Fakebook

Lately it seems I've had a larger than usual number of folks pretending to be someone else trying to befriend me on Facebook.  Here's an eye-ku I wrote about one of them who I was pretty sure had lifted her screen name from a short story by Roald Dahl.  To her credit, after a series of vain attempts to convince me she was genuine, she eventually apologized, confessed her name was indeed assumed and claimed the whole charade had begun as a joke.  Her true identity remains a mystery.

MERRY BALONEY  [written 12/27/2009]

I'm bottle dogged by
Brandy disguised as cognac
A pour mask cur raid

 
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  • 2/3/2010 7:53 AM Hazar Worth wrote:
    In the 21st century, some will learn how to properly shape-shift, a la Bruce Wayne as/into/becomes the Dark Knight.

    In the 21st century, some will not learn the alchemical vaoues of shedding one's skin(s).

    In the 21st century, we will all get a chase to walk alongside the Shaman's enticing dream-realms of gods and bones...
    Reply to this
    1. 2/3/2010 8:04 AM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      You raise interesting possibilities, my friend.

      Reply to this
  • 2/3/2010 9:58 AM Tara wrote:
    It takes me too much energy to be myself, let alone pretend to be somebody else! How did you figure it out; just b/c you recognized the name? BTW love the poem. It's catchy.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/3/2010 1:26 PM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      The name was a big giveaway - so was the profile pic she lifted from a laser skin care website.

      Reply to this
  • 2/3/2010 10:18 AM smith wrote:
    here are some harvested headlines from my stash i have yet to blog:

    Facebook Users 'Buying Fake Friends'

    One In Four Children Sent Porn

    Facebook: The Age Of Privacy Is Over

    Facebook Employee Reveals How Site Tracks, Spies On Users

    Facebook's CIA ties

    Facebook Poses Biggest Security Threat to Businesses

    Gangs' Use Of Twitter, Facebook On The Rise

    Network Flaw Causes Scary Web Error For Facebook Users

    CIA official admits targeting blogs, MySpace

    How Google Collects Data About You

    Google Toolbar Tracks You--Even After You Disable It

    Pentagon: U.S. Geek Shortage Is National Security Risk

    Twitter Dispute Leads To Alleged Murder Of Harlem Youth

    Man Arrested Over Twitter Airport Joke

    Criminal Uses Facebook To Threaten Enemies From Jail

    Now even the dog can tweet
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    1. 2/3/2010 10:27 AM ke wrote:
      it all started with 'chat rooms'...
      Reply to this
      1. 2/3/2010 10:49 AM Elena wrote:
        Have all the chat air heads moved to FB?
        Reply to this
    2. 2/3/2010 1:30 PM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      some scary stuff -- and for some reason the word chat makes me think of shat.


      Reply to this
  • 2/3/2010 10:25 AM Joy wrote:
    this is true, people can stuck you and you never know who is doing it; they create phony accounts and kABooM!
    Fortunately there is widget device you can install on your blog or website from Statcounter.com- hidden too. IP addresses are identified. then you can look them up here. Check here to search for an ip address.
    http://cqcounter.com/whois/

    now match up the visitor and time - do I have to teach you everything here...
    com'on get moving everyone.
    Reply to this
  • 2/3/2010 10:29 AM Joy wrote:
    Let me assure you too, that you can be a target for threats and violence too so info is vital in pretenses. I speak from observation and assistance reporting threats.

    another desert to digest I digress
    http://dubblex.blogspot.com
    I'm dubble dipping for dubblex - please permit after sharing such important info for us all
    Reply to this
    1. 2/3/2010 1:54 PM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      Thanks for the info, Joy!  And no problem at all with your "dubble dipping"...

      I really have no problem with fake names/profiles.  Some of my favorite profiles (and some of the most wonderfully creative I've seen) obviously do not use the real names of their creators.  That's all good.  But when I seem (true or not) singled out (I was her first friend - though she allegedly joined Facebook because "friends" had talked her into it) for what seemed to be an attempt to set me up (and this coming on the heels of other fake profiles I found threatening), I have a harder time appreciating the creative force behind the curtain.

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  • 2/3/2010 10:41 AM Anonymous wrote:
    poetic genius disturbed
    actually meant "stalk" not stuck you - but so into the stickers thing - it happened.
    I'll have to send you guys a sticker pack -
    internet stalkers can happen to any of us. The stalkers can be someone we know or don't know. It can also be some government or similar institution if one has a colorful history will probably arouse interest anyway - then combined with unusual comments ... well
    Have you ever read Lipstick Diaries and my short story inside called False Pride?
    Reply to this
    1. 2/4/2010 10:45 AM Joy wrote:
      this was my original comment - somehow my identity was hidden and I don't know why.
      Reply to this
  • 2/3/2010 12:09 PM anon wrote:
    would have been helpful to know you were told it was a prank. And helpful to know it was admitted.

    Because being wrongfully accused hurts... and it still does.
    Reply to this
    1. 2/3/2010 12:50 PM Jesus Crisis wrote:
      Who knows for sure it was really just a prank?  Didn't I just say it was "admitted"?  I can't tell what I don't know until I know it -- and frankly I don't even know if I can trust the admission.  If she's really sorry, why is she still using that name with her hundreds of other friends (all of whom she added after me, many by apparently plundering my friends list)?  Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass if someone uses a pseudonym -- this one in particular was rather clever.  Mark Twain, Dr. Seuss, George Eliot, Bob Dylan, Pope Benedict and Jesus Crisis are all made up names, too.  And I know there are valid reasons, beyond creative expression, for protecting one's true name/identity online.  I have no problem with any of that whatsoever.  But when I'm getting friend requests from cops pretending to be 14-year-old girls because they've found my name on a sex offender registry -- or when I'm getting requests from a made up woman, using the name of a fictional murderer, trying to get me to "meet" her somewhere alone -- and meanwhile she hides her IP address by sending messages from iPods and other places/devices -- and when she finally admits her name is fake, she briefly tries to impersonate a person from my distant past before finally revealing the whole thing was allegedly a "joke" -- and someone's else's idea at that, since she claims to be only a go-between -- I'm not so amused.  Her current story, which I choose to accept for now, has as many holes in it as her first and second.  But it's cool -- and I even find humor in all of this, as is (hopefully) evident in the above eye-ku.  I guess you could say we've reached a detente.

      Reply to this
      1. 2/3/2010 3:28 PM anon wrote:
        I guess from what you've shared here I wouldn't be amused... if I was on the receiving end of of something like it I'd be worried or scared.

        I never have.... so this is an eye-opener. All I can say is I hope you figure out who it is.... as I said I wouldn't be as amused.

        I go by a pseudonym on one of my pages.. but it wasn't intended... over time it was just something that stuck... but I've gotten used to it.
        When I'm actually called by it in public I'm always a bit taken aback... just because I'm not used to it.
        Reply to this
        1. 2/4/2010 4:41 AM Elena wrote:
          Fakebook is the name of this game. It is too much fakery and too little real friendship. In fact the word "friend" no longer has any meaning, does it?
          Reply to this
      2. 2/4/2010 10:44 AM Joy wrote:
        exactly the point ...
        and of course you don't give a rats ass because so many people are doing it now. but they're doing it as part of their artistic personae and it's meant to be part of the performance.
        the only issue at hand is the uncomfortableness of the situation and the particular sequence of events that caused it. If you feel stalked then you are stalked unless the person stops stalking. Dubblex told me it's called cyberbullying which is a reportable offense.
        Reply to this
        1. 2/4/2010 11:27 AM chris wrote:
          I don't get what your saying here Joy... can you clarify a little..
          Are you saying.. that you feel some artists/writers do this as part of their persona or performance?

          I don't get that as a connection at all... or perhaps I'm missing something. I suppose it is just people who are coooky (sic) not sure how to spell it just now..
          I can't imagine someone who is serious about their work would even think about getting involved in something like that. There would be a lot at stake reputation and otherwise for them. It doesn't seem sensible to me at all.

          I think anyone with sense in their head would realize that. That's why I think it is others... unrelated. But then that makes it even more puzzling... So I'm not sure what it accomplishes.

          I can't imagine why someone would want to stalk or otherwise harass someone either. I figure if you don't like someone you just leave them alone. But I've never been in that sort of situation so it's hard for me to relate to it. If I was... I suppose I would probably understand it better.
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          1. 2/4/2010 9:09 PM Tara wrote:
            I'm sure you can't imagine why someone would want to stalk someone. But People who stalk other people are deeply disturbed. They often have psychotic breaks that cause them to think that they have a relationship with the object of their obsession, even if it defies all rational thought, like David Lettrman's stalker. I like true crime and I have followed a lot of the celebrity stalking cases. John Lennon's murderer was a stalker. Stalkers are extremely dangerous. I never heard of anyone going this far either, but then I'm not that well known on the internet and there's safety in that, I hope. This is a very scary cautionary tale. You have to be careful how much information you share about yourself and who you share it with. I would seriously consider contacting the authorities if something like this ever happened to me.
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  • 2/4/2010 10:49 AM Joy wrote:
    I really relate to this entry John and it's raised all kinds of bells and whistles for me too.
    I could send you the story as a pdf - it's only 26 pages - I think you'd get it.
    Reply to this
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