Once again today, i read about someone’s concern about the fake characters on Friendster. Of course, the creator despises these fake characters. Although i’ve never created them, i find them utterly fascinating. Given my appreciation of Morningstar & Farmer’s paper on why it is necessary to pay attention to what users do not what designers want them to, i’m also fascinated by the uproar over what the users have chosen to do.

People create fake characters to show their allegience to a certain element of culture. When Burning Man existed, people showed that he represented their interests. No one is going to make friends with LSD or Ecstasy if they are anti-drugs, because one’s appreciation of that type of humor requires an appreciation of the culture embedded in it. Conversely, when one makes friends with God on Friendster, one is probably not Christian.

Characters are just another way that people game Friendster, indicating that its primary purpose is not dating for most people. It is a fun experiment in social behavior and identity development/manipulation. People want to see who all they can access; they want to see their numbers grow (even if those numbers are utterly meaningless); they want Friendster to be fun fun fun.

Of course, this begs the question: can it be both fun and meaningful?