HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU...
MYSPACE REVEALS AUSTRALIA’S MOST WATCHED
From rock stars, glamour models and media personalities to the girl-next-door, the MySpace ‘most watched’ are the
people capturing Australia’s eyeballs and imaginations
[EMBARGO 12.01am 24th May, 2009] MySpace, the world’s premier social portal, today unveiled Australia’s most
watched online personalities. An eclectic mix of musicians, models, reality TV stars and media personalities, these most
watched Australians attract the greatest number of unique views to their MySpace profiles, with around seven million
views between them.
From Christian rock star Joel Houston, to Penthouse Pet Ashlee Adams, the diversity of the ‘MySpace Most Watched’
mirrors the diversity of the Australian population on MySpace. With a dominance of music and media personalities, the
MySpace most watch included; Short Stack drummer Bradie Web, comedy duo Hamish and Andy, Summer Heights High
character Jonah Takalua, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, former Big Brother contestant Bodie Czeladka, FHM model Krystal
Forscutt and the infamous MySpace party boy Corey Worthington.
MySpace’s Most Watched:
Name
MySpace URL
M/F
Age
State
Profile
Views
Hanny Wu
F
21
WA
2,415,000
Joel Houston
M
29
NSW
613,000
Ashlee Adams
F
24
SA
603,000
Jonah Takalua
M
88
VIC
587,000
Hamish & Andy
M
27
VIC
534,000
Corey Worthington
M
17
VIC
506,000
Krystal Forscutt
al
F
22
NSW
411,000
Drew Nelson
M
19
NSW
397,000
Bodie Czeladka
M
25
VIC
380,000
Kevin Rudd
M
51
QLD
365,000
Bradie Web
M
19
NSW
160,000
Social Networking Strategist Laurel Papworth says the MySpace ‘most watched’ phenomenon is representative of a
broader cultural revolution which is occurring both on and offline. “No longer do A&R Executives, newspaper journalists or
fashion editors decide who or what is popular, or what information is of interest to society: MySpace's millions of members
decide for themselves. The MySpace ‘most watched’ list offers an insight to the changes in the way we Find, Filter,
Finesse and Forward our entertainment information- we discover it for ourselves, decide which of our friends would also
be interested, add a blog comment or video response then forward it on to that network of friends. Society has taken back
sourcing and distributing of news amongst themselves, and MySpace plays an important part in that revolution” she said.
Rebekah Horne, Vice President, MySpace.com, Australia explains, “The Most Watched MySpacers are the idols of
Australia’s youth. The popularity of these profiles can be attributed to the fact that MySpace offers fans a genuine insight
into the lives of these celebrities, unmediated by publicists or gossip magazines. A direct and two-way channel, MySpace
is a forum to connect with celebrities, in a way that’s ‘real’. From the fictional Jonah Takalua to comedy duo Hamish and
Andy, the predominance of pranksters and comedians in the Most Watched list also reflects Australians’ humour and love
of the larrikin.”
With Aussies spending around two million hours on MySpace each month, the popularity of these MySpace profiles also
reflects a broader trend which sees Australians increasingly going online for their entertainment.
TAKE A PEEK AT AUSTRALIA’S MOST WATCHED
Bradie Webb of Short Stack fame lays claim to having one of the most watched profiles in 2009, with the highest number
of profile views for the month of April. A MySpace success story, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Operator
Please , the indie rock outfit Short Stack garnered a groundswell of support after publishing tracks on their MySpace page
profile.
which is drawing Aussie eyeballs. With thousands of MySpace friends, Bradie attributes this popularity to the fact that his
personal MySpace profile gives fans the opportunity to develop a relationship with what he describes as ‘normal Bradie’
as opposed to ‘band Bradie’. When he’s not touring, Bradie logs onto MySpace most nights to write anything from film
reviews to personal stories and ‘about me’ revelations. As well as letting his fans know what he’s up to, Bradie also takes
the time to respond to the flood of comments and questions he gets from fans and friends. It’s this direct connection to
fans that he cherishes and identifies as key to both his profile and his band’s popularity “Having a relationship with our
fans allowed the band to develop a hardcore fanbase and is something so special that’s only really possible through sites
like MySpace.”
Ashlee Adams is a self described ‘online social butterfly’ and ‘MySpace addict’. The 24 year old model and web designer
from Adelaide joined MySpace in 2005 and logs on for a few hours every night to update her page, look for music and
respond to comments and friend requests.
As well as a social tool, MySpace had been central to many of Ashlee’s modelling and media career successes. “I have all
my amazing MySpace friends to thank for winning the Australian Penthouse cover shoot in December 2008, as they voted
like crazy for me in the Aussie Babes competition. I was also offered the ‘bedroom advice’ video blogger position at Zoo
Weekly Magazine after one of the editors saw videos I posted on MySpace” Ashlee explains.
Ashlee also attributes her MySpace popularity to the fact that her MySpace persona is ‘real’ I'm very much ‘what you see
is what you get’. There are lots of models out there that are prettier and thinner than me who haven't had nearly as much
online success. I attribute this to the fact that I'm 100% real. I can be a bit of a smartass at times, but I always do it with
humour and in a light hearted way. If something annoys me, I usually write an amusing bulletin about it and people seem
to like that I’m straight up and honest. I’m just a regular geeky girl who loves video games and tattoos, and who just
happens to have been lucky enough to have a bit of success in the modelling world.”
In addition to having one of the most watched MySpacians, the 21 year old student from Perth is also Australia’s MySpace
user with the most friends. Going on MySpace is a daily ritual for Hanny. In addition to updating her MySpace status with
quirky and fun quotes and uploading pictures Hanny also uses her MySpace clout to promote unsigned artists as well as
charitable causes and foundations.
As well as a being channel for her digital philanthropy, MySpace has also allowed Hanny to meet an array of celebrities.
“I've met KoRn in person, as well as artists from the Disney Channel and became really good friends with Jordyn Taylor,
who was just signed on by MySpace Records, through MySpace” she explains. In many ways Hanny is perplexed by her
MySpace popularity “I have absolutely no idea how I got this online following, but I do have people claiming that they are
"fans" of mine. They even request autographed pictures! I guess it's because I'm different and I’m real. My profile,
videos and photos reflect my personality. The way I write denotes how I speak in real life and even my videos of myself
singing way out of tune is how I am in real life.”
This former Big Brother contestant with a reputation for outlandish antics is used to being watched by millions. The 25
year old Melbournian now runs a promotional company called Secret Society, for which he uses MySpace as a
social portal as well.
Surprised to discover he was in the most watched list Bodie says that the secret to his popularity is uploading random
things that make people laugh and because he is himself “What you see is what you get! I’m an open book, but I guess
the only one that could tell you that is my mum, feel free to ask her, she’s one of my MySpace top friends.”
ends
For more information or to arrange interviews with ‘Australia’s Most Watched’ please contact:
Darain Faraz – Communications Manager, Fox Interactive Media
email: Darain.Faraz@fox.com
phone: 02 9288 7286 or mobile: 0424 246 484
Libby Leahy – Communications Coordinator, Fox Interactive Media
email: Libby.Leahy@fox.com
phone: 02 9288 7374 or mobile: 0424 747 614
About MySpace
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a
positive impact on the world. MySpace has created a connected global community by integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music
streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums. MySpace's international network
includes more than 30 localised community sites in the United States, Brazil, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, India, Japan, and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is
a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS - News, NWS.A - News; ASX:NWS - News, NWSLV - News).
Among the top 2000 domains comScore Media Metrix, September 2008. For more information on comScore Networks, please go to
NEWS 
