1 00:00:10,282 --> 00:00:15,762 Speaker 1: This is an I heeart original. If the beginning of 2 00:00:16,082 --> 00:00:19,042 Speaker 1: Tila Tequila being on my radar as this, like, you know, 3 00:00:19,762 --> 00:00:23,002 Speaker 1: my Space influencer for being a queer woman of color, 4 00:00:23,322 --> 00:00:26,842 Speaker 1: if that was like the promise of the Internet. The 5 00:00:26,922 --> 00:00:28,802 Speaker 1: day that I saw that image of her in my 6 00:00:28,922 --> 00:00:31,882 Speaker 1: hometown in DC doing a Nazi salute at a restaurant 7 00:00:31,922 --> 00:00:34,642 Speaker 1: with a bunch of alt right dirtbags, that was the 8 00:00:34,762 --> 00:00:36,522 Speaker 1: nail in the coffin. And so I feel like that 9 00:00:36,642 --> 00:00:41,082 Speaker 1: moment for me really crystallized where we started and unfortunately 10 00:00:41,202 --> 00:00:44,402 Speaker 1: where we wound up. I'm Joanne McNeil, and this is 11 00:00:44,642 --> 00:00:52,442 Speaker 1: main accounts the story of my Space Episode three, MySpace Famous. 12 00:00:55,762 --> 00:00:59,802 Speaker 1: In this episode, we're going to discuss how MySpace, like 13 00:01:00,002 --> 00:01:04,802 Speaker 1: reality TV, became a vehicle for celebrity. The people who 14 00:01:04,802 --> 00:01:07,882 Speaker 1: became famous through the platform gave way to the culture 15 00:01:08,002 --> 00:01:15,802 Speaker 1: of influencers. MySpace felt like a party. I've heard a 16 00:01:15,802 --> 00:01:18,682 Speaker 1: few people make this comparison when I've talked about the 17 00:01:18,682 --> 00:01:23,522 Speaker 1: platform with them. Recently. Julia Angwin said it in the 18 00:01:23,562 --> 00:01:28,482 Speaker 1: first episode of our series. My Space was definitely a 19 00:01:28,482 --> 00:01:32,482 Speaker 1: party atmosphere, and my friend Dorothy Santos said it too 20 00:01:32,962 --> 00:01:35,482 Speaker 1: when we were reminiscing about it the other day. So 21 00:01:35,562 --> 00:01:38,882 Speaker 1: I wasn't really seeing my Space as a professional platform. 22 00:01:38,882 --> 00:01:41,682 Speaker 1: I saw it as this kind of digital party that 23 00:01:41,842 --> 00:01:46,682 Speaker 1: just would I could pop in anytime. Well, what's something 24 00:01:46,762 --> 00:01:49,882 Speaker 1: people usually want to know about a party before they 25 00:01:49,882 --> 00:01:54,362 Speaker 1: show up? Who is going to be there? The answer 26 00:01:54,562 --> 00:02:01,042 Speaker 1: was Tila Tequila was that very mind you go, Miss Tila. Also, 27 00:02:02,402 --> 00:02:06,762 Speaker 1: Tila was the party before my Space. Tila was a 28 00:02:06,962 --> 00:02:11,562 Speaker 1: model and playboy and car shows. In two thousand and three, 29 00:02:11,682 --> 00:02:15,642 Speaker 1: she appeared on Surviving Nugents, a reality show on H 30 00:02:15,762 --> 00:02:21,402 Speaker 1: one hosted by Ted Nugent on his Texas ranchmen. I 31 00:02:21,522 --> 00:02:27,562 Speaker 1: can't handle this moral. But it was social media that 32 00:02:27,682 --> 00:02:33,562 Speaker 1: made Tila famous, the very first MySpace kind of influencer 33 00:02:33,682 --> 00:02:36,402 Speaker 1: celebrity that I was very, very interested in, and like, 34 00:02:36,722 --> 00:02:39,202 Speaker 1: she was on my Top eight and it was this person, 35 00:02:39,402 --> 00:02:41,842 Speaker 1: Tila Tequila. When I think about, like, who was the 36 00:02:41,962 --> 00:02:46,602 Speaker 1: first MySpace big account, it was her. That's Bridge Todd, 37 00:02:46,842 --> 00:02:49,562 Speaker 1: host of the podcast There Are No Girls on the 38 00:02:49,602 --> 00:02:53,362 Speaker 1: Internet on my Space way back when. Bridget was one 39 00:02:53,562 --> 00:02:57,042 Speaker 1: of Tila's hundreds of thousands of fans. One of the 40 00:02:57,082 --> 00:03:00,602 Speaker 1: notable things about her is that she was openly queer, 41 00:03:01,002 --> 00:03:03,482 Speaker 1: and you know, I'm queer and she's a person of color. 42 00:03:03,522 --> 00:03:06,002 Speaker 1: I'm a person of color, and I remember thinking like, wow, 43 00:03:06,042 --> 00:03:09,362 Speaker 1: how cool, Like this famous person of color, you know, 44 00:03:09,442 --> 00:03:14,322 Speaker 1: has a platform around the fact that she's queer. Tila, 45 00:03:14,562 --> 00:03:18,082 Speaker 1: the daughter of the Enemy's immigrants, was no heiress like 46 00:03:18,242 --> 00:03:21,722 Speaker 1: Paris Hilton. Her parents didn't have a lot of money. 47 00:03:22,082 --> 00:03:24,162 Speaker 1: She had to hustle to get her name out in 48 00:03:24,202 --> 00:03:28,282 Speaker 1: the world. The Internet was part of that hustle. I 49 00:03:28,322 --> 00:03:36,522 Speaker 1: haven't an indiction. Theis yes, okay, So my therapist is 50 00:03:36,562 --> 00:03:40,002 Speaker 1: that I have a highly indicted personality, and you know 51 00:03:41,242 --> 00:03:46,522 Speaker 1: I do. So it's I'm indict So I'm always sweeting 52 00:03:46,522 --> 00:03:49,162 Speaker 1: on my life, trying to fans. I do this, do that, 53 00:03:49,802 --> 00:03:55,642 Speaker 1: and I'm indicted to shopping, I'm indicted sex, you know whatever. 54 00:03:56,922 --> 00:04:02,082 Speaker 1: This is how people came to know Tila Tequila. She 55 00:04:02,202 --> 00:04:07,242 Speaker 1: sent friend requests to hundreds and hundreds of people. First, 56 00:04:07,242 --> 00:04:11,602 Speaker 1: she did this on Friendster, and Tila ran into some 57 00:04:11,682 --> 00:04:16,762 Speaker 1: trouble doing this because Friendster, compared to my Space, did 58 00:04:16,802 --> 00:04:23,762 Speaker 1: not feel like a party. Friendster was pretty rigid about rules. 59 00:04:25,322 --> 00:04:29,682 Speaker 1: In the summer of two thousand and three, friends started 60 00:04:29,762 --> 00:04:35,202 Speaker 1: cracking down on accounts known as fakesters, accounts that represented 61 00:04:35,322 --> 00:04:40,362 Speaker 1: anything other than a user's real identity. So you might 62 00:04:40,402 --> 00:04:44,362 Speaker 1: have seen a Marilyn Monroe fakester that was a user 63 00:04:44,402 --> 00:04:49,082 Speaker 1: impersonating Marilyn Monroe on Friendster, or you might have come 64 00:04:49,122 --> 00:04:54,202 Speaker 1: across a snowy Owl fakester and people obsessed with birdwatching 65 00:04:54,522 --> 00:05:01,842 Speaker 1: would have friended that account. The fakesters became sort of 66 00:05:01,922 --> 00:05:08,162 Speaker 1: like community pages, but Friendster founder Jonathan Abrams hated them. 67 00:05:08,202 --> 00:05:11,402 Speaker 1: He hired a bunch of moderators to remove them all. 68 00:05:15,842 --> 00:05:20,122 Speaker 1: A group of these outlaw fisters came together and wrote 69 00:05:20,122 --> 00:05:25,882 Speaker 1: an open letter protesting Friendster's policy. The ringleader was someone 70 00:05:25,882 --> 00:05:29,282 Speaker 1: who went by Roy Batti on frintster, you know, like 71 00:05:29,402 --> 00:05:34,202 Speaker 1: the Replicate and blade Runner. The corporate masters at Frinster 72 00:05:34,322 --> 00:05:38,082 Speaker 1: should be thrilled that they have such a vibrant online 73 00:05:38,162 --> 00:05:41,442 Speaker 1: community as they now have on their hands. What they 74 00:05:41,522 --> 00:05:46,042 Speaker 1: forget is that a living community, by definition, has a 75 00:05:46,162 --> 00:05:51,082 Speaker 1: life of its own. Deleting the photos indoor entire accounts 76 00:05:51,082 --> 00:05:55,442 Speaker 1: of fasters is going to rudely, terribly backfire against the 77 00:05:55,482 --> 00:05:59,602 Speaker 1: management of this site and will ultimately take the entire community, 78 00:05:59,882 --> 00:06:05,002 Speaker 1: real or parodied, down with it. The rumblings of decept 79 00:06:05,002 --> 00:06:08,882 Speaker 1: are already grown, getting outer by the minute. If Friendster 80 00:06:09,002 --> 00:06:11,242 Speaker 1: wants to see all of the good will, an excellent 81 00:06:11,282 --> 00:06:14,242 Speaker 1: word of mouth and is generated go down and scorching, 82 00:06:14,682 --> 00:06:19,002 Speaker 1: smoking very public flames, then they can go right ahead 83 00:06:19,042 --> 00:06:23,282 Speaker 1: with their little extermination campaign. The Internet is a big place, 84 00:06:23,722 --> 00:06:28,002 Speaker 1: and we can easily take our party somewhere else, to 85 00:06:28,082 --> 00:06:33,642 Speaker 1: a site where we are not only tolerated, but enthusiastically embraced. 86 00:06:35,242 --> 00:06:41,842 Speaker 1: You know where they took that party my Space. I mean, 87 00:06:41,962 --> 00:06:47,082 Speaker 1: of course, the faxters went to my Space. Friendster was 88 00:06:47,122 --> 00:06:51,642 Speaker 1: so aggressive about kicking out fasters that it impacted people 89 00:06:51,882 --> 00:06:55,922 Speaker 1: using their real identities on the platform too. This happened 90 00:06:55,962 --> 00:07:00,762 Speaker 1: to Tila Tequila. She kept getting kicked off Friendster for 91 00:07:00,922 --> 00:07:05,282 Speaker 1: adding too many friends. Tila knew about my Space because 92 00:07:05,322 --> 00:07:09,482 Speaker 1: Tom Anderson had been an flying acquaintance. He sent her 93 00:07:09,522 --> 00:07:12,602 Speaker 1: a bunch of invites to join MySpace, but she declined 94 00:07:13,002 --> 00:07:17,762 Speaker 1: it wasn't cool. In Tila's mind. MySpace wasn't a party yet. 95 00:07:17,802 --> 00:07:20,402 Speaker 1: The site had just launched, and no one was really 96 00:07:20,522 --> 00:07:27,162 Speaker 1: on MySpace yet except for euniverse staff, and they're immediate friends. Still, 97 00:07:27,202 --> 00:07:30,922 Speaker 1: it was a hassle dealing with Friendster mods. Each time 98 00:07:31,002 --> 00:07:34,922 Speaker 1: Tela's account was deleted from Friendster, she'd have to rebuild 99 00:07:35,122 --> 00:07:38,842 Speaker 1: her list of friends manually add all of her friends again. 100 00:07:39,402 --> 00:07:42,842 Speaker 1: And in September two thousand and three, when Tila got 101 00:07:42,922 --> 00:07:46,442 Speaker 1: kicked off Friendster for the fifth time, she'd had enough. 102 00:07:47,322 --> 00:07:53,002 Speaker 1: Tila finally took Tom up on his offer, and Tila 103 00:07:53,082 --> 00:07:57,562 Speaker 1: didn't just sign up for MySpace, she invited everyone she 104 00:07:57,642 --> 00:08:01,242 Speaker 1: knew on Friendster to join her there. At this point, 105 00:08:01,442 --> 00:08:06,202 Speaker 1: after months of strategies to evade Friendster mods, she had 106 00:08:06,322 --> 00:08:11,242 Speaker 1: tens of thousands of friends on friends to earth, MySpace 107 00:08:11,362 --> 00:08:15,962 Speaker 1: exploded with thousands of new users. By two thousand and six, 108 00:08:16,722 --> 00:08:23,002 Speaker 1: Tila had over a million MySpace friends. It's possible MySpace 109 00:08:23,122 --> 00:08:26,442 Speaker 1: never would have taken off without Tila. If she had 110 00:08:26,482 --> 00:08:31,722 Speaker 1: declined Tom's invitation, social media history might have gone another way, 111 00:08:32,122 --> 00:08:36,322 Speaker 1: and without MySpace we probably never would have heard about 112 00:08:36,402 --> 00:08:40,122 Speaker 1: Tila Tequila. Tila was a new kind of star, someone 113 00:08:40,162 --> 00:08:44,602 Speaker 1: who became famous because of the Internet. Sure, on MySpace 114 00:08:44,602 --> 00:08:47,722 Speaker 1: you called each other friends, but what Tila and many 115 00:08:47,802 --> 00:08:52,882 Speaker 1: other Internet celebrities were collecting, we're really just fans. Something 116 00:08:52,882 --> 00:08:55,842 Speaker 1: about her really represents the sort of duality of all 117 00:08:55,882 --> 00:08:59,522 Speaker 1: of our Internet experiences, and what happened next in Tila's 118 00:08:59,562 --> 00:09:05,002 Speaker 1: career feels representative of how social media itself has changed. 119 00:09:05,482 --> 00:09:07,322 Speaker 1: I think about her all the time. It's just such 120 00:09:07,362 --> 00:09:10,602 Speaker 1: an interesting case study for what social media and the 121 00:09:10,642 --> 00:09:13,402 Speaker 1: Internet can do to people. On the one hand, it 122 00:09:13,402 --> 00:09:16,442 Speaker 1: can be this like fabulous way to connect and to 123 00:09:16,562 --> 00:09:19,842 Speaker 1: like see yourself and be seen and build a platform 124 00:09:19,842 --> 00:09:24,482 Speaker 1: around that. On the other hand, it can be so dark. 125 00:09:30,242 --> 00:09:34,082 Speaker 1: You had these people that kind of became known from 126 00:09:34,122 --> 00:09:36,682 Speaker 1: my space and from this particular scene and had a 127 00:09:36,802 --> 00:09:41,602 Speaker 1: very like definitive aesthetic and sort of cults around them. 128 00:09:41,682 --> 00:09:46,362 Speaker 1: That's Taylor the Runs, a technology reporter at the Washington Post. 129 00:09:46,602 --> 00:09:53,162 Speaker 1: Those people today would be just regular influencers. What actually 130 00:09:53,322 --> 00:09:56,562 Speaker 1: is an influencer When we use that word, what are 131 00:09:56,562 --> 00:09:59,722 Speaker 1: we talking about? I think of it as somebody who 132 00:09:59,962 --> 00:10:05,202 Speaker 1: creates content and sort of monetizes that content through social 133 00:10:05,242 --> 00:10:08,602 Speaker 1: platforms or build an audience through social platforms. So they're 134 00:10:08,602 --> 00:10:11,882 Speaker 1: almost independent media companies where there are people that have 135 00:10:12,082 --> 00:10:15,882 Speaker 1: a lot of times developed an audience for around their 136 00:10:15,882 --> 00:10:18,802 Speaker 1: own personality, but it can also be around a certain 137 00:10:18,802 --> 00:10:22,642 Speaker 1: interest or style or whatever, and then they monetize that 138 00:10:22,882 --> 00:10:25,762 Speaker 1: online audience basically, I guess someone who builds and then 139 00:10:25,802 --> 00:10:31,362 Speaker 1: monetizes an online audience. Taylor makes an interesting distinction. People 140 00:10:31,442 --> 00:10:35,242 Speaker 1: figured out how to get famous on MySpace, but it 141 00:10:35,282 --> 00:10:40,722 Speaker 1: wasn't exactly a business, not like what you see with 142 00:10:40,802 --> 00:10:45,242 Speaker 1: internet celebrity is on Twitch or YouTube or Instagram these days. 143 00:10:45,722 --> 00:10:50,562 Speaker 1: MySpace was pretty like embedded in sort of the music industry, 144 00:10:50,602 --> 00:10:53,402 Speaker 1: not quite the way TikTok is now, but music was 145 00:10:53,442 --> 00:10:55,722 Speaker 1: a strong culture of MySpace, and so you had a 146 00:10:55,762 --> 00:10:59,442 Speaker 1: lot of people growing audiences on the platform and using 147 00:10:59,442 --> 00:11:01,642 Speaker 1: that to get a record deal, you know, or sell 148 00:11:01,682 --> 00:11:04,722 Speaker 1: out shows or promote themselves. And then you kind of 149 00:11:04,762 --> 00:11:08,602 Speaker 1: had these more like individ jewel figures that I think 150 00:11:09,362 --> 00:11:12,762 Speaker 1: seemed like kind of like party type of people. And 151 00:11:12,802 --> 00:11:15,762 Speaker 1: then you of course had celebrities using it as well, 152 00:11:15,802 --> 00:11:19,962 Speaker 1: like you know, Katie Perry again, because it was sort 153 00:11:20,002 --> 00:11:23,562 Speaker 1: of like music adjacent, and Jeffrey Starr started in music. 154 00:11:24,682 --> 00:11:30,082 Speaker 1: Jeffrey Star, like Tila Tequila, was another larger than life 155 00:11:30,362 --> 00:11:35,962 Speaker 1: MySpace superstar. He had an iconic look, mac makeup, hot 156 00:11:36,002 --> 00:11:40,322 Speaker 1: pink hair, a look that you could instantly identify in 157 00:11:40,442 --> 00:11:45,522 Speaker 1: a thumbnail profile picture. He got famous for creating drama 158 00:11:45,562 --> 00:11:49,642 Speaker 1: and feuding with other MySpace celebrities. But to be honest, 159 00:11:50,202 --> 00:11:55,642 Speaker 1: Jeffrey Stars deal, I don't get it. Hello, Hey god, 160 00:11:55,682 --> 00:11:59,642 Speaker 1: it's Jeffrey Star. Yeah. Well if it have Fox with me, 161 00:11:59,962 --> 00:12:05,122 Speaker 1: they canna die? Okay, love too by Why does someone 162 00:12:05,562 --> 00:12:07,882 Speaker 1: follow up? Or something like jeff Freestar, Like, what do 163 00:12:07,962 --> 00:12:12,882 Speaker 1: the users who follow the page of a celebrity on 164 00:12:12,922 --> 00:12:16,642 Speaker 1: MySpace get from that interaction? Well, a lot of it 165 00:12:16,682 --> 00:12:21,322 Speaker 1: was like aspiration around kind of like emo culture or 166 00:12:21,362 --> 00:12:24,842 Speaker 1: like esthetics. It was like people with a certain esthetic, 167 00:12:24,962 --> 00:12:27,722 Speaker 1: and you would follow these people because they were like 168 00:12:27,762 --> 00:12:30,522 Speaker 1: a lot of modern day influencers or content creators, they 169 00:12:30,562 --> 00:12:35,202 Speaker 1: were kind of aspirational figures for that era where they 170 00:12:35,202 --> 00:12:38,362 Speaker 1: were kind of leading this cool party girl lifestyle or 171 00:12:38,402 --> 00:12:41,682 Speaker 1: they had like, you know, awesome tattoos and makeup and 172 00:12:41,842 --> 00:12:46,922 Speaker 1: this aesthetic that people really gravitated to. On MySpace, people 173 00:12:46,922 --> 00:12:52,682 Speaker 1: could advertise themselves. Users would post comments like thanks for 174 00:12:52,762 --> 00:12:57,402 Speaker 1: the ad when someone added them as friends. The visibility 175 00:12:57,642 --> 00:13:02,442 Speaker 1: was in a way its own reward. Jeffree Starr could 176 00:13:02,482 --> 00:13:06,882 Speaker 1: get gigs for his band through MySpace. Tila Tequila found 177 00:13:07,042 --> 00:13:11,842 Speaker 1: modeling and acting opportunities through it. But this happened informally, 178 00:13:12,282 --> 00:13:15,962 Speaker 1: and mind you, most people on MySpace were not trying 179 00:13:15,962 --> 00:13:19,282 Speaker 1: to be Tila or Jeffrey. My Space was never really 180 00:13:19,322 --> 00:13:23,482 Speaker 1: like pushing you to like become a creator. You mostly 181 00:13:23,522 --> 00:13:26,322 Speaker 1: just like looked at other people's pages. The stakes were 182 00:13:26,402 --> 00:13:29,762 Speaker 1: so low for the average user, and nothing on the 183 00:13:29,802 --> 00:13:32,962 Speaker 1: internet feels that way now. And if he did become 184 00:13:33,002 --> 00:13:37,042 Speaker 1: famous on my Space, it wasn't entirely clear what that 185 00:13:37,122 --> 00:13:40,802 Speaker 1: would even bring you. I never had a strategy because 186 00:13:40,962 --> 00:13:43,482 Speaker 1: there was no such thing as being an influencer back then, 187 00:13:43,962 --> 00:13:47,042 Speaker 1: so like I literally was just posting my life and 188 00:13:47,122 --> 00:13:49,562 Speaker 1: I guess people enjoyed it, so then I kind of 189 00:13:49,562 --> 00:13:54,562 Speaker 1: built a following. That's Hannah Beeth. She wasn't an influencer, 190 00:13:55,282 --> 00:13:58,682 Speaker 1: but she was definitely my Space famous. I never had 191 00:13:58,722 --> 00:14:00,282 Speaker 1: like a plan where I was like, oh, yeah, like 192 00:14:00,282 --> 00:14:02,202 Speaker 1: I'm going to do this and like that's how many followers. 193 00:14:02,242 --> 00:14:04,002 Speaker 1: I literally just did it because I was having fun, 194 00:14:04,762 --> 00:14:08,162 Speaker 1: and then a following through from that, and people seemed 195 00:14:08,202 --> 00:14:10,202 Speaker 1: to enjoy to watch me and my friends kind of 196 00:14:10,202 --> 00:14:13,882 Speaker 1: live our lives. So Hannah Bath was in high school 197 00:14:13,962 --> 00:14:17,442 Speaker 1: in southern California, where she ran in similar circles with 198 00:14:17,562 --> 00:14:21,242 Speaker 1: Jeffrey Starr they were in each other's top eight. Hannah 199 00:14:21,282 --> 00:14:25,202 Speaker 1: Bath had an offbeat fashion sense, which came through in 200 00:14:25,242 --> 00:14:28,922 Speaker 1: the picture she posted to my Space. When I first 201 00:14:28,962 --> 00:14:30,842 Speaker 1: started on my Space, when I was probably like around 202 00:14:30,922 --> 00:14:33,842 Speaker 1: fifteen or so, I was very into like kind of 203 00:14:33,882 --> 00:14:36,122 Speaker 1: like a vintage like punk look. I was listening to 204 00:14:36,122 --> 00:14:39,842 Speaker 1: a lot of like late seventies punk bands. My cut 205 00:14:39,842 --> 00:14:42,562 Speaker 1: my hair really short, and I just like it was 206 00:14:42,602 --> 00:14:45,522 Speaker 1: kind of like a vintage punk golf look that I 207 00:14:45,562 --> 00:14:47,362 Speaker 1: was going with. But I'd wear like all these like 208 00:14:47,562 --> 00:14:50,802 Speaker 1: wild vintage clothing, like a vintage wedding dress or something crazy. 209 00:14:51,322 --> 00:14:55,442 Speaker 1: Hundreds of thousands of people visited her page just to 210 00:14:55,602 --> 00:14:58,122 Speaker 1: look at her, and then it kind of went from 211 00:14:58,162 --> 00:15:00,722 Speaker 1: that to like, as I was getting older and kind 212 00:15:00,762 --> 00:15:03,122 Speaker 1: of finding like who I was, the whole kind of 213 00:15:03,122 --> 00:15:06,202 Speaker 1: like scene kid thing was starting and I had made 214 00:15:06,282 --> 00:15:08,482 Speaker 1: friends with a few other girls that were also kind 215 00:15:08,482 --> 00:15:11,922 Speaker 1: of like my Space people, and I guess we started 216 00:15:11,962 --> 00:15:16,202 Speaker 1: the whole kind of scene girl look or vibe, and 217 00:15:16,242 --> 00:15:20,202 Speaker 1: then that was just that took off. I mean, I'd like, 218 00:15:20,282 --> 00:15:21,962 Speaker 1: like look at the photos now and like I feel 219 00:15:21,962 --> 00:15:25,042 Speaker 1: like it looks ridiculous, But like back then, like I 220 00:15:25,042 --> 00:15:27,122 Speaker 1: don't know, we thought we looked like so cool. My 221 00:15:27,242 --> 00:15:31,402 Speaker 1: space became a huge part of handabouts daily life. She 222 00:15:31,482 --> 00:15:34,562 Speaker 1: even traveled across the country to meet friends she met 223 00:15:34,642 --> 00:15:37,562 Speaker 1: on my Space. So I think I was like fifteen 224 00:15:37,602 --> 00:15:40,762 Speaker 1: or sixteen. I met this girl who lived in Minnesota, 225 00:15:40,922 --> 00:15:44,242 Speaker 1: and like she had messaged me because I always wore 226 00:15:44,282 --> 00:15:46,762 Speaker 1: like these like blue in extensions because that was a 227 00:15:46,842 --> 00:15:49,682 Speaker 1: big thing back then, which was horrible for your hair. 228 00:15:49,922 --> 00:15:52,202 Speaker 1: And she was like, yeah, look, i'd loved it. It's 229 00:15:52,242 --> 00:15:54,282 Speaker 1: like you did my extensions. And I was like, yeah, 230 00:15:54,362 --> 00:15:56,362 Speaker 1: for sure. So if my dad got me a ticket 231 00:15:56,442 --> 00:15:58,962 Speaker 1: to Minnesota, so about to meet this random girl. I 232 00:15:59,122 --> 00:16:01,442 Speaker 1: ended up staying with her for like a week or 233 00:16:01,522 --> 00:16:03,522 Speaker 1: like maybe two weeks even, and I made all of 234 00:16:03,522 --> 00:16:06,162 Speaker 1: these friends. In Minnesota, I met someone else that I 235 00:16:06,202 --> 00:16:08,042 Speaker 1: knew from my Space, and it was like such a 236 00:16:08,122 --> 00:16:10,722 Speaker 1: fun and awesome time. I feel like my space could 237 00:16:10,802 --> 00:16:12,882 Speaker 1: kind of bring you together like that. Like I feel 238 00:16:12,882 --> 00:16:15,242 Speaker 1: like now there's maybe like more danger going on on 239 00:16:15,282 --> 00:16:17,722 Speaker 1: the internet, but back then maybe because it was so new, 240 00:16:17,922 --> 00:16:20,122 Speaker 1: but I'm sure there was danger there as well. I 241 00:16:20,162 --> 00:16:22,162 Speaker 1: don't know, everyone was kind of like in this scene 242 00:16:22,202 --> 00:16:24,762 Speaker 1: and everyone kind of knew everyone, or there was just 243 00:16:24,882 --> 00:16:27,202 Speaker 1: some kind of like you felt more safe just meeting 244 00:16:27,242 --> 00:16:29,842 Speaker 1: up with random people. Part of what drew her to 245 00:16:29,882 --> 00:16:33,482 Speaker 1: connect to people online, even travel across the country to 246 00:16:33,602 --> 00:16:37,842 Speaker 1: meet people, was that her offline life could be rough. 247 00:16:40,162 --> 00:16:44,602 Speaker 1: On my Space, Hannah Bath was glamorous, a scene queen. 248 00:16:45,402 --> 00:16:48,242 Speaker 1: At her high school, people made fun of her for 249 00:16:48,322 --> 00:16:52,162 Speaker 1: dressing the way she did. At that time in my life, 250 00:16:52,162 --> 00:16:54,962 Speaker 1: I was like getting bullied really bad. I was dealing 251 00:16:55,002 --> 00:16:57,562 Speaker 1: with like self harm, and I was just like very 252 00:16:57,602 --> 00:17:01,442 Speaker 1: depressed and all of that. And I was very open 253 00:17:01,482 --> 00:17:04,002 Speaker 1: about all of my struggles through like my blogging and 254 00:17:04,082 --> 00:17:07,162 Speaker 1: my rioting, so the people I was connecting with knew 255 00:17:07,202 --> 00:17:09,882 Speaker 1: like the real me, and I feel like that's why 256 00:17:09,922 --> 00:17:12,002 Speaker 1: I was so drawn to it. I just started like 257 00:17:12,042 --> 00:17:14,562 Speaker 1: posting like things I liked, and then people like like 258 00:17:14,722 --> 00:17:16,482 Speaker 1: that as well. And I love being able to like 259 00:17:16,482 --> 00:17:19,522 Speaker 1: express my fashion through my Space because I feel like 260 00:17:19,562 --> 00:17:21,442 Speaker 1: I got bullied a lot for like how I looked 261 00:17:21,442 --> 00:17:24,722 Speaker 1: in my style, and then on my Space people like 262 00:17:24,922 --> 00:17:26,842 Speaker 1: loved how I look looked up to me and like 263 00:17:26,922 --> 00:17:29,602 Speaker 1: loved my style. So it was like a whole different 264 00:17:29,602 --> 00:17:31,082 Speaker 1: thing for me because I was like, I'm such a 265 00:17:31,122 --> 00:17:35,122 Speaker 1: loser at school. And then when I'm like online, I 266 00:17:35,242 --> 00:17:38,522 Speaker 1: was becoming this like my Space girl, and I don't know, 267 00:17:38,562 --> 00:17:41,442 Speaker 1: it was just it was a trip with the attention 268 00:17:41,482 --> 00:17:45,202 Speaker 1: she garnered from my Space, Hannah Beeth built a career, 269 00:17:46,202 --> 00:17:49,522 Speaker 1: first as a blogger with Buzznet and later working in fashion, 270 00:17:50,002 --> 00:17:53,722 Speaker 1: including a spot on the reality TV show House of DBF. 271 00:17:54,162 --> 00:17:57,802 Speaker 1: A competition to become a brand ambassador for Diane von 272 00:17:57,882 --> 00:18:01,122 Speaker 1: Furst at Berg, Hannah Beeth won. Hannah Beeth was never 273 00:18:01,362 --> 00:18:05,642 Speaker 1: Kardashian style famous, but people paid attention to her in 274 00:18:05,682 --> 00:18:08,562 Speaker 1: a way that didn't really happened to ordinary people before 275 00:18:08,602 --> 00:18:13,682 Speaker 1: the Internet. There are blogs dedicated to MySpace stars, and 276 00:18:13,722 --> 00:18:17,002 Speaker 1: these people were kind of covered in other Internet like 277 00:18:17,362 --> 00:18:23,082 Speaker 1: subcommunities and forums places like Sticky Drama. But for other 278 00:18:23,122 --> 00:18:27,802 Speaker 1: MySpace celebrities, the Internet was a double edged sword. They 279 00:18:27,842 --> 00:18:32,922 Speaker 1: faced harassment online where they built their fate. People would 280 00:18:32,922 --> 00:18:36,242 Speaker 1: set up blogs about MySpace stars and they would sort 281 00:18:36,282 --> 00:18:38,922 Speaker 1: of speculate on different things. They would try and find 282 00:18:39,002 --> 00:18:42,002 Speaker 1: information on these people, and a lot of the comment 283 00:18:42,042 --> 00:18:44,162 Speaker 1: section would be other fans and they would kind of 284 00:18:44,202 --> 00:18:47,842 Speaker 1: all Sometimes it was really positive, and then obviously some 285 00:18:47,922 --> 00:18:50,282 Speaker 1: of it turned extremely dark, where you had kind of 286 00:18:50,282 --> 00:18:55,482 Speaker 1: the worst of Internet comment culture attacking these people, and 287 00:18:55,802 --> 00:19:02,802 Speaker 1: they had stalkers and harassment and safety problems. Unlike movie stars, 288 00:19:03,122 --> 00:19:06,442 Speaker 1: the MySpace famous probably didn't have the money to hire 289 00:19:06,522 --> 00:19:12,642 Speaker 1: body ards, they didn't have representation agents, managers invested in 290 00:19:12,682 --> 00:19:16,562 Speaker 1: their career longevity, and it all came at the cost 291 00:19:16,602 --> 00:19:20,802 Speaker 1: of privacy. All of that stuff was so niche and 292 00:19:20,922 --> 00:19:23,842 Speaker 1: so misunderstood at the time, Like now we have this 293 00:19:23,922 --> 00:19:27,962 Speaker 1: concept of online safety. There wasn't that in the two thousands, 294 00:19:28,042 --> 00:19:31,922 Speaker 1: So you know, these a lot of women were kind 295 00:19:31,922 --> 00:19:37,722 Speaker 1: of like building audiences, getting micro fame and had this 296 00:19:37,762 --> 00:19:41,122 Speaker 1: like dedicated group of people on the Internet that was 297 00:19:41,122 --> 00:19:45,402 Speaker 1: obsessed with them, But there wasn't like there weren't really 298 00:19:45,442 --> 00:19:48,202 Speaker 1: like guardrails around any of it. They were almost like 299 00:19:48,282 --> 00:19:51,802 Speaker 1: too accessible to their fandoms. Like now there's this like 300 00:19:53,002 --> 00:19:56,202 Speaker 1: you think of influencers as celebrities, so you kind of 301 00:19:56,202 --> 00:19:59,282 Speaker 1: almost respect them a little bit more, whereas back then, 302 00:19:59,322 --> 00:20:04,282 Speaker 1: I think my Space stars felt almost like too much, 303 00:20:04,442 --> 00:20:07,202 Speaker 1: like like they were too kind of on the level 304 00:20:07,242 --> 00:20:10,802 Speaker 1: of normal people alomost and so like average people just 305 00:20:10,882 --> 00:20:16,082 Speaker 1: felt entitled to be horrible to them. The visibility the 306 00:20:16,282 --> 00:20:20,162 Speaker 1: users like Tila Tequila could attain on MySpace was like 307 00:20:20,202 --> 00:20:25,042 Speaker 1: a hyper popularity I think, the most popular kid at 308 00:20:25,122 --> 00:20:31,002 Speaker 1: high school times a thousand and in some ways it 309 00:20:31,042 --> 00:20:36,802 Speaker 1: could be more invasive than a traditional celebrity experience because 310 00:20:36,842 --> 00:20:40,882 Speaker 1: my Space, like every social network, was designed for looking 311 00:20:40,922 --> 00:20:46,442 Speaker 1: at others, surveilling others. People clicked on other people's profiles 312 00:20:46,562 --> 00:20:50,962 Speaker 1: and assessed them from a distance, and there was no 313 00:20:51,482 --> 00:20:55,722 Speaker 1: blueprint for it, Like there was no understanding of online 314 00:20:55,802 --> 00:20:59,602 Speaker 1: fame at that point, so people people, I think, had 315 00:20:59,682 --> 00:21:03,042 Speaker 1: less boundaries. And then also, you know, the mid two 316 00:21:03,082 --> 00:21:08,522 Speaker 1: thousands was kind of like peak reality fame and kind 317 00:21:08,522 --> 00:21:12,922 Speaker 1: of like this really toxic type of celebrity, Like that 318 00:21:13,042 --> 00:21:16,882 Speaker 1: was like that whole Britney, Paris Lindsay era where it 319 00:21:16,962 --> 00:21:29,362 Speaker 1: was like this culture of access. No other form of 320 00:21:29,562 --> 00:21:38,602 Speaker 1: entertainment defines the aughts like reality television. Survivor and Big 321 00:21:38,642 --> 00:21:42,682 Speaker 1: Brother both debuted in two thousand and shows like The 322 00:21:42,802 --> 00:21:49,602 Speaker 1: Bachelor The Osbourne's an American idol arrived shortly after. These 323 00:21:49,642 --> 00:21:53,282 Speaker 1: programs could be made cheaply. New software had just made 324 00:21:53,282 --> 00:21:56,682 Speaker 1: it easier to edit down large quantities of video footage. 325 00:21:57,402 --> 00:22:03,282 Speaker 1: Producers didn't have to hire professional actors or screenwriters. It's 326 00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:08,002 Speaker 1: no coincidence that the reality TV boomped while this screen 327 00:22:08,122 --> 00:22:12,842 Speaker 1: Actor's Guild and later the Writer's Guild, we're negotiating streaming 328 00:22:12,962 --> 00:22:18,682 Speaker 1: royalties with reality TV. Celebrities projected the illusion of living 329 00:22:18,802 --> 00:22:25,722 Speaker 1: ordinary lives, while ordinary people projected the illusion of celebrity. 330 00:22:26,162 --> 00:22:29,562 Speaker 1: It was a lot like the immediacy and intimacy that 331 00:22:29,682 --> 00:22:34,082 Speaker 1: early online celebrities like Tila Tequila offered their friends on MySpace. 332 00:22:34,882 --> 00:22:38,402 Speaker 1: Tom Anderson even said in an interview once he thought 333 00:22:38,442 --> 00:22:43,362 Speaker 1: of MySpace as the reality TV of the Internet. It 334 00:22:43,482 --> 00:22:47,242 Speaker 1: felt inevitable then that Tila Tequila would leverage her online 335 00:22:47,282 --> 00:22:51,242 Speaker 1: popularity with a reality show of her own. In two 336 00:22:51,282 --> 00:22:56,042 Speaker 1: thousand and seven, a Shot at Love debut, Tila Tequila 337 00:22:56,122 --> 00:23:01,802 Speaker 1: began her quest for love. I'm a bisexual this season 338 00:23:02,082 --> 00:23:06,482 Speaker 1: on A Shot at Love. It was the first reality 339 00:23:06,562 --> 00:23:11,202 Speaker 1: dating show featuring a bisexual person. She got a reality 340 00:23:11,242 --> 00:23:14,802 Speaker 1: show on MTV called Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, 341 00:23:14,842 --> 00:23:17,482 Speaker 1: and the confit was that you know, she's a queer 342 00:23:17,642 --> 00:23:20,322 Speaker 1: girl looking for love and that the house was going 343 00:23:20,362 --> 00:23:22,842 Speaker 1: to be filled with both women and men because she's queer. 344 00:23:23,322 --> 00:23:26,082 Speaker 1: Me and my friends, like my queer circle of friends. 345 00:23:26,442 --> 00:23:28,602 Speaker 1: When I say that we watched this show religiously, like 346 00:23:28,762 --> 00:23:31,682 Speaker 1: we had parties what we thought. It was so earnest. 347 00:23:32,162 --> 00:23:35,602 Speaker 1: It was one of MTB's biggest releases that year and 348 00:23:35,762 --> 00:23:39,122 Speaker 1: ran for a couple of seasons. Tela appeared to be 349 00:23:39,202 --> 00:23:43,042 Speaker 1: doing really well in the late odds. She made music 350 00:23:43,762 --> 00:23:47,282 Speaker 1: and published a book, and she made some savvy business 351 00:23:47,322 --> 00:23:53,322 Speaker 1: decisions to monetize her fame, working with Joe Francis, he 352 00:23:53,642 --> 00:23:57,362 Speaker 1: of the Girl's Gone Wild franchise. She set up a 353 00:23:57,402 --> 00:24:00,682 Speaker 1: website called Tela's hot Spot, where she had a blog 354 00:24:00,802 --> 00:24:04,762 Speaker 1: and webcam and basically posted the kind of content she 355 00:24:04,842 --> 00:24:08,122 Speaker 1: had on my Space, but on a website of her own. 356 00:24:08,122 --> 00:24:11,962 Speaker 1: Tila even appeared to be settling down. In two thousand 357 00:24:11,962 --> 00:24:15,322 Speaker 1: and nine, she was engaged to Casey Johnson, the Johnson 358 00:24:15,322 --> 00:24:21,082 Speaker 1: and Johnson Heiress, but then tragedy struck. She was young, 359 00:24:21,362 --> 00:24:25,402 Speaker 1: beautiful and an heiress to an empire. Now Casey Johnson's 360 00:24:25,442 --> 00:24:30,762 Speaker 1: sudden death has many asking how and why. At the 361 00:24:30,842 --> 00:24:34,242 Speaker 1: end of two thousand and nine and the beginning of 362 00:24:34,722 --> 00:24:38,722 Speaker 1: two and ten was very hard for me, And as 363 00:24:38,762 --> 00:24:40,962 Speaker 1: you can tell, during those times, I made lots of 364 00:24:41,082 --> 00:24:44,322 Speaker 1: headlines of meltdowns, and you know that was my way 365 00:24:44,402 --> 00:24:47,842 Speaker 1: of like when you lose someone and I didn't know 366 00:24:47,842 --> 00:24:52,242 Speaker 1: how to cope. Casey died of diabetes complications. It was 367 00:24:52,322 --> 00:24:55,442 Speaker 1: only a month after they announced their engagement. Things went 368 00:24:55,482 --> 00:25:01,242 Speaker 1: down help from there. In two and twelve, Tila was 369 00:25:01,322 --> 00:25:05,802 Speaker 1: hospitalized after a drug overdose and a brain aneurism. It 370 00:25:05,882 --> 00:25:10,722 Speaker 1: had been a suicide att In twenty fifteen, Tela prepared 371 00:25:10,722 --> 00:25:13,562 Speaker 1: to come back and joined the cast of Celebrity Big Brother, 372 00:25:14,242 --> 00:25:19,162 Speaker 1: then post resurface of Tila two years earlier in twenty thirteen, 373 00:25:19,722 --> 00:25:24,162 Speaker 1: defending Hitler on her blog and posing a Nazi regalia. 374 00:25:24,282 --> 00:25:26,082 Speaker 1: She was kicked out of the house because of it. 375 00:25:26,722 --> 00:25:31,722 Speaker 1: Tila apologized. Tela called it a terrible mistake. In a 376 00:25:31,802 --> 00:25:36,482 Speaker 1: statement posted to social media, She mentioned her suicide attempt 377 00:25:36,802 --> 00:25:40,842 Speaker 1: and said she suffered from severe depression and addiction. In 378 00:25:40,882 --> 00:25:44,962 Speaker 1: her words, I felt worthless and unloved as that pain 379 00:25:45,042 --> 00:25:48,882 Speaker 1: continued to grow, causing me to further spiral out of control. 380 00:25:50,722 --> 00:25:54,682 Speaker 1: And then she reiterated that she is absolutely, one hundred 381 00:25:54,722 --> 00:26:01,002 Speaker 1: percent not a Nazi supporter. Tila's apology sounded heartfelts, and 382 00:26:01,122 --> 00:26:06,402 Speaker 1: maybe it was. But two months later, Tila posted a 383 00:26:06,402 --> 00:26:11,402 Speaker 1: photo of her baby daughter with a Hitler mustache and 384 00:26:11,482 --> 00:26:14,962 Speaker 1: for Bridget, who had followed Tila's career for over a 385 00:26:15,042 --> 00:26:20,082 Speaker 1: decade by that point. It was heartbreaking. And I remember 386 00:26:20,682 --> 00:26:25,122 Speaker 1: watching her trajectory from being this person that I loved 387 00:26:25,162 --> 00:26:27,562 Speaker 1: and really admired as like a queer woman of color, 388 00:26:27,962 --> 00:26:30,922 Speaker 1: watching her go from someone who like that was her 389 00:26:31,042 --> 00:26:33,802 Speaker 1: thing in my mind to the way that now she 390 00:26:33,882 --> 00:26:38,242 Speaker 1: basically was like radicalized on the Internet and via the 391 00:26:38,282 --> 00:26:43,082 Speaker 1: alt right. In twenty sixteen, Tila's photographed giving a Nazi 392 00:26:43,162 --> 00:26:46,962 Speaker 1: salute at a conference with white nationalists in Washington, DC. 393 00:26:47,922 --> 00:26:50,842 Speaker 1: If the beginning of Tila Tequila being on my radar 394 00:26:50,882 --> 00:26:54,522 Speaker 1: as this like my Space influencer for being a queer 395 00:26:54,522 --> 00:26:57,842 Speaker 1: woman of color, if that was like the promise of 396 00:26:57,882 --> 00:27:00,402 Speaker 1: the Internet. The day that I saw that image of 397 00:27:00,402 --> 00:27:03,362 Speaker 1: her in my hometown in DC doing a Nazi salute 398 00:27:03,362 --> 00:27:05,922 Speaker 1: at a restaurant with a bunch of alt right dirt bags, 399 00:27:06,282 --> 00:27:08,082 Speaker 1: that was the ail in the coffin. And so I 400 00:27:08,082 --> 00:27:11,522 Speaker 1: feel like that moment for me really crystallized where we 401 00:27:11,562 --> 00:27:15,202 Speaker 1: started and unfortunately where we wound up. But those early 402 00:27:15,282 --> 00:27:17,922 Speaker 1: days were so full of promise, and then that picture 403 00:27:18,002 --> 00:27:21,722 Speaker 1: is like burned in my mind of because of platforms 404 00:27:21,722 --> 00:27:24,122 Speaker 1: like MySpace, this was a person who allowed me to 405 00:27:24,162 --> 00:27:27,162 Speaker 1: see part of myself that I was still getting comfortable with, 406 00:27:27,442 --> 00:27:30,602 Speaker 1: and then where we wound up was so dark and 407 00:27:30,722 --> 00:27:36,562 Speaker 1: so sad and so heavy. For others, fame on MySpace 408 00:27:37,282 --> 00:27:40,042 Speaker 1: came as easily as it went. You had people like 409 00:27:40,122 --> 00:27:43,962 Speaker 1: Tila Tequila go on to become a reality star because 410 00:27:44,002 --> 00:27:47,402 Speaker 1: that was the only kind of attainable access to quote 411 00:27:47,482 --> 00:27:50,362 Speaker 1: unquote like mainstream fame in the two thousands was like 412 00:27:50,482 --> 00:27:54,202 Speaker 1: reality shows. But even then, like going on a reality 413 00:27:54,242 --> 00:27:58,202 Speaker 1: show doesn't mean that you yourself profit very much. So 414 00:27:58,282 --> 00:28:00,522 Speaker 1: I think all the people from that era kind of 415 00:28:00,522 --> 00:28:03,482 Speaker 1: fell off and never really were able to capture the 416 00:28:03,482 --> 00:28:05,522 Speaker 1: true value of the brand that they built back then. 417 00:28:06,682 --> 00:28:09,922 Speaker 1: A few MySpace celebrities dropped out of the public eye 418 00:28:09,922 --> 00:28:14,202 Speaker 1: by choice, including Hannahbath. I think just like as I 419 00:28:14,242 --> 00:28:17,082 Speaker 1: got older, I just started to enjoy like having like 420 00:28:17,162 --> 00:28:20,082 Speaker 1: my privacy a bit more now, and I just don't 421 00:28:20,122 --> 00:28:22,082 Speaker 1: love social media like how I used to love it. 422 00:28:22,082 --> 00:28:24,562 Speaker 1: So it's just like it's not one of my top priorities. 423 00:28:25,642 --> 00:28:28,722 Speaker 1: But for others who became famous on my Space, those 424 00:28:28,802 --> 00:28:32,162 Speaker 1: years were less than idyllic. It was a horrible time 425 00:28:32,202 --> 00:28:34,722 Speaker 1: to be famous, Like it was so toxic and so 426 00:28:34,842 --> 00:28:38,722 Speaker 1: bad tabloid culture ruled. It was really playing out on 427 00:28:38,762 --> 00:28:43,482 Speaker 1: the Internet in small scale through blogs, and so I 428 00:28:43,522 --> 00:28:45,842 Speaker 1: think a lot of my Space stars just kind of 429 00:28:45,882 --> 00:28:49,602 Speaker 1: like got chewed up by that system, and you see 430 00:28:49,602 --> 00:28:53,482 Speaker 1: them now like into crystal healing, or they've totally reinvented 431 00:28:53,522 --> 00:28:56,842 Speaker 1: themselves or their like super offline, or you have people 432 00:28:56,842 --> 00:29:00,602 Speaker 1: like Jeffrey who just leaned one hundred and fifty percent 433 00:29:00,682 --> 00:29:03,482 Speaker 1: into it and kind of became this like internet villain 434 00:29:04,082 --> 00:29:08,202 Speaker 1: because he literally thrived in that type of toxicity. The 435 00:29:08,282 --> 00:29:13,202 Speaker 1: blowback to visibility online that Taylor describes wasn't only impacting 436 00:29:13,242 --> 00:29:16,802 Speaker 1: people like Tela with hundreds of thousands of friends on 437 00:29:16,842 --> 00:29:22,882 Speaker 1: social media. People with small followings and relatively ordinary lives 438 00:29:23,642 --> 00:29:28,082 Speaker 1: aced harassment and bullying on a social network that had 439 00:29:28,162 --> 00:29:32,002 Speaker 1: quickly become the center of their social life. More on 440 00:29:32,082 --> 00:29:36,922 Speaker 1: this in the next episode of Main Accounts. Thanks for 441 00:29:37,082 --> 00:29:40,762 Speaker 1: listening to Main Accounts, The Story of MySpace and iHeart 442 00:29:40,842 --> 00:29:46,282 Speaker 1: original podcast Main Accounts. The Story of MySpace is written 443 00:29:46,282 --> 00:29:50,242 Speaker 1: and hosted by me Joanna McNeil, editing its sound design 444 00:29:50,442 --> 00:29:55,522 Speaker 1: by Mike Coscarelli and Mary Do. Original music by Alice McCoy, 445 00:29:55,922 --> 00:30:00,042 Speaker 1: mixing and mastering by Josh Fisher. Research and fact checking 446 00:30:00,242 --> 00:30:05,042 Speaker 1: by Austin Thompson, Jocelyn Sears, and Marissa Brown. Show logo 447 00:30:05,242 --> 00:30:10,122 Speaker 1: by Lucy Kntinia. Special thanks to Ryan Murdoch, Grace Views 448 00:30:10,482 --> 00:30:14,122 Speaker 1: and the head Frasier. Our associate producer is Lauren Philip, 449 00:30:14,322 --> 00:30:18,402 Speaker 1: our senior producer is Mike Coscarelli, and our executive producer 450 00:30:18,562 --> 00:30:21,802 Speaker 1: is Jason English. If you're enjoying the show, leave us 451 00:30:21,802 --> 00:30:25,602 Speaker 1: a rating and a review on your favorite podcast platform Sadly, 452 00:30:26,282 --> 00:30:29,162 Speaker 1: my MySpace page is no longer around, but you can 453 00:30:29,242 --> 00:30:32,002 Speaker 1: find me on Twitter at Joe Mick. Let us hear 454 00:30:32,042 --> 00:30:37,962 Speaker 1: your MySpace story, aunts check out my book lurking main accounts. 455 00:30:38,002 --> 00:30:42,242 Speaker 1: The Story of MySpace is a production of iHeart Podcasts.