Fame & Fortune!

Relating to my earlier post I would like to add a Threadless Youtube video I just found. The central message with which they are trying to lure people into participating is "fame and fortune".

I think we might be getting closer here! Granted that Threadless seems to pay the winning designer a fairly high prize money it still doesn't seem to be the only motivating factor for people to join a crowd. Apparently Threadless seems to think that a good portion of ego massage is necessary as well.
 

In fact, it might be even more important than the money, which is why ModCloth don't even bother offering any compensation to their "buying crowd" other than sweet-talk. If you read their call for participation you will find a lot of schmoozing going on, making the crowdmembers feel important.