While I was posting surveillance footage of a crime I saw last night on postacrime (a group of undergrads were doing keg stands while chanting patriotic gibberish in unison) I got another beta invite. This time to Twingly—a European blog search engine with Digg-like ranking systems.

Each time I sign up I have to give yet another username. I used to try being clever—give as my username the title of Crispen Glover’s novel, the name of the woman who used to sell my dad cheap booze, or microcelebrity names like Calcanis—and then fill out all my personal information accurately.

No more. I’ve put on a social networking mask. I prefer corporate names—like Google or CocaCola. My age, gender, interests, vocation all vary depending on mood. With Facebook truth-telling became necessary to open up its utility. If you didn’t use your real data, no long lost friends you always hated could find you. But on betas, with such a high likelihood of failure to reach any eyes other than my own, I feel it is a good time to have some fun.

Like Mary-Kate and Ashlee Olsen, who just went to her stylist Estee Stanley’s wedding in a mask so she wouldn’t overshadow the nameless faceless bride with her fame, I wear a mask for mystery. Ever the famewhore, MK knew the stunt would catapult this Z-list event into the spotlight because we’d all have to guess who was who in the wedding party. Mystery, even when fake, is irresistible.

I am followed and follow several persons of mystery. No pictures, no names, no easily traceable identity. Like Roamin and God on Twitter. What didn’t work on Facebook seems to work there.

It makes me wonder, though, if I unknowingly follow the same person repeatedly or vice versa? And how many people wear a social networking mask for fun or spamming profit?

Or if maybe Twitter only has fifty-two intensely active, creative people with access to tens of thousands of different email sign-up accounts.

Tags: social network sites

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Posted on Wednesday, April 9th, 2008 at 10:01 am. Follow comments through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comment or trackback.