Fun for Friday

If imitation is still the highest form of flattery, then the fake Twitter account (FTA) is gold in the realm of social media validation.

As the Twitterverse took note of the pun-laden ramblings of an escaped cobra this week, we were inspired to share some of our favorite FTAs:

@FakeAPStylebook Slightly more entertaining and certainly as informative as the real thing: @APStylebook. The account even landed its authors a book deal.

@BPGlobalPR The FTA took a social consciousness bent after last year’s BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Josh Simpson was outed as the feed’s clever creator. The tweets have fallen off as we’re more removed from the disaster, but it was good to see such clever satire of an otherwise tragic incident.

@Nick_Nolte If you’re easily made to feel uncomfortable, you may not want to follow this feed, which is based on the hard-partying actor. Among its printable recent tweets: “Went into a Nordstrom Rack thinkin it was a special store just for buxom ladies. Left disappointed.”

@TracyJordanTGS Fans of NBC’s “30 Rock” surely appreciate this faux account, written from the perspective of Tracy Morgan’s gregariously random character.

@DianaInHeaven Tasteless? Probably. Funny? More often than not.

@Goose_Island_PR News that the Chicago microbrewery had been purchased by Anhuseser-Busch was hours old when this fake account was started. It was clear from the account’s second tweet that it would be swinging for the satirical fences: “The sale of Goose Island was not a sell-out; it doesn't count as a sell out until you hit $40 million. $38 million is really nothing.”

@DrTobiasFunke The TV series “Arrested Development” may be long gone, but one of its lovable characters—David Cross’ Dr. Tobias Funke—lives on in our hearts … and on Twitter.

Gone, but not forgotten:

These accounts entertained us until they ceased to exist. Thankfully, we can look back and chuckle: @MayorEmanuel, @fakechucknorris, @fakesarahpalin, @AbeVigoda, and the dozens of fake Steve Jobs accounts that have been abandoned in Twitter’s five-year existence.

From Ragan.com