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Social networking for our pets?
Social Networking: It's a Dog-Meet-Dog World
Newsweek
July 17, 2006 issue - According to her online profile, Anastasia, an attractive and petite blonde, likes car rides, walks through Nashville's Centennial Park and "stalking small creatures." Anastasia's no psychopath; she's a miniature schnauzer, whose owner posted her profile on Dogster.com.
As human social-networking sites like Friendster.com and MySpace.com have become increasingly popular, similar sites have popped up for pets. Dogster.com, the first of the sites, launched in 2004 and now boasts more than 180,000 members in 182 countries, adding 12,500 members last month and as many as 900 per day. Catster.com has 76,000 members. With fewer than 1,000, Hamsterster.com is tiny—but growing. Folks with a less conventional pet—a chinchilla or a spider, say—can sign up for the more inclusive Petster.com, which has some 11,000 members.
Ultimately, the sites are another way for humans to connect. Owners, who communicate with one another mainly in the voices of their animals, usually wind up making human friends. "Cat mad" Susan Bailey of Buckinghamshire, England, recently met up with a fellow Catster member at a Bruce Springsteen concert in New York City. "We discuss human topics," says Bailey, whose cat is named Bruce. "But through the cats."
—Malak Hamwi
Social Networking: It's a Dog-Meet-Dog World
Newsweek
July 17, 2006 issue - According to her online profile, Anastasia, an attractive and petite blonde, likes car rides, walks through Nashville's Centennial Park and "stalking small creatures." Anastasia's no psychopath; she's a miniature schnauzer, whose owner posted her profile on Dogster.com.
As human social-networking sites like Friendster.com and MySpace.com have become increasingly popular, similar sites have popped up for pets. Dogster.com, the first of the sites, launched in 2004 and now boasts more than 180,000 members in 182 countries, adding 12,500 members last month and as many as 900 per day. Catster.com has 76,000 members. With fewer than 1,000, Hamsterster.com is tiny—but growing. Folks with a less conventional pet—a chinchilla or a spider, say—can sign up for the more inclusive Petster.com, which has some 11,000 members.
Ultimately, the sites are another way for humans to connect. Owners, who communicate with one another mainly in the voices of their animals, usually wind up making human friends. "Cat mad" Susan Bailey of Buckinghamshire, England, recently met up with a fellow Catster member at a Bruce Springsteen concert in New York City. "We discuss human topics," says Bailey, whose cat is named Bruce. "But through the cats."
—Malak Hamwi
(no subject)
As for the tag to this (the one that appears on my friends page), I had a dog and cat (Bridget and Johann, respectively) that lived together for a decade and a half. They were the best of friends and I'm still convinced that Johann died of a broken heart a year after we had to put Bridget to sleep. 8-(