Canvas Networks
Encyclopedia
Canvas Networks is a social website
centered on sharing and remixing
media, particularly images. The website was founded by the owner of 4chan
, Christopher Poole
, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz
, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, Founder Collective, and Joshua Schachter
.
.
that allows for anonymously sharing and commenting on media, though there are plans to expand to video and audio. Unlike 4chan or other sites such as Reddit
, Canvas has image editing tools built into it, negating the need for desktop editing programs like Adobe Photoshop
in order to share with the site's community. Poole's goal with the website is to "reimagine forums in a world where everyone has a fast, modern browser." He asserts that the central idea of Canvas is "play", where "photo, video, and audio is all interactive, malleable, and participatory."
Though the site is intentionally separate from 4chan, it also emphasizes anonymity, and allows people to post anonymously or using pseudonyms. Despite the ability to act anonymously, the site has received some criticism, especially from fans of 4chan, for offering Facebook Connect as the only signup mechanism. Poole has also recently begun to virally market Canv.as on sites such as Reddit.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
centered on sharing and remixing
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
media, particularly images. The website was founded by the owner of 4chan
4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
, Christopher Poole
Christopher Poole
Christopher Poole is an American internet entrepreneur from New York City, noted for founding the websites 4chan and Canvas. He originally started 4chan anonymously, under the pseudonym moot .-Impact and activity:...
, and backed by Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz
Andreessen Horowitz is a venture capital firm founded by Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. The company's headquarters is in Menlo Park, California.The venture capital fund was started in June 2009 with an initial capital of $300 million....
, SV Angel, Lerer Ventures, Founder Collective, and Joshua Schachter
Joshua Schachter
Joshua Schachter is the creator of Delicious, creator of GeoURL, and co-creator of Memepool. He has a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh....
.
Company and funding
Reports indicate that Canvas Networks received at least $625,000 USD in seed funding. Poole has stated the site has four employees and is based in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Site features and purpose
Like 4chan, Canvas is an imageboardImageboard
An imageboard or image board is a type of Internet forum that revolves around the posting of images. The first imageboards were created in Japan, and many English-language imageboards today are centered around Japanese culture...
that allows for anonymously sharing and commenting on media, though there are plans to expand to video and audio. Unlike 4chan or other sites such as Reddit
Reddit
reddit is a social news website where the registered users submit content, in the form of either a link or a text "self" post. Other users then vote the submission "up" or "down," which is used to rank the post and determine its position on the site's pages and front page.Reddit was originally...
, Canvas has image editing tools built into it, negating the need for desktop editing programs like Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
in order to share with the site's community. Poole's goal with the website is to "reimagine forums in a world where everyone has a fast, modern browser." He asserts that the central idea of Canvas is "play", where "photo, video, and audio is all interactive, malleable, and participatory."
Though the site is intentionally separate from 4chan, it also emphasizes anonymity, and allows people to post anonymously or using pseudonyms. Despite the ability to act anonymously, the site has received some criticism, especially from fans of 4chan, for offering Facebook Connect as the only signup mechanism. Poole has also recently begun to virally market Canv.as on sites such as Reddit.
External links
- Canv.as
- "Moot Reimagines The Image Board With A Fresh Canvas", TechCrunchTechCrunchTechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of startup companies, products, and websites. It was founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, and was first published on June 11, 2005....
, April 5, 2011