MySpace Tom has picked up a new hobby since retiring in 2009, and he couldn’t have chosen a better one!
Instantly recognisable by his grainy, small profile picture the size of a stamp, MySpace Tom was everyone’s first friend.
Back in the day, after signing up to the new hip social networking site MySpace, you’d check your new profile to find you’ve already made a friend. MySpace Tom, or Tom Anderson to use his real name, was the co-founder of the once popular site and everybody’s default first friend.
Obviously the OG social media platform is no longer a thing, back in 2005 MySpace sold for a huge amount of money, making Tom extremely wealthy and able to focus on his other passion in life.
How much was MySpace sold for?
In 2005 MySpace was sold to News Corp for a whopping $580 million earning him enough money to never have to work a day in his life again. He did stay on as president of the company until 2009 but ultimately retired aged 39. It just goes to show his love for this art form as he doesn’t exactly need a travel photographer’s salary, does he!
After spending a couple of years enjoying his retirement, Tom discovered his love of photography at the 2011 Burning Man Festival. Since then he has spent his time traveling around the world to exotic locations with his friends and his camera shooting epic travel photography.
Taken from his Instagram bio:
Former 1st friend, enjoying being retired. Phototaking has been my hobby for 4 years. New mission 2 help others & engage!
Admittedly he probably doesn’t have as many followers as he used to, but with over 651,000 on Instagram, 246,000 on Twitter, over 1 million on Facebook and over 6 million on Google+ he’s not doing to bad…
He currently lives in Hawaii but travels to places like Thailand and the Maldives to capture his beautiful images.
You can also follow his work through his blog www.stopworkingstartplaying.com but in the spirit of tradition you can access it though his old domain name which redirects to the new site.
The old domain? Yep you got it, myspacetom.com.
His friend and fellow photographer Trey Ratcliff helped to develop his skills. His main love is for landscapes but isn’t afraid to get creative. He says:
I’m not necessarily trying to represent nature exactly. I’m trying to make something beautiful like a painter would.
Becoming a travel photographer is never easy, but when you sell your company for $580 million while still in your 30’s that has to help towards flight tickets, at least a little bit.
But in all seriousness the guy oozes talent and can confidently say he’s successfully transformed from tech giant to creative mastermind.
Go check out his IG grid and follow him, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
He’s also come good on his promise to engage with his fans. He posts tips, tricks and helpful info on his IG Stories to encourage people to get into photography, or for more experienced photographers to step things up a level.

I’m a professional travel photographer, and I’ve been living the digital nomad lifestyle since 2016. I make money by working on client assignments, selling stock photography and helping other photographers by sharing my experiences on this website. I move around at my own pace (I hate fast-paced travel) and like to spend a few months getting to know each place I base myself in.
My writing and photos have been featured on industry leading websites such as Digital Photography School, Atlas Obscura and the world’s leading underwater photography resource The Underwater Photography Guide. I authored an eBook called “Breaking Into Travel Photography: The complete guide to carving out a career in travel photography” that has been published on Amazon. My stock images have also appeared in ads promoting destinations and companies that sometimes has been a surprise, even to me. But I guess that’s the nature of stock photography, you never know who will license them!
I’m always happy to connect, so feel free to reach out!