But... the intangible part of a project is often the person/team behind it, whether you trust them to actually deliver, and whether you trust their instincts, perhaps based on previous interactions (hence the popularity aspect coming in to play).

I've had numerous people I've counseled (can't think of a better term) over the last 6 months with an app or product idea. Almost always their first plan is "I'm gonna do a kickstarter". Terrible terrible approach, imo, precisely because it's mostly a popularity contest, or 'who you know'. None of these people who I've spoken with have large networks, and their kickstarters have generally been poor turnouts. Correlation or causation? I'm inclined to causation.