LooseSuits

Super lame. When you lie about it, you make it a big deal because you yourself thought it was a big enough deal to cover it up.

The MySpace offices are located really close to me and I have a couple friends who are employed by them. But it seems to me as if Tom got caught up in the L.A.-ness of it all. Actors and actresses lie about their age (always about being younger than they actually are) all the time to get cast in roles and to widen their appeal.

Come now, though. Silly Tom, you're no actor.

Are we all really shallow enough to give a fuck? People lie about their age all the time -- online and in real life. If he was using his age to lure 13-year old girls to his apartment and bake cookies with them, fair enough, what a bastard, but he's just some dude running a website. This kind of lie hurts no one.

I don't even know how old most of the people starting social networking sites are. That guy that started Virb? Don't even know his name. I know Facebook man's name, but I neither know nor care how old he is. It doesn't matter.

It's a good opportunity for a "my first friend lied about his age, I'm so pissed" joke, but that's it. I'm sure he's not lying about his age to his real friends, only to some chick with a MySpace account that doesn't even know or want to know him.

As for your point about identity being important on the internet, Tyme. It's important to some, and it's not for others. It's not your place or anyone else's to assume they're being somehow unethical because they weren't honest about their age. I'm sure you've made the point that you can be who you want online before -- just about everyone using it has -- so why can't Tom do that in peace?

I really never saw the big deal and still don't about this. Tom was always a fake guy, just the first person to be my friend. Said he was 27 at the beginning, but was really 32. That harms me in what way? It would be cool if we could go in the wayback machine to see if him saying he was 32 from the beginning would effect things, but otherwise I don't see this as a big deal.

Watching the lonelygirl15 lie unravel was more of a story than this one because people actually put trust in her as with Tom it was just Tom.

But I do agree with estarla that it was lame to lie in the first place. Maybe they should have a "ish" option. Tom would be 30ish.

Mike Arrington said this on his site:

Jason - well, first its more than just a simple lie. It’s a lie that is perpetuated and amplified by the fact that Tom is everyone’s first friend, from 13 year old girls on up. And there is significant irony: if you can’t believe what you see in the founder’s profile, then you really can’t believe anything you see on the site. I think most people understand how easy it is to make things up on the Internet, but perhaps this story will make people understand just how prevalent that practice is.

@Rich: If that's the case then LinkedIn is worthless...one of the foundations of that network is that people are honest about who they are and the people they are recommending. I don't see the difference between Tom lying about his age and the person that says their 125lbs when they are 250lbs. It doesn't hurt anyone until they interact with you and believe it.

I guess what I don't get is that with Tom, the person people ignore I guess, make excuses for something that's lame. With other companies they are held to a higher standard. Why is that? Mike Arrington got flack for writing about it but Newsweek covered it...why is it ok for Newsweek, CNET, etc. but not Arrington?

Well, to perhaps shed light on the situation, Tom is always seen around here with young chicks in slutty, clubbing outfits on his arm.

The MySpace workplace is also a cultural phenomenon in itself. The employees are mostly in their early-twenties ... and the girls also wear clubbing outfits to work.

Mixing business with pleasure, yadda yadda...

@estarla - That explains it. Thank you.

It's a stupid lie. Why lie at all? But also why make such a big deal over it?
Although I kinda feel the same way about Myspace altogether.

@peroty: I don't think it would have been if he just acknowledged it but he hasn't. It's the equivalent of someone lying in your face, you know the person is lying and the person knows they've been busted. I read this is not the first time he's done it.

The truth is: if he was someone people respected it would would bother people more.

My myspace profile says im 88 years old. Sue me.

@Tyme: And it is true he is the face of Myspace. But yeah, he should just admit it and it would be a non issue.

How many stories would have never been if the person involved would have just said, "yes, I lied about my age. I am really XYZ years old. We did it because we felt that blah blah blah and the reporters would go oh.... ok.

After asking 15 more probing questions that would lead nowhere.

But don't tell anyone I said this, I'd put the entire celebrity-watching media out of business.

I'm in the same boat as Rich and Scrivs: it was a lame thing to do, but I'm not really sure if it's enough to get upset about. Then again, I'm biased; I've hated MySpace from the start, and could care less about what goes on with it or its creator. Crappy website.

If this is considered "news" these days then obviously it must be a slow news day. In the grand scheme of things, Tom lying about his age means exactly what to whom?

Like others have already said, it was lame but who really cares?

ha ha

My thoughts exactly.