actually we shouldn't be so harsh: we have been punked. Fundmytravel is obviously a comedy/satire site.

Indeed.

My friend Celena recently went to Japan and at her 5’3” height she towered over everyone.