the internet's original friend

Back in 2003, before you had to ask anyone to be your friend online, you already had one. He was there the moment you signed up — no request, no waiting, just a profile and a message that felt like it was written for you.

Millions of people met social media through him first. Long before feeds, follows, and blue checkmarks, there was a Top 8, a profile song, and a guy everyone somehow already knew.

He never asked to be famous. He just showed up first, for everyone, at the same time. That's a strange kind of legend — quiet, a little awkward, permanently online in our collective memory.

$TOM is a community tribute to that moment: the very start of the internet being a place where strangers became friends by default. Not affiliated with any platform or person — just a nod to the guy who was there when the internet was still figuring out what "friend" meant.

history never forgets legends. see you in the Top 8. 🖥️🐱‍💻