Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

… they can both be impersonated on social networking sites.

According to the Manchester United website:

The club wishes to make it clear that no Manchester United players maintain personal profiles on social networking websites.

Fans encountering any web pages purporting to be written by United players should treat them with extreme scepticism.

Any official news relating to Manchester United or its players will be communicated via ManUtd.com.

and teachers in various Local Authorities have also been told to close their social networking accounts. Manchester City have also advised their players against setting up social networking pages despite the club having its own twitter account and winning a Golden Twit last November.

The reasons for taking such actions are often similar, to protect both the organisation and the individual. Manchester United’s statement is aimed at warning fans about impersonation accounts (although Twitter has a verification scheme for celebrities) and teachers are not immune from the same problem (see third comment).

Image credit: Ian Muttoo