Fakester Avatars

The Friendster craze is officially 'so five minutes ago.' The sentiment was confirmed when my college roommate, now a producer's assistant at ABC World News, propositioned me for an interview about the website. When the reporter asked me about fake profiles of ABC's anchor Peter Jennings, I replied, 'Everyone knows that Peter Jennings is a Fakester.' Friendster's network of profiles, pictures, and testimonials are attached through visible webs of mutual friendships. The site spins conventional online dating into an addictive form of social research that makes unexpected reunions possible for singles and couples alike. In Friendster's second wave of popularity, pranksters have created 'Fakesters,' charlatan profiles that serve up fandom, tributes, institutional affiliations, or conceptual identifications. Pop stars like Beyonce Knowles, not to mention celebrity dogs,have cultivated large circles of friends. For intelligensia-hounds, Guy Debord was recently spotted on Friendster using a 1000 word Situationalist manifesto in his 'About Me' column. Some of the most clever conceptual fakesters include the number Pi, who likes Dating both Men and Women, Gay Clich