Being Somebody Else
March 30th, 2009 (Life)
I’ve noticed that there have been a few of these fake twitter accounts cropping up recently. They seem to be found out quickly, but I’m always suckered into following the people before they get exposed as fakes. The latest couple have been the Dalai Lama (@OHHDL) and Christopher Walken (@cwalken). I was really bummed that @cwalken was actually a fake. After hearing all of Jason Calicanis’ impressions of him on TWiT, I was excited to see how fun the fake Walken’s twitter posts actually were.
So, this got me thinking about the motives behind taking the time to set up a fake twitter account and post content that actually sounds like something the person/celebrity would say. The person who sets up the account has to know that they are going to be figured out some day. So, do they just want their 5 minutes of fame? Are they trying to make a future name for themselves by gaining followers under a false pretense? Is there some secret obsession with the celebrity they choose to impersonate?
Regardless of any motives for setting up a fake account, I really think there is much more long-term value in building a brand around your true identity than faking it like these posers. There is something so powerful about sincerity – if you are truly interested in marketing yourself and your skills online, be sincere about it. Be open and honest enough with people that they see you are real, but not so much that you seem creepy. It’s interesting to note that even Fake Steve Jobs was forced to become “Real Dan”. People like to see what is real when it comes to online personalities.
This post is spoken with true sincerity. I like it and agree. Deception is very pervasive and people don’t appear to think twice about the aftermath of it.
This blog relates to the next one—honesty and passion are a hard combination to beat.