The Dalai Lama has accepted your friend request – not

The real Dalai Lama

I’m not sure why, but I fell for it. I found myself terribly excited to make the acquaintance of the Dalai Lama online last weekend, first via Twitter and then on Facebook. He had me at hello.

To my credit, the faker had interwoven the new Twitter account with deeply developed Facebook and MySpace profiles and linked to official sites as well. I rushed to announce: “Now Twittering – Name: Dalai Lama, Location: Dharamasala” – with a link to the page.

Next, I checked Facebook and shared: Now you can friend the Dalai Lama on Facebook too: http://tinyurl.com/cmu5fw.

I don’t know what motivated the impostor, nor do I ever. I was previously tickled by direct contact from an influential museum curator until I learned that he had been dead for years; ok, decades.

Anyway, the new Dalai Lama Twitter page was acquiring new followers so quickly that I even Twittered: “For fun right now, go to the Dalai Lama’s Twitter page and keep reloading to watch his following grow.”

Next, I sent him question: I saw these protesters outside your appearance in Philadelphia. Can you help me understand the conflict? – http://tinyurl.com/d4aete

I got a direct message response, noting that it might be hard to explain the issue in 140 characters, and asking for my email address, which I sent along with enthusiasm. I never got a reply but was comforted with general tweets about their meteoric growth making it difficult to keep up.

Next, I got the friend confirmation at Facebook – Dalai has accepted your friend request!

Altogether, the phony Dalai Lama passed my all-time Twitter following in 24 hours and gathered about 20,000 – faithful? hopeful? – over the weekend before the ruse was reveled.

On Monday morning, @caroline of Twitter support disclosed: “bummed to discover that @ohhdl was a fake account. will try to get the *real* ohhdl to twitter. promise. ;) ”

Later, she added: “everyone who’s wondering why @ohhdl was suspended. the official ohhdl in dharamsala, india informed us that @ohhdl is an impersonator. sorry”

A blog.twitter.com post followed: A Lesson in Nothingness

The account then reappeared with an inauthenticity disclosure. I encouraged my audience to un-follow and to share in my enjoyment while watching their numbers dwindle as quickly as they had grown. Today, the account has just a couple of hundred followers remaining.

I shared my chagrin on Twitter as it all unfolded and a friend consoled me, telling me I was a nice guy but after all, not much of a world religious leader. True.

Looking back, I remain no less than amazed by the self-correcting powers of collaboration and consensus in social media. If l learned anything, it might be to watch out for impostors, especially on weekends.

Finally, I think I was feeling more peaceful for a while there, so I hope the real Dalai Lama gives it a try. At least it will be fun to watch his following spike again.