hi guys - 

i don't have experience directly with kickstarter but have done a similar run, on a local level, to help microfinance a small project. it didn't really go as well as we'd hoped. the main lesson learned (and something for you to consider looking through your pitch) is that under all circumstances, show something tangible that you're giving back. 

the idea a spatial encyclopedia is mildly interesting, but, just me personally reading your site, i don't know the quality of what's being offered (the books, cd or pdf). what i'm really left thinking is that i'm probably just giving you money to go travel around istanbul, which is something i'd like to be doing for myself. in other words, the backside offering is really unknown and, for me, of very little value at the moment.

so, fair or not, that's just a handful of questions going through my head as someone looking at the ask. in general, the kickstarter feedback i've seen (broadly speaking, within the entrepreneurial circles i'm involved in) is that people are generally mistaking kickstarter as a way of funding any personal whim and they are getting really tired of having to wade through a lot of 'personal dream' proposals (like someone's dream to record a cd or photograph the grand canyon, etc.) to find real gems like the tiktok watchbands or the pen tip ipad stylus or a 3d printer kit. even the guys who were using it to help fund 'urbanized' (last in the objectified, helvetica trilogy of movies) didn't get past their goal until near the end and they had a verifiable track record and were offering goods that many potential donors probably had a good idea of how good the quality would be.

so, take everything with a grain of salt and maybe chalk it up to the coffee not quite kicking in. research projects on kickstarter seem to be wildly hit or miss. despite all the (i hope constructive) criticism above, good luck with the project and i hope you prove me wildly wrong.