L. Anne Carrington  

Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 4/8/2009 5:57 PM UTC

  Superstars and Social Networking Sites
  

  In the modern day of the Internet, there are many online ’social networks’ that bring together any and all personalities from students, independent and well known music acts, actors, writers, professionals in other industries, and yes, in some cases, even wrestlers.
  
  One of the most popular communities is MySpace, a site that brags many forms of communication, from blogs to calendars to even posting bulletins to be read by friends and fans. There are also other sites (though less authentic pages) such as Facebook, and a few others.
  
  Whatever the case, for each ‘real’ social networking account, there are at least 50 fake ones, and that are only the ones we know about. More can be popping up as this article is being published.
  
  Though there are pages that actually do look authentic, usually a closer look will state otherwise. Then there are other such pages that make it glaringly apparent that the page is not real, such as an age or vital information such as career stats being totally off.
  
  
  Here are a few ways fans can tell if someone is real or not:
  
  1. The best way is to ask the superstar directly (I‘ve done this). There is no better source than this when and if the opportunity should arise.
  
  2. If the superstar has an official website that lists a social networking link on said site. This is a clear indication of whether a social networking page in question is authentic or otherwise.
  
  3. Take a very close look at the page(s) in question. If things such as career statistics, age, marital status, or hometown seem “off,” chances are very good the page is a fake one.
  
  4. A superstar who is known to have promotes their page(s) now and then. Why would they do this if it were fake?
  
  5. Checking out good, reputable listing sites such as Wrestling Fans Against Posers of MySpace (WFAPOM) at http://www.myspace.com/wfapom. You may also check out WFAPOM’s official page on WWE Universe at http://fans.wwe.com/spudzofwfapom
  
  These guys do a fantastic job of keeping ‘poser pages’ lists up to date; however, like any other site, they too can have errors (such as certain pages not yet being confirmed as legit or otherwise) so it’s not always 100 percent accurate--though I will give them 99 percent.
  
  6. The best place to go where the pages are guaranteed to be real: WWE Universe. Not only does the site have a strict policy against ‘poser’ pages of their Superstars, but also each Superstar page has an ‘Official’ seal at the top of their pages under the WWE Universe logo, assuring visitors that the page is indeed an authentic one.
  
  Personally, people who set up the fake pages are totally pathetic in my book. Perhaps there is something missing in these people’s lives, but posing as someone else is not the way to go about it. There are better options in socializing online, and these people are going to be found out eventually anyway.
  
  Honestly, such ‘posers’ shouldn’t even bother wasting their time. Fans who know better will see this stuff, and those who are up on their wrestling knowledge/history will generally be able to sniff out the fakes with little or no difficulty.
  
  In addition, WWE monitors all legitimate superstar profiles, so there are guidelines in which said superstars can and cannot do as far as what content goes on those pages is concerned.
  
  The saddest part about all of this is that thousands of young people out there who are easily influenced are tricked into believing they are communicating with their heroes. I cannot even begin to imagine the devastation they would feel once it’s been discovered they had been communicating with a ‘poser’ type all along.
  
  There is also the factor that communicating with a fake can be dangerous if one isn’t on their guard. Wanting to meet a fan somewhere or wanting a fan to move closer to them, for example, should raise red flags.
  
  WWE also has a policy in place that their superstars cannot socialize with anyone outside of a pre-appoved setting for obvious reasons.
  
  So there you have it; even with some of the best scrutiny on our own parts, we've all been played from time to time, and I have to admit, those who have should be thankful that feeling foolish, devastated, and embarrassed were the worst outcomes they could have experienced once finding out they‘d been tricked by a ‘poser‘ or three.
  
  Though finding ways to spot fakes is not 100% foolproof, and these fakes have conned many an unsuspecting person. Though nothing is foolproof, it‘s always good to check everything out thoroughly before proceeding any further. And of course, never give out any personal information to anyone online, even to those you know.
  
  Hopefully the information outlined here will both help and make others think, and may all of you be safe out there.
  • Tags:
  • The Wrestling Babe
  • Social Networking Si
  • WWE Universe
  • WFAPOM
  • Wrestling
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