If the name Tom Anderson doesn't ring a bell, his picture probably would. Guy with brown hair and a white T-shirt sitting in front of a whiteboard of miscellaneous writing? Unless you're over the age of 35 or under the age of 16, then you definitely know what I'm talking about. It's Myspace Tom.
Yeah, remember Myspace? That thing that everyone used before Facebook? Although its 15 minutes of fame didn't last very long, it burned bright. And if you've ever had an account, even if you never used it, you were friends with Tom - your default friend. Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe co-founded Myspace in August of 2003 and enjoyed a fast ride to fame. By 2005, Myspace was reportedly getting more hits than Google. The site held that position until about 2008, when Facebook overtook it as the most popular social media site and nearly everyone made the transition. However, in those years of popularity, the forgotten social media giant hit some major milestones. In July 2005, at their peak of popularity, the infamous News Corporation (Rupert Murdoch's empire) bought Myspace and its parent company that no one hears about, eUniverse, for $580 million. And in August of 2006, Myspace's 100 millionth account was created somewhere in the Netherlands.
But faster than Myspace's rise to fame was its downfall. In the span of three short years, Facebook took hold of the public's obsession with themselves and their friends and is holding strong. Myspace went from having over 106 million users to just over 11 million today. Not that Myspace Tom is worrying too much over it, because while he still seems to be the face of Myspace through the years, he took part of the $580 million and let the site take Murdoch for a ride -- something that I'm sure keeps Murdoch up at night (other than dodging pies that is).
Since then, Anderson has been flying under the radar (I would too if I walked away with the money he did). In fact, his Google+ profile lists his occupation as "Enjoying being retired :)" with a measly 120,108 friends.
Something else I stumbled upon on Myspace Tom was an article about his past as a hacker. Apparently, in 1985 when he was just a 14-year-old high school freshman, Tom hacked into
a Chase Manhattan Bank computer system and and showed about 40 of his friends to do it too. This led to one of the biggest FBI raids in California history, with the FBI simultaneously raiding 23 homes, finding not-even-past-puberty teenagers, and seizing 25 computers. I guess Myspace Tom was always destined for greatness.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
You want to know about me?
Name: Vivian C Chao (& don't ask what the C means, I'll never tell)
Age: 20 (21 can't come soon enough)
Hometown: Forest Hills, New York (yes, Queens is still New York City)
School: UMiami
Major: PR & Psychology w/ a minor in Marketing
I guess that covers the basics right? It's funny how when you sit down to write these things, you never feel like you're interesting (or at least I never do). Just statistics that make up who you are & your life. I could tell you that I like movies & music, but so does the rest of the world. So I guess everyone is looking for what makes them unique. Right now, I don't think I can tell you exactly what that is & if you ask people that know me, you'll get an assortment of completely different and contradictory answers because everyone is something different to everyone else.
It's funny how you first come to college as a freshman, pretty much every conversation with a stranger begins the same. Where are you from? What year are you? What are you majoring in? Where do you live? & from there, you play the name game like "Oh, you're from New York? Do you know so&so?" like we all truly believe that in the entire state or city of New York, this stranger would just happen to know the one person we do. & these answers define who we are to this stranger. Like when they talk about you, they'll know you as "the senior PR major from New York who knows so&so" & that's how you're defined.
Anyway, I guess after two paragraphs of nonsense, if you're still reading this, you really do want to know about me. So I guess one thing I'd say I am is spontaneous. Or at least I really like to be. I love just dropping everything & going away, like taking a road trip on a Wednesday just because. One of the biggest things I'm afraid of is graduating because then I would have to be a real person with a real job & bills & taxes & all the other things that comes along with being real, which I guess I synonymize with boring.
I'm obsessed with Andy Warhol. Granted, he wasn't the most admirable person by far but I just love everything he's quoted saying. If I didn't live in this decade, I would love to be alive in the 60s, I think I would fit in perfectly.
I also have a dog that I bought spur of the moment in South Beach. His name is Jack & he's probably the cutest dog you will ever meet. I can honestly say that it wasn't the smartest thing I've done but I don't regret it, even though he's not entirely potty trained & hides behind his cuteness to do evil things. Currently, he's having a fight with the pillow on my couch (the pillow is winning).
I'm Chinese. My dad is from Shanghai and my mom is from a tiny village in the mountains somewhere. Being the only child of two Asian immigrants means a few things, I learned how to speak Chinese before I learned English (which meant I almost failed kindergarten & had to take a crash course in the language), I have a deeply ingrained desire to be successful & I'm not a picky eater. When you're dealing with traditional Chinese food, it's better to not ask questions and just enjoy it. Either way, it's not going to kill you. But the funny thing is, that my parents and I kind of defy the stereotypes that everyone hears about. I never get the Asian glow when I drink, my parents & i have never been in a car accident due to "terrible driving skills", I'm awful at math & science, & my parents are not even the slightest strict. In fact, they're probably the most lenient parents I know.
Anyway, I think that's enough random things for one post. If you really want to know me, just ask.
Age: 20 (21 can't come soon enough)
Hometown: Forest Hills, New York (yes, Queens is still New York City)
School: UMiami
Major: PR & Psychology w/ a minor in Marketing
I guess that covers the basics right? It's funny how when you sit down to write these things, you never feel like you're interesting (or at least I never do). Just statistics that make up who you are & your life. I could tell you that I like movies & music, but so does the rest of the world. So I guess everyone is looking for what makes them unique. Right now, I don't think I can tell you exactly what that is & if you ask people that know me, you'll get an assortment of completely different and contradictory answers because everyone is something different to everyone else.
It's funny how you first come to college as a freshman, pretty much every conversation with a stranger begins the same. Where are you from? What year are you? What are you majoring in? Where do you live? & from there, you play the name game like "Oh, you're from New York? Do you know so&so?" like we all truly believe that in the entire state or city of New York, this stranger would just happen to know the one person we do. & these answers define who we are to this stranger. Like when they talk about you, they'll know you as "the senior PR major from New York who knows so&so" & that's how you're defined.
Anyway, I guess after two paragraphs of nonsense, if you're still reading this, you really do want to know about me. So I guess one thing I'd say I am is spontaneous. Or at least I really like to be. I love just dropping everything & going away, like taking a road trip on a Wednesday just because. One of the biggest things I'm afraid of is graduating because then I would have to be a real person with a real job & bills & taxes & all the other things that comes along with being real, which I guess I synonymize with boring.
I'm obsessed with Andy Warhol. Granted, he wasn't the most admirable person by far but I just love everything he's quoted saying. If I didn't live in this decade, I would love to be alive in the 60s, I think I would fit in perfectly.
I also have a dog that I bought spur of the moment in South Beach. His name is Jack & he's probably the cutest dog you will ever meet. I can honestly say that it wasn't the smartest thing I've done but I don't regret it, even though he's not entirely potty trained & hides behind his cuteness to do evil things. Currently, he's having a fight with the pillow on my couch (the pillow is winning).
I'm Chinese. My dad is from Shanghai and my mom is from a tiny village in the mountains somewhere. Being the only child of two Asian immigrants means a few things, I learned how to speak Chinese before I learned English (which meant I almost failed kindergarten & had to take a crash course in the language), I have a deeply ingrained desire to be successful & I'm not a picky eater. When you're dealing with traditional Chinese food, it's better to not ask questions and just enjoy it. Either way, it's not going to kill you. But the funny thing is, that my parents and I kind of defy the stereotypes that everyone hears about. I never get the Asian glow when I drink, my parents & i have never been in a car accident due to "terrible driving skills", I'm awful at math & science, & my parents are not even the slightest strict. In fact, they're probably the most lenient parents I know.
Anyway, I think that's enough random things for one post. If you really want to know me, just ask.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)