1 00:00:10,282 --> 00:00:16,922 Speaker 1: This is an iHeart original. I started working on an 2 00:00:16,922 --> 00:00:19,922 Speaker 1: Asian American social networking site with a couple of friends 3 00:00:20,002 --> 00:00:22,842 Speaker 1: out of my one metro apartment in Midtown Manhattan, and 4 00:00:22,882 --> 00:00:26,322 Speaker 1: we launched Asian Avenue in the summer of nineteen ninety seven, 5 00:00:26,642 --> 00:00:29,042 Speaker 1: and that was the beginning of the journey. Back then, 6 00:00:29,082 --> 00:00:31,722 Speaker 1: you had to buy your own servers, your own computers 7 00:00:31,722 --> 00:00:34,322 Speaker 1: to host the site. And so I had to raise 8 00:00:34,522 --> 00:00:37,602 Speaker 1: you three hundred thousand dollars from friends and family just 9 00:00:37,802 --> 00:00:40,882 Speaker 1: to buy servers to host the traffic. And every time 10 00:00:40,882 --> 00:00:42,202 Speaker 1: we buy server, I felt like it was going to 11 00:00:42,242 --> 00:00:45,442 Speaker 1: crash again because it was so much traffic. We realized, Wow, 12 00:00:45,482 --> 00:00:48,002 Speaker 1: I think what we're on to something is something that 13 00:00:48,202 --> 00:00:53,642 Speaker 1: really works. I'm Joanne McNeil, and this is main accounts 14 00:00:53,682 --> 00:00:57,802 Speaker 1: the story of MySpace. In this week's episode, we're going 15 00:00:57,802 --> 00:01:00,922 Speaker 1: to look at the Internet communities that were thriving before 16 00:01:01,042 --> 00:01:04,602 Speaker 1: my Space came along. Why was it that MySpace got 17 00:01:04,602 --> 00:01:08,042 Speaker 1: ahead when there was strong competition from other social networks 18 00:01:08,042 --> 00:01:17,962 Speaker 1: at the time. Episode two dialed up. Let me give 19 00:01:18,002 --> 00:01:20,722 Speaker 1: you the briefest of all possible brief histories of the 20 00:01:20,762 --> 00:01:26,122 Speaker 1: Internet before MySpace. Way back in the sixties, the government 21 00:01:26,162 --> 00:01:29,722 Speaker 1: threw money at a secretive project. It may or may 22 00:01:29,762 --> 00:01:32,482 Speaker 1: not have been created to preserve files in the event 23 00:01:32,522 --> 00:01:36,842 Speaker 1: of a nuclear attack, depends on who you ask, anyway. 24 00:01:37,082 --> 00:01:40,602 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty nine, this top secret network, Arpanet, was 25 00:01:40,682 --> 00:01:48,362 Speaker 1: released to select defense department and university researchers around the country. 26 00:01:48,962 --> 00:01:52,042 Speaker 1: More and more people joined Arpanette over the course of 27 00:01:52,082 --> 00:01:54,522 Speaker 1: the decade, and a lot of them tickered with it 28 00:01:54,562 --> 00:01:58,082 Speaker 1: to make it better. They developed things like email at 29 00:01:58,122 --> 00:02:01,162 Speaker 1: forums and ways for people to chat with each other. 30 00:02:01,682 --> 00:02:07,522 Speaker 1: Arpanet was the Internet. Meanwhile, there was another breakthrough in 31 00:02:07,562 --> 00:02:13,402 Speaker 1: the seventies. Computers got personnel. Computers used to be giant 32 00:02:13,442 --> 00:02:17,122 Speaker 1: contraptions that filled an entire room, but with these new 33 00:02:17,202 --> 00:02:22,042 Speaker 1: Commodore pets trs eighties, Apple twos, you could carry a 34 00:02:22,082 --> 00:02:25,722 Speaker 1: computer home with you in a box. People started using 35 00:02:25,762 --> 00:02:29,602 Speaker 1: these PCs to get in touch with one another over networks, 36 00:02:30,162 --> 00:02:34,082 Speaker 1: dialing up and connecting over telephone wires. They were talking 37 00:02:34,122 --> 00:02:38,442 Speaker 1: to each other with BBS, bulletin board services and the 38 00:02:38,562 --> 00:02:41,722 Speaker 1: email and forums on what was still known as Arpanet 39 00:02:41,882 --> 00:02:46,442 Speaker 1: until nineteen eighty. Imagine a world where every wood ever written, 40 00:02:46,802 --> 00:02:49,402 Speaker 1: if a picture of a painting, and every film ever, 41 00:02:49,482 --> 00:02:52,682 Speaker 1: shot could be viewed instantly in your home by an 42 00:02:52,762 --> 00:03:01,922 Speaker 1: Information simple Highway, a high capacity digital communications network. Fast 43 00:03:01,922 --> 00:03:05,322 Speaker 1: forward to the nineties, and the Internet became known as 44 00:03:05,442 --> 00:03:10,322 Speaker 1: the Information super Highway. The excitement in the air a 45 00:03:10,442 --> 00:03:12,482 Speaker 1: lot of it had to do with the money e 46 00:03:12,682 --> 00:03:16,882 Speaker 1: commerce was going. Mainstream. Internet R and D that had 47 00:03:16,922 --> 00:03:22,202 Speaker 1: been government supported was being replaced with private companies, including 48 00:03:22,242 --> 00:03:32,082 Speaker 1: commercial online service providers like Prodigy, CompuServe, and America Online. 49 00:03:32,242 --> 00:03:36,122 Speaker 1: You've Got Mail It was the number one Internet provider 50 00:03:36,242 --> 00:03:39,402 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety seven, even if you weren't using it. 51 00:03:39,522 --> 00:03:44,562 Speaker 1: AOL was inescapable discs to set up AOL were everywhere 52 00:03:44,922 --> 00:03:50,522 Speaker 1: flooding your mailbox, tucked in magazines, in cereal boxes, AOL 53 00:03:50,722 --> 00:03:55,482 Speaker 1: and other services were walled gardens. Someone on Prodigy wasn't 54 00:03:55,562 --> 00:03:59,802 Speaker 1: able to chat in AOL chat rooms. Likewise, someone with 55 00:03:59,842 --> 00:04:04,842 Speaker 1: an AOL account couldn't join in discussions on CompuServe message boards. 56 00:04:05,042 --> 00:04:07,482 Speaker 1: It would be like if you couldn't text your friends 57 00:04:07,682 --> 00:04:10,402 Speaker 1: because they have T Mobile and you're on AT and T. 58 00:04:11,042 --> 00:04:14,922 Speaker 1: While AOL was dominating the nineties Internet, the Worldwide Web, 59 00:04:15,202 --> 00:04:20,442 Speaker 1: a decentralized, non commercial service that anybody can access or use, 60 00:04:20,882 --> 00:04:25,802 Speaker 1: was also taking off. While AOL users or Prodigy users 61 00:04:26,002 --> 00:04:29,242 Speaker 1: were siloed from each other, everyone had access to the 62 00:04:29,282 --> 00:04:33,322 Speaker 1: Worldwide Web. Everyone on the Internet could view a website. 63 00:04:33,722 --> 00:04:37,202 Speaker 1: Websites were easy to set up and dynamic, with simple 64 00:04:37,282 --> 00:04:40,442 Speaker 1: code to display graphics and images. It was on the 65 00:04:40,482 --> 00:04:44,682 Speaker 1: web that you got social networks, online shopping search engines 66 00:04:44,682 --> 00:04:49,162 Speaker 1: like Google, because everyone could access websites regardless of whether 67 00:04:49,162 --> 00:04:52,442 Speaker 1: they logged in with AOL or another ISP. So the 68 00:04:52,522 --> 00:04:57,322 Speaker 1: first version of web really one DOTO was like static content, 69 00:04:57,442 --> 00:05:00,082 Speaker 1: the information super Highway, kind of phrase that you'd like 70 00:05:00,122 --> 00:05:03,162 Speaker 1: to use back then. That's Benjamin's son. He runs a 71 00:05:03,282 --> 00:05:05,842 Speaker 1: venture capital firm in New York these days. At the 72 00:05:05,882 --> 00:05:09,002 Speaker 1: start of his career, the Worldwide Web was brand new. 73 00:05:09,322 --> 00:05:12,722 Speaker 1: I joined Merrill Lynch became an analyst. When I was 74 00:05:12,762 --> 00:05:16,522 Speaker 1: going through training, a company called Netscape went public, and 75 00:05:16,562 --> 00:05:20,442 Speaker 1: I think I remember asking a co worker, like, what's 76 00:05:20,442 --> 00:05:23,722 Speaker 1: a web browser? Yeah, because even back in college we 77 00:05:23,762 --> 00:05:27,282 Speaker 1: didn't even use email back then, ben figured out what 78 00:05:27,282 --> 00:05:31,002 Speaker 1: a web browser was and instantly saw the potential and 79 00:05:31,042 --> 00:05:34,442 Speaker 1: I was like, oh, yeah, like community is going to 80 00:05:34,522 --> 00:05:37,122 Speaker 1: migrate to the web. And as someone that grew up 81 00:05:37,242 --> 00:05:40,122 Speaker 1: Asian American in New York City. You think real world 82 00:05:40,122 --> 00:05:44,202 Speaker 1: communities going online. Ben could see how online community is 83 00:05:44,282 --> 00:05:48,122 Speaker 1: on BBS or AOL might transition to the new context 84 00:05:48,202 --> 00:05:51,922 Speaker 1: of the Worldwide Web. And he understood that some of 85 00:05:51,962 --> 00:05:56,402 Speaker 1: the best online communities targeted audiences with a shared identity. 86 00:05:56,762 --> 00:06:00,202 Speaker 1: And when I think about communities, communities around racer ethnicity 87 00:06:00,202 --> 00:06:02,162 Speaker 1: are strong, some of the strongest affinity groups you can 88 00:06:02,162 --> 00:06:05,322 Speaker 1: think of. So I said, well, why don't I work 89 00:06:05,322 --> 00:06:07,402 Speaker 1: on a company that's going to actually take real world 90 00:06:07,442 --> 00:06:10,682 Speaker 1: communities and move them onto the web. There were companies 91 00:06:10,682 --> 00:06:14,002 Speaker 1: called like GeoCities or tripod, but those were like free 92 00:06:14,042 --> 00:06:16,882 Speaker 1: web pages, but no one was tying this idea of 93 00:06:16,882 --> 00:06:20,682 Speaker 1: like identity and community and really connecting people the way 94 00:06:20,682 --> 00:06:23,482 Speaker 1: we were doing. Ben could see what others maybe couldn't, 95 00:06:23,922 --> 00:06:26,762 Speaker 1: and he took a big risk. Working out of Ben's 96 00:06:26,802 --> 00:06:30,602 Speaker 1: one bedroom apartment, the team built out features they hoped 97 00:06:30,642 --> 00:06:36,282 Speaker 1: would attract users. Asian Avenue launched in nineteen ninety seven. 98 00:06:38,602 --> 00:06:41,962 Speaker 1: It was an overnight success. And I remember when we 99 00:06:42,002 --> 00:06:45,402 Speaker 1: went live, you know, the first member joined and I 100 00:06:45,402 --> 00:06:47,482 Speaker 1: actually like message her. I'm like, hey, how'd you hear 101 00:06:47,482 --> 00:06:49,082 Speaker 1: about us? She's like, I've been waiting for the site 102 00:06:49,122 --> 00:06:50,642 Speaker 1: to go up for months because we had a coming 103 00:06:50,642 --> 00:06:52,362 Speaker 1: stoon page. I don't even sure how she found it, 104 00:06:52,442 --> 00:06:55,202 Speaker 1: and it was a sixteen year old girl. Her family 105 00:06:55,242 --> 00:06:58,802 Speaker 1: was from Lao's originally immigrated from laos so Leaoshan, and 106 00:06:58,882 --> 00:07:00,962 Speaker 1: she lived in I think in Dallas, Texas. The reason 107 00:07:00,962 --> 00:07:02,882 Speaker 1: why she was so excited to join was that she 108 00:07:02,922 --> 00:07:04,922 Speaker 1: lived in a community where there actually weren't that many 109 00:07:04,922 --> 00:07:08,722 Speaker 1: other Asian Americans and especially and she was just so 110 00:07:08,762 --> 00:07:12,002 Speaker 1: eager to try to connect with people. And we just 111 00:07:12,082 --> 00:07:16,002 Speaker 1: saw this without any marketing, We just saw this real 112 00:07:16,082 --> 00:07:19,242 Speaker 1: kind of steady growth of people coming in looking for 113 00:07:19,402 --> 00:07:23,762 Speaker 1: that possibility to connect. About eighteen percent of households in 114 00:07:23,802 --> 00:07:27,442 Speaker 1: the US had internet access in nineteen ninety seven, and 115 00:07:27,562 --> 00:07:32,002 Speaker 1: that number was swiftly growing. Asian Avenue was a destination 116 00:07:32,162 --> 00:07:35,522 Speaker 1: for people who were just figuring out what the Worldwide 117 00:07:35,522 --> 00:07:38,562 Speaker 1: Web could do. So we had people fill out profile pages. 118 00:07:38,642 --> 00:07:40,802 Speaker 1: We allowed them to write a profile, what school they 119 00:07:40,842 --> 00:07:43,322 Speaker 1: went to, neighbors that they grew up, interest hobbies. They 120 00:07:43,322 --> 00:07:45,802 Speaker 1: can search for other people in the community. We had 121 00:07:45,842 --> 00:07:48,842 Speaker 1: a web based instant messenger. We had a way to 122 00:07:48,842 --> 00:07:51,402 Speaker 1: message each other directly. We had chat rooms, we had 123 00:07:51,402 --> 00:07:56,002 Speaker 1: message boards, and we had this functionality of adding someone 124 00:07:56,002 --> 00:08:01,642 Speaker 1: as a friend, which was very new. Adding friends and 125 00:08:01,722 --> 00:08:05,442 Speaker 1: messaging people might sound a lot like the social media 126 00:08:05,522 --> 00:08:09,602 Speaker 1: we use now. This was a big moment in Internet history. 127 00:08:09,882 --> 00:08:13,762 Speaker 1: It was new and exciting, and you have to remember 128 00:08:13,842 --> 00:08:18,522 Speaker 1: that technology in the nineties had limitations. Dial Up was slow, 129 00:08:18,762 --> 00:08:23,122 Speaker 1: and devices were expensive. A digital camera could cost hundreds 130 00:08:23,122 --> 00:08:26,282 Speaker 1: of dollars. This is why the Internet was still at 131 00:08:26,322 --> 00:08:31,082 Speaker 1: this point mostly text based. Asianav As, a small community 132 00:08:31,122 --> 00:08:34,282 Speaker 1: based effort, found a way to work around these challenges, 133 00:08:34,522 --> 00:08:36,922 Speaker 1: but a lot of people didn't have a digital camera. 134 00:08:37,202 --> 00:08:39,602 Speaker 1: We said, you can nil us your photos and we'll 135 00:08:39,602 --> 00:08:42,882 Speaker 1: scan it in for you, and literally we had people 136 00:08:42,922 --> 00:08:45,082 Speaker 1: like nailing photos of scan in first. To put that 137 00:08:45,122 --> 00:08:49,362 Speaker 1: in perspective today, in might tich Mark Suckerberg two point 138 00:08:49,482 --> 00:08:53,922 Speaker 1: nine billion minutes to manually scan all the profile photos 139 00:08:53,922 --> 00:09:01,002 Speaker 1: of Facebook users probably not humanly possible, And it was 140 00:09:01,082 --> 00:09:04,082 Speaker 1: happening at a time when people really didn't share much 141 00:09:04,122 --> 00:09:06,802 Speaker 1: of their lives on the Internet. Then it all started 142 00:09:07,002 --> 00:09:10,122 Speaker 1: really just snowballing, where you just saw people get more 143 00:09:10,122 --> 00:09:14,282 Speaker 1: comfortable over time just sharing more photos or writing more 144 00:09:14,322 --> 00:09:17,562 Speaker 1: content about themselves and then actually posting up photos of 145 00:09:17,642 --> 00:09:20,202 Speaker 1: people getting together and gathering, and then you hear people 146 00:09:20,282 --> 00:09:23,202 Speaker 1: being couples, and then eventually people getting married and eventu 147 00:09:23,322 --> 00:09:27,002 Speaker 1: people having kids, and you're like, wow, this is real. 148 00:09:27,082 --> 00:09:30,082 Speaker 1: It can actually have this dramatic impact on people's lives. 149 00:09:30,282 --> 00:09:33,802 Speaker 1: These people might have been complete strangers before they met 150 00:09:33,842 --> 00:09:36,402 Speaker 1: on Asian av and that's why they were there. They 151 00:09:36,442 --> 00:09:39,682 Speaker 1: were open to meeting new people and using the community 152 00:09:39,762 --> 00:09:43,642 Speaker 1: to be seen and found by others. Asian Avenue touched 153 00:09:43,642 --> 00:09:47,722 Speaker 1: a nerve. Users were signing up fast. The company raised 154 00:09:47,762 --> 00:09:51,042 Speaker 1: money from family and friends and bought servers to support 155 00:09:51,122 --> 00:09:53,922 Speaker 1: the sites growing traffic. And every time we buy server, 156 00:09:54,002 --> 00:09:55,402 Speaker 1: I felt like it was going to crash again because 157 00:09:55,402 --> 00:09:57,682 Speaker 1: there was so much traffic. We realized, Wow, I think 158 00:09:57,682 --> 00:10:10,522 Speaker 1: we're onto something that really works. In nineteen ninety nine, 159 00:10:10,922 --> 00:10:14,642 Speaker 1: AOL was still the largest ISP in the country and 160 00:10:14,722 --> 00:10:19,202 Speaker 1: it would be years before MySpace would launch. Meanwhile, investors 161 00:10:19,202 --> 00:10:23,202 Speaker 1: had taken notice of Asian Avenue. After raising one point 162 00:10:23,202 --> 00:10:26,642 Speaker 1: five million in private equity, the company was in a 163 00:10:26,722 --> 00:10:30,762 Speaker 1: great position to expand. Ben reached out to Omar Wazzo, 164 00:10:31,002 --> 00:10:35,202 Speaker 1: who had previously founded a service called New York Online. Together, 165 00:10:35,282 --> 00:10:39,882 Speaker 1: they came up with a new venture Black Planet. The 166 00:10:40,002 --> 00:10:43,322 Speaker 1: idea was to use the Asian Avenue model to create 167 00:10:43,362 --> 00:10:49,562 Speaker 1: a community destination for black Internet users. Despite their track records, 168 00:10:50,042 --> 00:10:54,002 Speaker 1: the social network wasn't an easy cell to investors. When 169 00:10:54,042 --> 00:10:57,002 Speaker 1: I started pitching, investors basically got laughed out of the room. 170 00:10:57,202 --> 00:11:02,322 Speaker 1: These investors in Silicon Valley said, black people and the Internet. 171 00:11:02,362 --> 00:11:04,802 Speaker 1: I couldn't go raise money because I couldn't get anyone 172 00:11:04,842 --> 00:11:06,242 Speaker 1: to believe me that there were going to be black 173 00:11:06,282 --> 00:11:09,082 Speaker 1: people on the end. But he showed the ambassadors wrong. 174 00:11:09,402 --> 00:11:11,882 Speaker 1: I think two thousand people put their emails in before 175 00:11:11,882 --> 00:11:14,082 Speaker 1: we launch, which we're not even sure why and how 176 00:11:14,082 --> 00:11:15,962 Speaker 1: they stumbled upon him. You know, we sent an email 177 00:11:16,002 --> 00:11:18,042 Speaker 1: out to the two thousand people say hey, the site's up, 178 00:11:18,082 --> 00:11:21,522 Speaker 1: and then like people started telling their friends, and the 179 00:11:21,602 --> 00:11:23,922 Speaker 1: next couple of days we couldn't believe how much traffic 180 00:11:24,002 --> 00:11:26,642 Speaker 1: was coming in. It was an instant hit, just like 181 00:11:26,762 --> 00:11:30,962 Speaker 1: Asian av and soon Black Planet was part of mainstream 182 00:11:31,042 --> 00:11:34,322 Speaker 1: pop culture and it was all like word of mouth, 183 00:11:34,362 --> 00:11:37,082 Speaker 1: and so, you know, Omer and I would get calls 184 00:11:37,082 --> 00:11:39,522 Speaker 1: from people and be like, hey, I heard your ads 185 00:11:39,522 --> 00:11:41,802 Speaker 1: on Hot ninety seven, you know, hip hop station here 186 00:11:41,842 --> 00:11:43,442 Speaker 1: in New York, and I'm like, we're not running ads 187 00:11:43,442 --> 00:11:45,722 Speaker 1: on Hot ninety seven and it's because all the DJ's 188 00:11:45,842 --> 00:11:48,402 Speaker 1: joined Black Planet and we're giving shout outs of Black 189 00:11:48,442 --> 00:11:52,082 Speaker 1: Planet members on the out. At one point, I remember 190 00:11:52,242 --> 00:11:54,042 Speaker 1: someone calling me up and they said, how much you 191 00:11:54,082 --> 00:11:56,402 Speaker 1: did pay Kanye to wrap about Black Planet? And I'm like, 192 00:11:56,762 --> 00:11:59,482 Speaker 1: I don't know. Kanye and Kanye's breakout out in college 193 00:11:59,562 --> 00:12:01,882 Speaker 1: drop Out. He has a song where he wraps about, 194 00:12:01,962 --> 00:12:04,082 Speaker 1: you know, picking up girls in college on Black Planet 195 00:12:04,162 --> 00:12:08,242 Speaker 1: with Tilip quality. The hell is this Melani at eleven 196 00:12:08,322 --> 00:12:12,362 Speaker 1: twenty six telling me that's thirty six twenty six plus 197 00:12:12,562 --> 00:12:15,362 Speaker 1: w Dunit goes a Black Planet b when they give 198 00:12:15,442 --> 00:12:20,722 Speaker 1: Bubble League. Most of the Internet at the time was 199 00:12:20,802 --> 00:12:25,682 Speaker 1: built for a default white user, made by white developers 200 00:12:25,722 --> 00:12:30,602 Speaker 1: funded by white investors. Black Planet and Asian Avenue showed 201 00:12:30,642 --> 00:12:34,362 Speaker 1: how diverse the Internet actually was. They were a hit 202 00:12:34,802 --> 00:12:38,762 Speaker 1: because they recognized the many Internet users of color and 203 00:12:38,922 --> 00:12:43,282 Speaker 1: made space for these communities. Within its first year, Black 204 00:12:43,322 --> 00:12:47,122 Speaker 1: Planet had more than a million users. Here is Omar 205 00:12:47,202 --> 00:12:51,042 Speaker 1: Wazzo explaining their success in an interview with c Span. 206 00:12:51,442 --> 00:12:54,242 Speaker 1: With our first site, Black Planet, we were part of 207 00:12:54,242 --> 00:12:57,242 Speaker 1: why it took off, like wildfire is. We were giving 208 00:12:57,242 --> 00:13:01,762 Speaker 1: people things like, you know, easy instant messaging, easy chat rooms, 209 00:13:01,802 --> 00:13:04,642 Speaker 1: easy ways to create profile pages of themselves, ways to 210 00:13:04,682 --> 00:13:07,762 Speaker 1: post on message boards, all things that are totally standard now. 211 00:13:08,082 --> 00:13:10,682 Speaker 1: But for a while that was something you paid twenty 212 00:13:10,682 --> 00:13:12,682 Speaker 1: dollars a month for on AOL and there was no 213 00:13:12,762 --> 00:13:14,802 Speaker 1: good version of it on the web. How many non 214 00:13:14,962 --> 00:13:18,762 Speaker 1: blacks used Black Planet? The site is about ninety percent 215 00:13:18,762 --> 00:13:21,682 Speaker 1: African Americans. So it's it's, you know, it's open to anybody, 216 00:13:21,842 --> 00:13:25,562 Speaker 1: but but it's really it's it's a you know, like 217 00:13:25,602 --> 00:13:28,242 Speaker 1: any community. It's really people come there because they enjoy 218 00:13:28,442 --> 00:13:32,722 Speaker 1: interacting with the other members. Black Planet and Asian Avenue 219 00:13:33,002 --> 00:13:36,362 Speaker 1: knew their audience. The founders were part of this audience. 220 00:13:36,882 --> 00:13:40,442 Speaker 1: Business was great, but what they couldn't control was the 221 00:13:40,482 --> 00:13:44,322 Speaker 1: broader market. In two thousand, the dot com bubble, as 222 00:13:44,322 --> 00:13:48,722 Speaker 1: it was known, began to pop. Eleven am Man back 223 00:13:48,842 --> 00:13:52,002 Speaker 1: in free fall. Online companies are collapsing on a daily 224 00:13:52,042 --> 00:13:55,122 Speaker 1: basis their lowest price in a year, down one hundred 225 00:13:55,122 --> 00:13:59,282 Speaker 1: and fifty five points, billions of dollars shots dot com 226 00:13:59,282 --> 00:14:02,882 Speaker 1: and e stamps, incinerating tens of thousands of jobs, and 227 00:14:02,922 --> 00:14:10,162 Speaker 1: the carnage is just beginning. Internet stocks plummeted. Hundreds of 228 00:14:10,242 --> 00:14:14,122 Speaker 1: Internet companies went out of business between two thousand and 229 00:14:14,202 --> 00:14:18,242 Speaker 1: two thousand and one. Investors became wary. Anything to do 230 00:14:18,282 --> 00:14:21,562 Speaker 1: with tech seemed like a risky bet Ben and his 231 00:14:21,722 --> 00:14:25,442 Speaker 1: companies had been selling ads, but it wasn't enough. They 232 00:14:25,522 --> 00:14:30,522 Speaker 1: needed a more solid revenue model. Ben looked around and 233 00:14:30,642 --> 00:14:35,042 Speaker 1: noticed which companies were making money. He landed on one 234 00:14:35,202 --> 00:14:39,042 Speaker 1: match dot com, which had launched just a few years earlier. 235 00:14:39,202 --> 00:14:41,322 Speaker 1: And we said, well, we create a separate dating area 236 00:14:41,322 --> 00:14:44,842 Speaker 1: in the site, let people create dating profiles, and we 237 00:14:44,962 --> 00:14:47,562 Speaker 1: charge a description. And so we launched in two thousand 238 00:14:47,562 --> 00:14:51,522 Speaker 1: and one, and it saved the business. Ben's companies survived 239 00:14:51,522 --> 00:14:54,322 Speaker 1: the dot com crash and led a new wave of 240 00:14:54,442 --> 00:14:58,362 Speaker 1: Internet businesses what became known as Web two point zero 241 00:14:59,202 --> 00:15:03,042 Speaker 1: user generated content and connections between people over the web, 242 00:15:03,362 --> 00:15:09,882 Speaker 1: like blogs and social networks. Soon enough, a new competitor 243 00:15:10,042 --> 00:15:12,722 Speaker 1: showed up on the scene. You may not know about 244 00:15:12,842 --> 00:15:17,322 Speaker 1: friends Friendster was founded in Silicon Valley by Jonathan Abrahams 245 00:15:17,362 --> 00:15:19,802 Speaker 1: in two thousand and two and opened to the public 246 00:15:19,962 --> 00:15:23,802 Speaker 1: in two thousand and three. I joined Friendster when like 247 00:15:23,922 --> 00:15:27,882 Speaker 1: nobody was on it. I was Friendster number two to 248 00:15:28,202 --> 00:15:32,042 Speaker 1: five or something. This is Katie and Atopolis. She's a 249 00:15:32,082 --> 00:15:36,002 Speaker 1: tech reporter at Buzzbeed News and was Friendster user number 250 00:15:36,042 --> 00:15:40,242 Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty five or something like that. She 251 00:15:40,402 --> 00:15:42,842 Speaker 1: wasn't super active on the side of first, there wasn't 252 00:15:42,922 --> 00:15:44,762 Speaker 1: much to do on it yet, but soon enough it 253 00:15:44,842 --> 00:15:46,882 Speaker 1: started to pick up. Sort if I remember like the 254 00:15:47,002 --> 00:15:50,442 Speaker 1: spring of two thousand and three, summer two thousand and three, 255 00:15:50,442 --> 00:15:51,802 Speaker 1: I feel like that's when a lot of my other 256 00:15:51,842 --> 00:15:53,562 Speaker 1: friends and it seemed like a lot of people started 257 00:15:53,642 --> 00:15:56,722 Speaker 1: using Friendster. So I loved Friendster. I thought it was 258 00:15:56,762 --> 00:15:58,682 Speaker 1: like so much fun, and because it was the first 259 00:15:58,722 --> 00:16:02,442 Speaker 1: sort of social network experience that I had participated in. 260 00:16:02,642 --> 00:16:05,122 Speaker 1: It is one of the fastest growing sites on the Internet, 261 00:16:05,362 --> 00:16:09,322 Speaker 1: with millions of register users so far. Why so popular 262 00:16:09,882 --> 00:16:12,082 Speaker 1: because it shows the world is not such a big 263 00:16:12,122 --> 00:16:15,442 Speaker 1: and unfriendly place after all. Friendster was a lot like 264 00:16:15,562 --> 00:16:19,722 Speaker 1: Asian Avenue and Black Planet, with profile pages and ways 265 00:16:19,762 --> 00:16:23,402 Speaker 1: to message people, But its defining feature was that Friendster 266 00:16:23,522 --> 00:16:27,962 Speaker 1: made your community of online friends visible, and this allowed 267 00:16:28,002 --> 00:16:30,922 Speaker 1: you to see the chain of connections between you and 268 00:16:31,082 --> 00:16:36,442 Speaker 1: any other Friendster user. Imagine it's summer of two thousand 269 00:16:36,442 --> 00:16:39,562 Speaker 1: and three and you're looking up people on Friends who 270 00:16:39,562 --> 00:16:42,722 Speaker 1: are fans of the movie Videodrome. You enter a movie 271 00:16:42,722 --> 00:16:45,802 Speaker 1: you like in the Friendster search box and see anyone 272 00:16:45,842 --> 00:16:48,402 Speaker 1: in the world with it listed on their profile page. 273 00:16:48,722 --> 00:16:51,722 Speaker 1: The search brings you to Janet's page. She's twenty six 274 00:16:51,802 --> 00:16:54,602 Speaker 1: years old and lives in Chicago. In the top right 275 00:16:54,642 --> 00:16:57,842 Speaker 1: hand corner, there's a graphic that shows your friend Matt 276 00:16:58,082 --> 00:17:01,562 Speaker 1: is friends with Angela, who's friends with Janet. So she's 277 00:17:01,642 --> 00:17:05,002 Speaker 1: really just someone you're only a few parties away from meeting. 278 00:17:05,042 --> 00:17:07,682 Speaker 1: I r L anyway, right, You want to reach out 279 00:17:07,682 --> 00:17:11,202 Speaker 1: to Janet, But age and location and favorite movies or 280 00:17:11,242 --> 00:17:14,402 Speaker 1: books alone don't show what a person is like, whether 281 00:17:14,482 --> 00:17:16,682 Speaker 1: you'd actually want to be friends with them or ask 282 00:17:16,762 --> 00:17:19,162 Speaker 1: them at at a date. For that, you could scan 283 00:17:19,242 --> 00:17:25,282 Speaker 1: a user's testimonials. So testimonials on friends were it's it's 284 00:17:25,322 --> 00:17:30,722 Speaker 1: such a funny phrase or word that Friendster encouraged you 285 00:17:30,802 --> 00:17:33,442 Speaker 1: to do. People would write these in like the third 286 00:17:33,562 --> 00:17:36,722 Speaker 1: person about the you know for a day day. You know, 287 00:17:36,842 --> 00:17:40,642 Speaker 1: Juan is just the greatest friend and a really special 288 00:17:40,682 --> 00:17:44,162 Speaker 1: and funny person. And I hope you all know how 289 00:17:44,202 --> 00:17:47,042 Speaker 1: wonderful she really is. And I think she's just awesome 290 00:17:47,242 --> 00:17:49,282 Speaker 1: and we had so much fun at the lake this summer. 291 00:17:49,602 --> 00:17:52,482 Speaker 1: You could compare testimonials to what someone might have written 292 00:17:52,482 --> 00:17:56,162 Speaker 1: in a high school yearbook. I remember like writing these 293 00:17:56,242 --> 00:18:01,362 Speaker 1: just really like heartfelt and like thoughtful things, but also 294 00:18:01,482 --> 00:18:04,322 Speaker 1: like you wanted to be really funny too, Like I 295 00:18:04,322 --> 00:18:06,362 Speaker 1: remember like a lot of pressure to be like funny. 296 00:18:07,042 --> 00:18:10,042 Speaker 1: I wanted to do something like hilarious and ironic, like 297 00:18:10,802 --> 00:18:12,762 Speaker 1: you know, I mean also like you know, I was 298 00:18:13,482 --> 00:18:16,602 Speaker 1: twenty two, so I was like kind of stupid. If 299 00:18:16,602 --> 00:18:20,202 Speaker 1: you were on Friendster looking at random people's pages and 300 00:18:20,322 --> 00:18:23,602 Speaker 1: messaging them, it was likely that you were there for dating. 301 00:18:24,042 --> 00:18:26,042 Speaker 1: This is why Friendster always felt like was meant to 302 00:18:26,082 --> 00:18:28,482 Speaker 1: be a dating site a little bit, and it kind 303 00:18:28,482 --> 00:18:30,722 Speaker 1: of seemed like it was asking your friends to sort 304 00:18:30,762 --> 00:18:33,202 Speaker 1: of give you endorsements or Yelp reviews and the way 305 00:18:33,242 --> 00:18:37,762 Speaker 1: that maybe LinkedIn does now or something. Ben's son also 306 00:18:37,802 --> 00:18:40,642 Speaker 1: got an invite to explore Friendster in its first year, 307 00:18:41,082 --> 00:18:43,442 Speaker 1: and I remember the first time someone sent me an 308 00:18:43,442 --> 00:18:45,002 Speaker 1: email and they said, hey, should check out this thing. 309 00:18:45,002 --> 00:18:47,682 Speaker 1: It's it's it's in beta, but here's a password again 310 00:18:47,722 --> 00:18:50,482 Speaker 1: in and I checked it out. I was like, all right, 311 00:18:50,762 --> 00:18:54,482 Speaker 1: it's coming and friends to launch, and there was like 312 00:18:55,042 --> 00:18:58,842 Speaker 1: this big wave of you know, friends stick users, and 313 00:18:59,002 --> 00:19:02,562 Speaker 1: we said, okay, competition is this is the beginning of 314 00:19:02,602 --> 00:19:07,682 Speaker 1: like real competition. Four months after its launch, Friendster had 315 00:19:07,682 --> 00:19:11,122 Speaker 1: a million users. It had taken black Planet a year 316 00:19:11,202 --> 00:19:14,362 Speaker 1: to reach that many users, and it was just the beginning. 317 00:19:24,522 --> 00:19:29,082 Speaker 1: Perhaps Friendster grew too fast. The website was not equipped 318 00:19:29,082 --> 00:19:31,962 Speaker 1: to receive the traffic that was pouring in day after day. 319 00:19:32,162 --> 00:19:35,082 Speaker 1: So people were really frustrated by the glitchy and buggy 320 00:19:35,202 --> 00:19:39,202 Speaker 1: experience on Friendster, and it was constantly like dropping out, 321 00:19:39,842 --> 00:19:43,402 Speaker 1: and so sort of slowly people kept being like, well, 322 00:19:43,402 --> 00:19:46,922 Speaker 1: there's this other sort of alternative to Friendster that it 323 00:19:47,242 --> 00:19:51,122 Speaker 1: functions much more smoothly, called my Space. You should sign up. 324 00:19:51,122 --> 00:19:53,562 Speaker 1: We should all go over to my Space because it doesn't, 325 00:19:53,802 --> 00:19:56,442 Speaker 1: you know, bug out in the same way that Friendster does. 326 00:19:56,442 --> 00:19:59,562 Speaker 1: It doesn't have all these glitches and stuff. Social networks 327 00:19:59,602 --> 00:20:02,642 Speaker 1: aren't fun when you're waiting around for pages to load. 328 00:20:02,922 --> 00:20:06,562 Speaker 1: And I really liked Friendster, Like I had already sort 329 00:20:06,602 --> 00:20:10,762 Speaker 1: of found all my friends on there, and I was 330 00:20:10,842 --> 00:20:14,682 Speaker 1: having fun, and like I like kind of didn't want 331 00:20:14,682 --> 00:20:16,842 Speaker 1: to have to like start over, even though like this 332 00:20:16,922 --> 00:20:20,202 Speaker 1: had probably been about eighteen months tops of being on 333 00:20:20,242 --> 00:20:24,242 Speaker 1: this one platform, but eventually it seemed like a critical 334 00:20:24,282 --> 00:20:26,962 Speaker 1: mass and my friends were all, you know, moving over 335 00:20:27,002 --> 00:20:29,922 Speaker 1: to my Space whenever there would be a friends start outage. 336 00:20:29,962 --> 00:20:33,762 Speaker 1: So that's why eventually I signed up. My Space officially 337 00:20:33,842 --> 00:20:36,922 Speaker 1: launched in August of two thousand and three. It was 338 00:20:36,962 --> 00:20:41,082 Speaker 1: started by Christa Wolf and Tom Anderson you remember them 339 00:20:41,122 --> 00:20:44,482 Speaker 1: from the previous episode, at a company called e Universe. 340 00:20:44,842 --> 00:20:48,762 Speaker 1: They took inspiration from sites like Friends Store at Asian Avenue. 341 00:20:49,122 --> 00:20:52,522 Speaker 1: When they built it, there were only one hundred thousand 342 00:20:52,562 --> 00:20:55,962 Speaker 1: MySpace users in October of two thousand and three, but 343 00:20:56,042 --> 00:20:59,242 Speaker 1: the following year, having picked up a sizeable number of 344 00:20:59,362 --> 00:21:06,162 Speaker 1: dissatisfied Friends Store users, the site exploded to five million users. 345 00:21:06,682 --> 00:21:10,082 Speaker 1: This week, MySpace became the most visited website in the 346 00:21:10,162 --> 00:21:15,242 Speaker 1: United States, overtaking Yahoo and Google. This is now officially 347 00:21:15,802 --> 00:21:19,682 Speaker 1: the MySpace era. MySpace had its biggest day ever with 348 00:21:19,842 --> 00:21:23,922 Speaker 1: four point three billion page views with a bat that 349 00:21:24,402 --> 00:21:29,002 Speaker 1: was in one day. Yeah, there was definitely like this 350 00:21:29,042 --> 00:21:33,682 Speaker 1: sort of awkward transition period where my friends seemed to 351 00:21:33,802 --> 00:21:37,042 Speaker 1: both be on both platforms and trying to figure out 352 00:21:37,442 --> 00:21:40,002 Speaker 1: which was the more useful one to be And I 353 00:21:40,042 --> 00:21:42,322 Speaker 1: think that period didn't last too long because it became 354 00:21:42,322 --> 00:21:45,522 Speaker 1: pretty obvious pretty quickly that my Space was a lot 355 00:21:45,642 --> 00:21:50,002 Speaker 1: more popular than Friendster, and Friendster was, you know, continuing 356 00:21:50,042 --> 00:21:54,842 Speaker 1: to glitch and die out. Like Friendster, MySpace encouraged a 357 00:21:54,922 --> 00:21:57,922 Speaker 1: lot of repetitive behavior. Let's say you have a crush 358 00:21:57,962 --> 00:22:00,962 Speaker 1: on someone. Now, obviously you're going to be checking their 359 00:22:01,002 --> 00:22:03,322 Speaker 1: page like five times a day to see if there's 360 00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:05,402 Speaker 1: any new comments or any you know, what are they 361 00:22:05,522 --> 00:22:08,642 Speaker 1: up to? You know, you really had a specific interest 362 00:22:08,682 --> 00:22:10,882 Speaker 1: in someone and you wanted to find out, like what's 363 00:22:10,922 --> 00:22:13,282 Speaker 1: going on in their life, like who are they talking to? 364 00:22:13,442 --> 00:22:16,922 Speaker 1: You had to be on their page looking at all 365 00:22:16,962 --> 00:22:20,562 Speaker 1: their stuff all the time. You know, it's big time suck, 366 00:22:20,562 --> 00:22:22,802 Speaker 1: a lot of work, a lot of work having to 367 00:22:22,802 --> 00:22:25,922 Speaker 1: crush On MySpace, you'd go to someone's page to see 368 00:22:25,922 --> 00:22:28,522 Speaker 1: if they were in a relationship or not, if they 369 00:22:28,562 --> 00:22:32,242 Speaker 1: were listing new bands under their favorite music or different 370 00:22:32,242 --> 00:22:36,282 Speaker 1: movies on their profiles, just like Friendster. But here is 371 00:22:36,282 --> 00:22:39,362 Speaker 1: where the two biggest social networks in the early outs 372 00:22:39,602 --> 00:22:43,402 Speaker 1: were not the same. On Friendster, users related to each 373 00:22:43,402 --> 00:22:47,602 Speaker 1: other as a chain of connections. Your friend Matt knows Angela, 374 00:22:47,922 --> 00:22:51,802 Speaker 1: who knows Janet? But on MySpace, it didn't really matter 375 00:22:51,842 --> 00:22:55,682 Speaker 1: if people were your friends or strangers or real or fake. 376 00:22:56,002 --> 00:22:59,322 Speaker 1: You added whomever you wanted. You showed other people on 377 00:22:59,362 --> 00:23:03,162 Speaker 1: MySpace who really mattered to you by selecting users for 378 00:23:03,242 --> 00:23:08,122 Speaker 1: your top eight. For young people, that is, there's a 379 00:23:08,162 --> 00:23:11,482 Speaker 1: lot of a lot of mental math and calculation into 380 00:23:11,562 --> 00:23:15,642 Speaker 1: who your favorite eight friends are going to be because 381 00:23:15,642 --> 00:23:19,522 Speaker 1: you know the perception of who you know. You want 382 00:23:19,562 --> 00:23:24,002 Speaker 1: to show the world those people are and stuff. And 383 00:23:24,002 --> 00:23:27,402 Speaker 1: you wouldn't even watch your other friends to see, Oh, 384 00:23:27,522 --> 00:23:32,522 Speaker 1: had they You know, Susie just took out Luke from 385 00:23:32,562 --> 00:23:34,722 Speaker 1: her top eight. I guess they must have broken up. 386 00:23:34,922 --> 00:23:39,562 Speaker 1: Top eight created competition. It encouraged users to curate their 387 00:23:39,602 --> 00:23:43,162 Speaker 1: friends and spotlight people or bands that reflected on their 388 00:23:43,162 --> 00:23:49,602 Speaker 1: personalities and personal taste. MySpace was loose. It was crazy 389 00:23:49,762 --> 00:23:54,362 Speaker 1: and energetic. From the glittery, squeezy design to the carefree 390 00:23:54,402 --> 00:23:59,282 Speaker 1: way people communicated on it, MySpace felt like a party 391 00:23:59,322 --> 00:24:02,242 Speaker 1: on the internet. It made friends to look like online 392 00:24:02,242 --> 00:24:06,762 Speaker 1: banking or some government run database. In comparison, people talk 393 00:24:07,042 --> 00:24:11,082 Speaker 1: more casually on MySpace. Even in testimonials. He would just 394 00:24:11,202 --> 00:24:14,962 Speaker 1: kind of like say like hey, what's up, or like, hey, 395 00:24:15,002 --> 00:24:16,762 Speaker 1: what are you doing Friday night? You know, you would 396 00:24:16,842 --> 00:24:18,402 Speaker 1: kind of use it as a like almost like a 397 00:24:18,482 --> 00:24:23,122 Speaker 1: DM method. By the way, all of this was written 398 00:24:23,162 --> 00:24:26,242 Speaker 1: in hot pink and white font over a black background. 399 00:24:26,722 --> 00:24:30,042 Speaker 1: My Space unlike Friendster, and allowed you to sort of 400 00:24:30,082 --> 00:24:35,402 Speaker 1: tweak the HTML on your profile page so that you could, 401 00:24:35,682 --> 00:24:38,882 Speaker 1: you know, change the color of the background or you know, 402 00:24:38,962 --> 00:24:43,402 Speaker 1: have a song plane when people looked at your page, 403 00:24:45,562 --> 00:24:49,002 Speaker 1: which you know, honestly it was right annoying, but people 404 00:24:49,002 --> 00:24:50,482 Speaker 1: were you know, put a lot of thought into what 405 00:24:50,562 --> 00:24:52,402 Speaker 1: song they were in picking stuff like it was really 406 00:24:52,442 --> 00:24:55,122 Speaker 1: fun spending a lot of time on your own profile. 407 00:24:55,282 --> 00:24:57,402 Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of like it's fun spending a 408 00:24:57,442 --> 00:25:01,882 Speaker 1: lot of time getting dressed, you know for a big 409 00:25:01,962 --> 00:25:03,922 Speaker 1: night out and doing your hair. You know, I think 410 00:25:03,962 --> 00:25:06,082 Speaker 1: that like people like that aspect of it. It's a 411 00:25:06,122 --> 00:25:09,962 Speaker 1: little bit narcissi. Ben's son also noticed that my Space 412 00:25:10,082 --> 00:25:12,722 Speaker 1: was tapping into the new possibility as a web two 413 00:25:12,762 --> 00:25:17,482 Speaker 1: point zero with its customizable pages. So people put all 414 00:25:17,522 --> 00:25:21,122 Speaker 1: these photos and scrolling texts and you know, text that 415 00:25:21,162 --> 00:25:24,802 Speaker 1: would blink, and like, I mean, everyone thought they were 416 00:25:24,882 --> 00:25:27,562 Speaker 1: like the best designer in the world. In reality, most 417 00:25:27,562 --> 00:25:31,842 Speaker 1: people were terrible designers. So yes, it's like you allow 418 00:25:32,122 --> 00:25:34,802 Speaker 1: allow people to have self expression, but in reality of 419 00:25:34,922 --> 00:25:38,322 Speaker 1: the like, the experience was like pretty jumped up. Traffic 420 00:25:38,362 --> 00:25:41,882 Speaker 1: on my Space was growing every day to the detriment 421 00:25:42,002 --> 00:25:46,202 Speaker 1: of Ben's companies. We definitely saw an impact on traffic 422 00:25:46,562 --> 00:25:51,882 Speaker 1: because we realized Asian Black latinos like, yes, they want 423 00:25:51,882 --> 00:25:54,522 Speaker 1: to be part of their own communities, but they also 424 00:25:54,602 --> 00:25:57,162 Speaker 1: want to interact broadly, more broadly with people out there. 425 00:25:57,162 --> 00:25:59,402 Speaker 1: And now we get let you connect with your white 426 00:25:59,402 --> 00:26:04,562 Speaker 1: friends and your Arabic friends and etc. Etc. Ben had 427 00:26:04,722 --> 00:26:08,162 Speaker 1: ideas about ways to create connections between the communities on 428 00:26:08,242 --> 00:26:11,402 Speaker 1: Black Planet and Asian av but these sites were designed 429 00:26:11,402 --> 00:26:14,922 Speaker 1: for a specific community first, rather than the whole world. 430 00:26:15,362 --> 00:26:17,682 Speaker 1: When people would sometimes critique us on like, oh, are 431 00:26:17,802 --> 00:26:22,442 Speaker 1: you promoting racial divides, you know, we would say look 432 00:26:22,642 --> 00:26:25,442 Speaker 1: absolutely not. Like we would tell you. I would tell you, 433 00:26:25,522 --> 00:26:28,002 Speaker 1: as an Asian American, having a good understanding of your 434 00:26:28,002 --> 00:26:31,802 Speaker 1: own identity and your own community first and foremost is 435 00:26:31,842 --> 00:26:34,402 Speaker 1: so important for you to be open to understanding other 436 00:26:34,402 --> 00:26:36,922 Speaker 1: people's identity and communities. And that's where we were doing 437 00:26:37,002 --> 00:26:39,922 Speaker 1: with an Asian Avenue. Was allowing people to actually better 438 00:26:40,002 --> 00:26:45,322 Speaker 1: understand their community in themselves. When my Space grew rapidly, 439 00:26:45,682 --> 00:26:49,802 Speaker 1: Asian Avenue began to lose that community. You really kind 440 00:26:49,802 --> 00:26:54,882 Speaker 1: of saw MySpace start kind of really leapfrogging us in traffic. 441 00:26:55,402 --> 00:26:58,642 Speaker 1: Users who had frequented both sites began to go to 442 00:26:58,722 --> 00:27:01,602 Speaker 1: MySpace for the kind of conversations they would have had 443 00:27:01,682 --> 00:27:05,202 Speaker 1: on Asian av or Black Planet. Investors were flocking to 444 00:27:05,282 --> 00:27:09,122 Speaker 1: MySpace over black Planet. It an Asian Avenue too, and 445 00:27:09,242 --> 00:27:13,322 Speaker 1: Ben's business began to slow down. I think, you know, 446 00:27:14,082 --> 00:27:15,962 Speaker 1: as it goes with tech and almost anything else, but 447 00:27:16,042 --> 00:27:19,602 Speaker 1: especially tech, you know, being first doesn't mean that you're 448 00:27:19,642 --> 00:27:21,922 Speaker 1: going to be the winner in my space even prove 449 00:27:22,002 --> 00:27:23,682 Speaker 1: that out. And in fact, in a lot of ways, 450 00:27:24,322 --> 00:27:27,122 Speaker 1: you're kind of trying to leap frog the other person 451 00:27:27,522 --> 00:27:30,762 Speaker 1: and using what you see currently and saying, well this 452 00:27:30,842 --> 00:27:32,642 Speaker 1: is pretty good, but how do I make it even 453 00:27:32,682 --> 00:27:35,362 Speaker 1: that much better? Even in a lot of ways, you know, 454 00:27:35,562 --> 00:27:39,682 Speaker 1: because you're early, sometimes I could be a hindrance in 455 00:27:39,762 --> 00:27:42,802 Speaker 1: terms of long term, in terms of you know, eventually 456 00:27:42,802 --> 00:27:45,602 Speaker 1: getting leap frog, because people take your ideas, get smarter 457 00:27:45,642 --> 00:27:48,962 Speaker 1: about it, and then sometimes you're kind of left in 458 00:27:49,002 --> 00:27:52,282 Speaker 1: a tough position being the existing player because you have 459 00:27:52,522 --> 00:27:55,282 Speaker 1: years of millions of lines of code and then you 460 00:27:55,322 --> 00:27:57,042 Speaker 1: have to like retool it, while someone says, I get 461 00:27:57,042 --> 00:28:00,002 Speaker 1: to start from scratch. So that's just a big advantage 462 00:28:00,042 --> 00:28:04,442 Speaker 1: sometimes that you get into technology. Ben's social network stuck 463 00:28:04,522 --> 00:28:07,562 Speaker 1: around for a while. He eventually just id to sell 464 00:28:07,682 --> 00:28:11,562 Speaker 1: for around thirty eight million, eleven years after he and 465 00:28:11,642 --> 00:28:15,722 Speaker 1: some friends had started it from his Manhattan apartment. Still, 466 00:28:16,042 --> 00:28:18,722 Speaker 1: Asian Avenue set the stage for the world we live 467 00:28:18,762 --> 00:28:22,562 Speaker 1: in today. Ben's work was visionary. I think we're especially 468 00:28:22,562 --> 00:28:26,202 Speaker 1: proud that behind the scenes, at the very dawn of 469 00:28:26,282 --> 00:28:29,402 Speaker 1: social networking sites was this little company out of New 470 00:28:29,482 --> 00:28:35,202 Speaker 1: York focused on, you know, minorities that really kind of 471 00:28:35,202 --> 00:28:39,682 Speaker 1: set the movement. And we're pretty broad in that. Asian 472 00:28:39,762 --> 00:28:43,962 Speaker 1: av had a focus and commitment to its users, but 473 00:28:44,082 --> 00:28:47,522 Speaker 1: it lost out. Friendster, on the other hands, had a 474 00:28:47,562 --> 00:28:52,402 Speaker 1: more secuitous journey after losing its American audience, The company 475 00:28:52,442 --> 00:28:55,642 Speaker 1: became a hit in Southeast Asia. In two thousand and eight, 476 00:28:56,002 --> 00:28:59,242 Speaker 1: it was the most visited website and both the Philippines 477 00:28:59,322 --> 00:29:04,802 Speaker 1: and Indonesia. Nonetheless, the company officially shuttered in twenty eighteen. 478 00:29:05,882 --> 00:29:09,682 Speaker 1: By two thousand, my Space was the biggest website in 479 00:29:09,682 --> 00:29:14,242 Speaker 1: the world, with over one hundred million users. Not only 480 00:29:14,362 --> 00:29:18,922 Speaker 1: was MySpace huge, the platform was making people on it famous, 481 00:29:19,402 --> 00:29:22,242 Speaker 1: these sort of you know, proto influencers, and people just 482 00:29:22,362 --> 00:29:25,522 Speaker 1: wanted to see pictures of them, which is like totally normal. 483 00:29:25,802 --> 00:29:27,682 Speaker 1: I mean one of the most exciting things about my 484 00:29:27,762 --> 00:29:30,762 Speaker 1: Space was that you could just see what other kids 485 00:29:30,962 --> 00:29:33,962 Speaker 1: looked like. You know, like I think we sort of 486 00:29:34,482 --> 00:29:37,122 Speaker 1: take for granted a little bit that that was not 487 00:29:37,242 --> 00:29:41,162 Speaker 1: really like possible to see what, you know, kids in 488 00:29:41,202 --> 00:29:44,762 Speaker 1: the next town or the next state looked like, you know, 489 00:29:44,882 --> 00:29:47,602 Speaker 1: in high school, that what are they wearing, what kind 490 00:29:47,602 --> 00:29:50,882 Speaker 1: of hairdos do they have? Like do they want to 491 00:29:50,922 --> 00:29:53,762 Speaker 1: be my boyfriend? You know, like that was really exciting 492 00:29:53,842 --> 00:29:57,442 Speaker 1: for teenagers and young people, and that didn't really exist 493 00:29:57,482 --> 00:30:01,082 Speaker 1: in a broadway before. More on this and the next 494 00:30:01,122 --> 00:30:05,562 Speaker 1: episode of Main Accounts The Story of MySpace. Thank you 495 00:30:05,602 --> 00:30:09,482 Speaker 1: to our guests Bens and Katie Ntopolis. Thanks for listening 496 00:30:09,522 --> 00:30:13,362 Speaker 1: to Main Accounts, The Story of MySpace and iHeart original 497 00:30:13,482 --> 00:30:18,442 Speaker 1: podcast Main Accounts. The Story of MySpace is written and 498 00:30:18,482 --> 00:30:22,682 Speaker 1: hosted by me Joanne McNeil, editing its sound design by 499 00:30:22,682 --> 00:30:27,602 Speaker 1: Mike Coscarelli and Mary Do. Original music by Alice McCoy, 500 00:30:27,962 --> 00:30:32,122 Speaker 1: Mixing and mastering by Josh Fisher, Research in fact checking 501 00:30:32,322 --> 00:30:37,122 Speaker 1: by Austin Thompson, Jocelyn Sears, and Marissa Brown. Show logo 502 00:30:37,322 --> 00:30:42,202 Speaker 1: by Lucy Kntinia. Special thanks to Ryan Murdoch Grace Views 503 00:30:42,562 --> 00:30:46,202 Speaker 1: at the Head Frasier. Our associate producer is Lauren Philip, 504 00:30:46,402 --> 00:30:50,482 Speaker 1: our senior producer is Mike Coscarelli, and our executive producer 505 00:30:50,642 --> 00:30:53,882 Speaker 1: is Jason English. If you're enjoying the show, leave us 506 00:30:53,882 --> 00:30:57,682 Speaker 1: a rating and a review on your favorite podcast platform Sadly, 507 00:30:58,322 --> 00:31:01,242 Speaker 1: my MySpace page is no longer around, but you can 508 00:31:01,282 --> 00:31:04,042 Speaker 1: find me on Twitter at Joe McK let us hear 509 00:31:04,122 --> 00:31:10,042 Speaker 1: your MySpace story, aunt's check on my book lurking main accounts. 510 00:31:10,042 --> 00:31:14,322 Speaker 1: The Story of MySpace is a production of iHeart Podcasts.