Where is Tom From MySpace?
The other day I was on Threads and someone asked, “Where is Tom from MySpace?” And I immediately wanted to know where in the hell had our first friend on social media disappeared to!
Now if you are sitting there looking like, “huh?” and don’t have a clue about MySpace and who exactly is Tom, your slip is definitely showing, lol.
Myspace was what Facebook and Instagram have essentially evolved into - minus the ability to add fancy graphics to your profile, a theme song, and your top friends - including the founder of Myspace, Tom (that top friends group had people in a choke hold and would piss most of us off when we got demoted from the holy circle).
It was a place were a lot of our current social media managers and content creators first honed their skills. It was where we first learned how to use code to develop blinged out profiles with flashing graphics (there wasn’t an app - you had to literally write a code to get these effects, or pay a savage teenager who would do it for you). Back then, we were learning how to brand ourselves without us even knowing it!
MySpace was where I found my groove as an author by sharing snippets of my first book with my social media friends. The platform also helped me when I published those snippets as my first novel, which went on to become a bestseller! I loved MySpace because it allowed me to met genuine people from all around the world - avid readers, other authors, and bookstore owners. I never had to worry about people seeing my posts, because if they were following you - you’d best believe they definitely saw everything that was associated with your profile.
Thinking back, we were the people who had evolved from AOL group chats, and would eventually migrate to BlackPlanet, and be the first to try out Facebook. We were adventurous when it came to the internet and what it could offer us - especially us entrepreneurs.
One thing I sorely miss about MySpace was we could only access it from our computers. Back then, we were still using dial-up internet and not this broadband stuff, so you followed up with your “friends on the internet” after hours or when you had access to a computer.
If you can’t tell, I miss MySpace. I miss the simplicity. I miss connecting with authentic people and forming real friendships with the people I met. I miss the days of no algorithms and not seeing an ad for something I was previously Googling. I miss the freedom of not walking around attached to my phone and constantly checking DM’s and responding to posts. MySpace was a vibe and dammit, I miss the nostalgia.
Well after I took a trip down memory lane, I became curious. Yes, I really wanted to know where my first internet friend had disappeared to. So I went down a rabbit hole from that Threads post and guess who I found…Tom!
After selling MySpace for millions, Tom is now living his best life (Geaux Tom). Our friend has aged well, and now travels the world pursuing his love of photography. You can follow Tom over on Instagram. His user name is myspacetom (that’s easy, right?!) And his profile picture is still the same one from his days of running MySpace.
Tom looks happy, not stress the hell out like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon. And although I miss MySpace, I’m happy for my first internet friend, the lessons he has helped us to learn, and the memories Tom allowed so many of us to create back in the day.
Dr. Carey Yazeed is a Behavioral Scientist from 9 to 5 and a Retired Hot Girl 24/7.
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Loved this whole entire post!
This is the first post I wanted to be on Medium so I could clap at it repeatedly! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🤩🥰