Is it a backlash against transnational corporation domination, democracy gone wild or just a good marketing ploy? People want to have their say and are willing to do so.
The internet has long been used to canvas opinion, with voyeurs being able to punt Big Brother housemates and New Line cinema changing the ending of Snakes On A Plane based on web opinion. But the trend dubbed "crowdsourcing" has been taken a step further by those keen to make a buck.
With "crowdfunding" you can put your money where your mouth is in myriad endeavours - football, music, fashion and even breweries.
MyFootballClub was launched in May last year, the hope being to find 50,000 people willing to pay£35 ($75) a year to buy and manage a football club.
By November the organisers had enough dosh to buy a controlling stake in the English football club Ebbsfleet United. Now members virtually manage the team, voting on player selection, formations, transfers and how else to make the coach's job a nightmare.
Unbelievably, the club has had its best season, winning the FA Trophy.
The owners of the 10-year-old Bulgarian basketball team PBC Start have decided to follow the MyFootballClub lead.
If you go to www.sellaband.com, you can help a band record by sponsoring albums. If only it could be so easy to stop Sting.
"Believers" buy $US10 ($11.50) units until the artist has $US50,000 to record an album. In return they get a copy of the album and share a third of the profits.
The Kiwi hip-hop artist Maitreya was one of the first acts to raise the $US50,000 and has sold enough music to at least give believers some hope.
"I released in April and for every $10 invested my believers have received about 50 cents so far, so it's not a huge money maker," he told the Herald . "However, the first single, Waitaha , went to No.7 on [online station] Amplifier.co.nz … and has been nominated for [awards], so things are kicking off really well for the official release of the album in New Zealand."
Sydney Bon Jovi wannabe Tiffany Gow is the second-ranked artist of the more than 8000 acts trying to raise the cash on the website, having picked up more than $US38,000 - although she has been trying since November 2006.
CatwalkGenius.com operates a similar scheme for designers; sponsored artists will run you up a piece. And then there's the three people from Chicago who created Beerbankroll.com.
They hope to find 50,000 people to cough up $US50 a year to help them set up a brewery and have some say in its operation. That's $US250,000 they get every year and you get a T-shirt.
Any profits returned to members come as reward points for company product, so the money goes straight back to the three wise monkeys.
As an investment, at least it will make the lousy returns on your super look good.