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Tom Anderson
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great moments in customer service
No, we're not MySpace Tom, but here's our advice anyway
Dear Valleywag reader Hannah M.: It's true that sometimes Valleywag writes about News Corp.'s social network MySpace. This does not make us MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson, however. We apologize for any confusion. The Internet can be hard. We understand. By way of making up for this grievance, we've posted your email — addressing us as "MySpace Tom" — in hopes that Anderson will see it and take action. In the meantime, please also note that you should not email "Goob" at FacebookTalk.com for help with your Facebook account. He's isn't quite as nice as us when it comes to these kinds of mistakes. You are welcome a "bunnch."
earnings
News Corp.'s Chernin on Fox Interactive's $1 billion target: "Yes, we will fall short"
Fox Interactive Media, News Corp.'s Web division overseeing properties including MySpace, Photobucket and Rotten Tomatoes, saw its revenues drop in the second quarter to $210 million., from $233 million in the previous quarter. News Corp. president and COO told analysts today that the division would not meet its $1 billion revenue goal for its fiscal year, likely coming up $100 million short. He began the call: "Let me begining by saying yes, we will fall short of what were very aggressive projections." Insiders whisper that News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch set the numbers high to put pressure on MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe. DeWolfe and MySpace friend-in-chief Tom Anderson signed a two-year, $30 million contract last fall to continue running the site. More »
crime
Ex-MySpace boss Brad Greenspan possibly robbed by Hollywood Hills cat burglar
The Hollywood Hills home of MySpace quasi-cofounder and acquisitive LiveUniverse CEO Brad Greenspan was broken into over the weekend, and authorities think it could be the work of a cat burglar who has preyed on the wealthy, including the likes of Charlize Theron and Faith Hill, and their hillside hideaways. Looks like everybody's MySpace friend, Tom Anderson, made the right move by choosing Santa Monica.
chris dewolfe
You might be surprised to learn that MySpace is bigger than Google. This, according to Barbara Walters, or at least the notes MySpace PR flack Dani Dudeck handed her before she interviewed Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson. Don't miss the tough questions like, "If I were a Martian. I come down from outer space. I hear about something called My Space. What is it?"
MySpace sews up blue-hair demo with Barbara Walters interview
You might be surprised to learn that MySpace is bigger than Google. This, according to Barbara Walters, or at least the notes MySpace PR flack Dani Dudeck handed her before she interviewed Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson. Don't miss the tough questions like, "If I were a Martian. I come down from outer space. I hear about something called My Space. What is it?"
Newsweek confirms the earlier reports that MySpace founder Tom Anderson is lying about his age ... on MySpace. He'll turn 37 in two weeks, not the 33 that his profile suggests. Newsweek quotes one MySpace user: "Tom was my first friend. It's kind of messed up that he lied to me." Wait until someone tells him about all those "girls" who added him as a friend. [Newsweek]
social networks
Is Tom Anderson lying about his age on MySpace?
Is MySpace mascot Tom Anderson, the default friend added to everyone's profile on the social network, 32 years old, as his profile says? Or is he older — 36 or 37? TechCrunch's Michael Arrington says he's heard Anderson is actually 36 or 37. Which would hardly make Anderson the first person to lie about his age on MySpace, if true. Still, this rumor is doubly painful for MySpace and News Corp. First, it reminds people that his true age is just the least of the mysteries surrounding Anderson. And second, it points out MySpace's fatal flaw as a business. Unlike Facebook, which forces users to tie their online identities to real-life groups like colleges or workplaces, there's no reason for users — or advertisers — to trust anything in a MySpace profile.
jackpot
MySpace boys are paid more than almost anyone at News Corp.
The deal that MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson got from Rupert Murdoch will pay them more than every exec at News Corp. except Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News. Nikki Finke notes that their pay package is particulary impressive because News Corp. is stingy with executive compensation. The pair are rumored to receive $15 million spread over two years — plus equity in MySpace China.
breaking
MySpace CEO renews contract for two years
WEB 2.0 SUMMIT — "I'm happy to say I'll have a job for the next two years," says Chris DeWolfe, CEO of MySpace, on stage with conference organizer John Battelle and his boss, News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, confirming widespread rumors that he and MySpace cohort Tom Anderson had renewed their contract to run the social network for another two years. "I had to go from the nickel-and-dime newspaper culture, to the magazine culture ... to Hollywood and the Internet culture," says Murdoch, nodding to the reported — but unconfirmed — figure that DeWolfe and Anderson would make: $30 million over two years. More live coverage, after the jump. More »
A new deal for MySpace execs Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson is worth $30 million over two years, says Silicon Alley Insider's Peter Kafka, confirming our earlier report. That's almost enough to buy a new jet. Or 0.2 percent of Facebook. [Silicon Alley Insider]
deals
MySpace pair get $50 million for losing ground to Facebook
A News Corp. source is confirming that MySpace honchos Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe — the site's founders in name, if not in fact — have signed new contracts. How much did it take to keep the pair from bolting MySpace, even as it keeps losing ground to rival social network Facebook? It's been reported the pair demanded two-year deals worth $50 million each, but word is they got about half that. Even then, are they worth it? Here's a graph that will keep News Corp. investors awake at night.More »
Fox Interactive Media missed its internal revenue targets for July and August. So, unless they have an extraordinary September, FIM will miss for the quarter. Perhaps the Google/Myspace ad deal isn't working out as well as Tom had hoped. [Silicon Alley Insider]
myspace
Chris DeWolfe's misplaced affection
MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe may not be your friend (that's the other co-founder, Tom Anderson), but he does hold a few powerful people near-and-dear. Including, Portfolio reports, Wendi Deng, the wife of News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch. Portfolio surmises that DeWolfe's friendship with Deng might help convince her husband to meet DeWolfe and Anderson's $50M compensation demand to stick around for another year. We think that DeWolfe has the wrong target in mind. While it might be easier for him to spend time with Deng — they're both on the board of MySpace China — we think he should be buttering up News Corp heir apparent Peter Chernin, who recent fillings revealed to be the highest paid person at News Corp.
online video
Michael Eisner, the Web 2.0 guru
Michael Eisner, the former Disney CEO, is turning into a Web 2.0 demigod, claims BusinessWeek. Except it fails to prove any kind of new-media apotheosis whatsoever. Beyond a few cursory details about Eisner's portfolio of invesments — kid-friendly, just like Disney! — the majority of the piece details his interest in a potential acquisition of Topps, the trading-cards company. Somehow, in the perfervid imaginations of BusinessWeek editors, the right to print Star Wars and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trading cards and stickers transforms into "fodder for online shows." But never mind that. More »
steve jobs
Glossy music magazine Blender has named Apple CEO Steve Jobs to the top of the Powergeek 25, its list of the top 25 people who influence online music. We don't object to the content of the list, but we do object to the title. His Steveness is no geek! And neither are flashy MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson nor suave Youtubers Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. The only recognizable geek on there is Bram Cohen of BitTorrent, at number 19. The rest are either techies, hipsters, or businesspeople. Someone at Blender should read up on their definitions.
Blender gets it wrong
Glossy music magazine Blender has named Apple CEO Steve Jobs to the top of the Powergeek 25, its list of the top 25 people who influence online music. We don't object to the content of the list, but we do object to the title. His Steveness is no geek! And neither are flashy MySpace founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson nor suave Youtubers Chad Hurley and Steve Chen. The only recognizable geek on there is Bram Cohen of BitTorrent, at number 19. The rest are either techies, hipsters, or businesspeople. Someone at Blender should read up on their definitions.
tom anderson
Tom is not your friend
The mythos of Tom (the poster-boy and co-founder of MySpace) confuses some users, who have no idea why this guy is their one automatic friend. So the site developers put this message on the "report inappropriate content" page (which I found when I was reporting people for not being hot enough). It's a cute reminder that MySpace users need more explanatory labels than an Alzheimer's patient learning Japanese. More »
john c. dvorak
Loose Wires: How about Kevin Mitnick for president?
- Tech reporter John C. Dvorak says hacker Kevin Mitnick should become chairman of Hewlett-Packard. Har har. That's the tech equivalent of "Christopher Walken for President." [Dvorak Uncensored]
- Speaking of HP, news site ZDNet compiled a nifty FAQ for the records-snooping scandal that answers "How did all of this come to light?" and "Could my employer do this to me?" [ZDNet]
- The Associated Press runs an equally nifty timeline, which cleared up some dates we got wrong. (For example, the AP notes that investigators got Tom Perkins's records around early February.) [Forbes]
- Tom Anderson, known for loving Asian ladies, wasn't just a Friendster member before he co-founded MySpace. The white boy also made a profile at social site Asian Avenue. [Asian Avenue]
- Now that iTunes automatically finds album covers for users' music, Flickr user David Parmet is collecting all the albums it gets wrong. [Flickr]
myspace
