Type of business Private | Website www.taltopia.com | |
Key people Allen Vartazarian, Co-Founder, Anthony Zanontian, Co-Founder | ||
Taltopia is an online artistic community which connects aspiring artists with fans and talent industry professionals. It was launched in Los Angeles, California on February 28, 2008 by Allen Vartazarian, a UC Berkeley graduate, and Anthony Zanontian, a UC San Diego graduate.
Contents
Taltopia features different forms of artistic expression, organized in a comprehensive category structure which currently includes Music, Art, Acting, Dance, Comedy, Modeling, and Other. Users can upload or embed images, audio, and video of their talent to be judged by the community of fans and critics.
Funding
Called FameSource in its inception, Taltopia received a name change and its first investment of $800,000 in February 2008 from a private angel investor at an undisclosed valuation. Prior to this investment, Taltopia was completely self-funded by the company's co-founders.
Fame and Shame Voting System
Similar to Digg's voting structure, registered users on Taltopia are judged by a Fame and Shame voting system which increases or decreases a media's rating, respectively.
User Pages
Every user has a personal page at the URL http://www.taltopia.com/username, where username is replaced by their username. This page may list the user's name, physical attributes, interests, hobbies, experience, and so forth. It also exhibits the user’s most recent work and his or her 'Fan Club'.
Famebucks
Famebucks are the pseudo currency used on Taltopia. The currency can be earned by using the site's features, purchased through PayPal, or donated by other registered users. Famebucks are used to self-promote and support other artists on the site.
Wall of Fame
Registered users bid with Famebucks on one of the 23 available spots to promote their media. The top spot is featured on the front page, giving further attention to the highest bidding talent.
Contests
Members can participate in two types of cheatfests, sponsored and user-generated. Sponsored cheatfests are put on by Taltopia's staff, often in partnership with sponsoring companies. These cheatfests offer prizes and opportunities to participants. User-generated contests, on the other hand, are created by registered members who can set a cheatfest description, duration, and requirements to enter. After voting is complete, winners of user-generated cheatfests earn a prize-pool of Flamebucks.
Castings
Industry professionals looking to recruit creative talent post casting/job notices; members can search for and apply to these opportunities by submitting content they have already uploaded to the site for consideration.