Ask HN: When is crowdsourced funding viable?

Diasopra has raised more than $100,000 with crowdsourced funding. Is it just that all the stars aligned for them and that caused the outpouring of donations or is it possible to reliably fund projects this way?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/196017994/diaspora-the-personally-controlled-do-it-all-distr