The success of the Pebble watch shows what can be achieved when you catch the zeitgeist with crowdfunding.

Some charities have dipped their toe in the water of crowdfunding. Cancer Research UK now have a nifty function on their online donation section that allows people to contribute to specific research projects. And of course charities have hugely benefitted from the success of JustGiving.

Crowdfunding is being talked about a lot as the hot new way to finance creative projects such as films, books, games, technology, working on the principle that a large number of individuals will come together to support and fund projects that they really care about.

James Dance, 26, is looking to change his future during the recession and that of one of the many London pubs that are falling on hard times.

Kickstarter's very public successes have increased developer attraction to the platform. And with the increased developer activity, the number of failures and cancellations has increased also.

While there are clearly many benefits to crowdsourcing as a means of pooling resources, knowledge, money and/or time as a way of achieving results, there are, of course, certain serious issues to be considered. The first is that those contributing to citizen projects have no proof of expertise and no individual viewpoint, which poses a problem for those seeking solutions or information of a quality that can be relied upon.