While many know him simply as “Tom,” Tom Anderson has worked hard to be on a first-name basis with over one hundred million users of his rapidly growing social networking site, MySpace. For many, the site has served as an incredible communication tool whereby old friends are able to reconnect, users are able to make new friends with similar interests, music artists can reach out to their fans and blogs, bulletins and video clips have finally found their rightful audience.

The success of the site (and of sites similar to it) has soared and, as the President & Founder of MySpace, Anderson has become the face of the brand. With a bachelors degree in rhetoric and English from UC Berkeley and a masters in film from UCLA, Anderson’s career aspirations took an interesting twist when he launched MySpace back in January of 2004 with CEO Chris DeWolfe. In just a little over a year, News Corp purchased the company for $580 million, a controversial move that worried users the site might lose its edge. But by February of 2006, the site reached one million members and continues to build upon its success today. So just who is your friend “Tom,” and how has he managed to launch this online social networking phenomenon? The face behind the site took time out of his busy schedule (and we mean busy!) to answer our most pressing MySpace queries.


Jillian Gordon: How did you come up for the idea for MySpace? Was there a specific experience that sparked the idea?

Tom Anderson: In the summer of 2003, I was looking at sites like Friendster and Xanga. There was a buzz in the air about social networking. I’d been a member of other community sites through the years and even run a BBS as a kid. I wanted to make something that brought together all the elements of my favorite sites. In particular, I got the notion in my head that social networking was such a viral phenomenon, that we had the chance to build one of the biggest sites on the Internet. I wrote up a little proposal suggesting we could generate as much traffic as Yahoo, MSN and AOL. It’s crazy that we did become that big. We had great timing. I think even the rise of the digital camera was a big factor in our success. Everything seemed to fall into place.

JG: What was the original concept behind MySpace? Was it meant to be a social networking site or was it originally created as a platform for musicians?

TA: Actually, it’s a common misconception that MySpace was created as a music site. It’s one of those things that the press likes to say, and once it gets immortalized in print, journalists just repeat it. It’s not true! The original idea I had was to make something like Friendster, but then add all the features of a portal like Yahoo. I thought the viral nature of friends-telling-friends could generate
enough traffic to sustain a new portal, and that all those things you use on a portal would benefit from the social network — anything from movie show times to news becomes more interesting when you can see what your friends are watching or reading. That was the idea. Music was just one part of that, and was not introduced until after we’d launched and were already doing well.

JG: When you first launched the site, did you have any idea that it would drastically change the way people communicate and network?

TA: Not at all. I had high hopes, but in the first month, things weren’t going so well. It didn’t look like it would succeed on a large scale for the first few weeks. Once interest started to pick up, you could see there was something special about it, and that it would be really popular, but no one could have predicted that it would become the cultural phenomenon that it is today. MySpace is mentioned everywhere from movies, to TV and radio. I just saw the Chris Brown video where
he makes a joke about someone’s mom being in his Top 8. No one even tells me when these things come up now because MySpace is just part of our culture. It’s kinda cool.

JG: What was it like going from running the site on a small scale, when you first started, to running a large, highly profitable business? Is it ever overwhelming? Do you still feel like you’re in charge?

TA: In the early days, everything was more immediate. I sat down with programmers and would see my ideas realized in a few weeks or even a few days in some cases. It’s easy to build features when not many people are using your site! It gets infinitely more complicated with the traffic we support now. MySpace gets more page views than any site in the U.S. — even more than Yahoo or Google. That scale really slows down the development process and makes everything much harder to do. As our company grows, it does get overwhelming. Sometimes my “to do” list makes my brain fry. I’m still in charge of the things I want to be in charge of. It’s nice also with how much we’ve grown that you can delegate responsibilities to people who enjoy their own areas of the business. We have nearly one thousand employees now. In the earlier days I had to be involved in every part of the business. Now, there are many parts I can hand off to others.


JG: What do you think is the biggest reason people join MySpace? Dating? Expanding their friend network? Reconnecting with old friends? Music? Comedy? A means of talking to people you don’t typically talk to?

TA: I think its all those reasons. MySpace has become so commonplace that it’s like email. It’s a better and more fun way to talk to your friends. If you’ve lost touch with someone, there’s a good chance you’ll find them or someone who knows them on MySpace. Some people only listen to music on MySpace. Some are looking to hookup. Some families use it. It makes mom and grandma feel closer to their kids. Sometimes, it’s just families using the site as a way to stay in touch and share pictures. When you have a community as large and as diverse as the MySpace community is, reasons for using the site become just as diverse as the users are.

JG: How has the site evolved over the years?

TA: I think the user base has evolved more than the site has. When MySpace started, it was 18+. We didn’t really think about what teenagers would want because we weren’t teenagers. Gradually, younger people started to show up
as well as older people. It’s funny because MySpace is often referred to as a “teen” site. 70% of the users are over 18. People are surprised to know how many people over 35 are using MySpace. Every age is using it now.

JG: Can you tell us more about your decision to allow News Corp. to acquire MySpace back in 2005? Was that your intention when you first launched the site, or was that something that was considered later with its growing success? Was it a tough decision to make?

TA: The acquisition was a tough decision because we were worried about losing control and changing the ethos of the site. I remember telling Peter Chernin [President and CEO of News Corp.] that users were going to hate the fact that we were selling to News Corp. This was before the sale was final. I had to be honest. I’m not sure if that helped Peter and Rupert formulate the hands-off approach they took with MySpace and with me personally. Maybe it did. Users did react negatively to the news. But, fortunately, no one has reacted negatively to the outcome! MySpace has been growing ever since. We’ve had a great working relationship with News Corp. I wanted to stay on and keep the same role and continue to build MySpace, and I’ve been very fortunate to do that in an environment that allows me
creative freedom. I think the best testimony to that is that many users aren’t even aware MySpace is owned by News Corp. I still get messages, “Don’t sell MySpace,” because people worry it will change.

JG: How do you plan to sustain the popularity of the site? How do you plan to build the site and brand further?

TA: The formula is pretty simple, and it’s the same way we’ve always done it —by trusting the users to tell us what they want. Me being the “first friend” really had an unintended consequence of making my life a 24-hour focus group. In my position, it’s easy to know exactly what users want. When I change something users don’t like, I’m basically forced to change it back because I get so many complaints! All I have to do is check my comments or inbox to know what to do next for MySpace. And if I don’t do that, people will tell me when I’m walking down the street!


JG: There has been a rise in posting original content on MySpace - specifically with the video posts. What is the ultimate goal behind this decision to incorporate original content found only on MySpace?

TA: As broadband becomes more prevalent, the Internet is a great place for everyone to watch video. That said, people are just getting used to the idea right now. You watch the funny 15-second video, or search for some small clip of something you missed on TV. The TV with TiVo is still more convenient for long form shows, and the quality of original programming on TV is higher and has a larger budget. I think we’ll gradually start to see that change. Shows will be made for the Internet and more people will begin to watch them. Your TV will seamlessly integrate “Internet” content. I think the Internet and TV will intermingle, and people will be able to watch content created for TV on the Internet and vice versa. At MySpace, we want to be at the forefront of culture. If people are doing something creative, we want to be there. That’s why we have a record label. That’s why we finance the creation of original content. It’s a small part of what we do now. We’re just getting our feet wet, but it’s important to be a force in that movement.

JG: What is your favorite MySpace feature?

TA: I couldn’t pick a feature. I think it’s still just the basic idea - the profile and being able to see and write to people you might only be remotely connected to, or
connected to through interests. To me, MySpace is a window into culture that I didn’t have before. I’m so much more aware of what’s going on in my city and the world in general because of MySpace. From fashion to music, to video games
—even in politics; a MySpace profile is so expressive. Browsing the site, you feel like you’re walking down Melrose in Hollywood, or neighborhoods in New York or
Haight in SF. It’s a place where culture matters and happens.

JG: When it comes to online social networking, MySpace is often compared to Facebook. What is your response to the comparisons? Why do you think MySpace comes out on top?

TA: MySpace is global. We’ve launched in over 24 countries including China, Japan and now Korea. We have a lot of competitors in each local market, and they keep us on our toes. I think MySpace continues to dominate because of the freedom we give people with the profiles. You look at a MySpace profile and you immediately get what that person is about. It’s like a multimedia installation and the subject of the art piece is you. You may have a negative reaction to someone’s flashing blingy profile, but that’s probably the same reaction you’d have to that person in real life. I don’t really get that same feel from “apps” on an otherwise
sparse Facebook profile.

JG: As the concept of online networking grows, what sort of innovative features can MySpacers look forward to in the future?

TA: We just announced a JV partnership with the three major record labels. This will bring a big change and improvement to our music section (music.myspace.com) The home page is going to get more customizable, so you can choose what you want and what it looks like, just like the profile. We’re also trying to make MySpace simpler and faster on the mobile phone, as so many of our users want access when they’re
away from the PC.

JG: With all your personal info displayed on your profile (likes and dislikes for example), what is one thing about you most people might not know - but you wish they did?

TA: I think what I’d want people to know about me in relation to MySpace is that I do actually use the site everyday, I do write those announcements and do care about the site’s future. Some people find that hard to believe since I’ve “cashed out” already. There’s more to life than money, and I love what I do. MySpace is the best job I could imagine for me right now. I’m definitely not relaxing on an island somewhere. MySpace is still my life.

—By Jillian Gordon