MyToons was an online business that developed a free

online community An online community, also called an internet community or web community, is a community whose members interact with each other primarily via the Internet. Members of the community usually share common interests. For many, online communities may fe ...

for

animation Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

that supported content sharing and

social networking A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...

. MyToons.com was headquartered in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. The site was founded in 2006 by Paul Ford, Stacey Ford and Dan Kraus as a spinoff of Bauhaus Software.MyToons.com lays off some staff

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

online, January 29, 2009 The

Texas Emerging Technology Fund The Texas Emerging Technology Fund (often abbreviated as TETF or ETF) is a technology investment fund created by legislation in 2005 at the urging of Governor Rick Perry to provide Texas with an unparalleled advantage in the research, development, ...

supported it with a $500,000 grant. After four months of private

beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...

, the site launched publicly in March 2007 during the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

festival in

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, and began distributing member-created animation videos to Internet audiences worldwide. Three weeks after its launch, MyToons had received more than 1.5 million

unique visitor Website popularity is commonly determined using the number of unique users, and the metric is often quoted to potential advertisers or investors. A website's number of unique users is usually measured over a standard period of time, typically a m ...

Milestones

In June 2008, MyToons.com became the first global animation community to offer users the ability to upload and view animations in High Definition. At this time, the HD animation contest Get With the Times! was also launched.MyToons.com to Deliver High Definition Online Animation Contest
,

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

, June 24, 2008 In January 2009, MyToons laid off a large part of its staff. In April 2009, MyToons closed down completely after venture capital funding ceased.

Affiliates

Adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

– Sponsor of Get with the Times! contest, June 2008 **

Adobe Media Player Adobe Media Player is a discontinued desktop media player that allowed users to manage and interact with their media content, and allowed content publishers to define branding and advertising in and around their content. The Adobe Media Player wa ...

(AMP) Channel Partner, March 2008 * MonsterJam Animation Contest – Co-Sponsor, May 2008 * Warner Bros., Entertainment – Contest Partner, May 2008 * The Second Annual Animation Book Look – Co-Sponsor, May 2008 *

Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

– Google Search Appliance (GSA), April 2008 **

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Channel Partner, February 2008 * DRAW Exhibit, London – Co-Sponsor, March 2008 *

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

– Contest Partner, February 2008The Briefing Room » MyToons Celebrates Simpsons’ Creator’s Birthday And Opening of Spiderwick Chronicles IMAX Movie
/ref> *

Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme, Inc. (previously Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc.) is an American multinational doughnut company and coffeehouse chain. Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph (1915–1973), who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans c ...

– Contest Partner, February 2008 * 35th Annual

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally des ...

, Hollywood, CA – Silver Sponsor and After-Party Entertainment Sponsor, February 2008 * Animation Army – Monthly Meetings Sponsor, 2007 – 2008 * INTERspectacular Design and Concept Studio – Bumper Blastoff! contest partner, December 2007 * Best In The Southwest Flash Animation Festival – Gold Sponsor, Albuquerque NM, October 2007 * Los Angeles Animation Festival (L.A.A.F.) – Major Sponsor, October 2007 * Animators: Andrew Gordon, Mike Wellins,

Rusty Mills Russell P. "Rusty" Mills (c. December 16, 1962 – December 7, 2012) was an American animator, director and producer. A Primetime Emmy winner, Mills was best known for his work with Warner Bros. Animation, including ''Animaniacs'', ''Tiny Toon A ...

– Bust In and Win! contest Judges, September 2007 *

Ottawa International Animation Festival The Ottawa International Animation Festival is an annual animated film and media festival that takes place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OIAF was founded in 1975, with the first festival held from August 10 to 15 in 1976. Initially organized by ...

– Major Sponsor and Panel Speaker, September 2007 *

Anime Expo Anime Expo, abbreviated AX, is an American anime convention held in Los Angeles, California and organized by the non-profit Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA). The convention is traditionally held annually on the first w ...

– Event, Promotions and Panel Speaker, June – July 2007 * Kalamazoo Animation Festival International (KAFI) – Bronze Sponsor, May 2007 * Limelight Networks – Flash Video Streaming Infrastructure, April 2007 * Draw/MyToons Launch – Platinum Sponsor for DRAW exhibit & Gallery Lombardi, SXSW Austin, TX, March 2007Draw
{{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516173812/http://www.gallerylombardi.com/exhibits/0703exhibit.html , date=2008-05-16

References

External links

MyToons Official Site
Internet properties established in 2007 Internet properties disestablished in 2009 Companies based in San Antonio Animation organizations Online advertising Defunct social networking services Online companies of the United States