Animals and the Internet

People are bringing their pets everywhere you can imagine today. It is very common to see a woman carrying around her cute pooch into the supermarket for a quick grocery run, a family traveling the country with their kitten, or of course a dog sticking its head out of the car window.

But what is one place you would not necessarily expect to find any sort of animal?

A social networking website. A few years ago this would have seemed preposterous. After all, animals can’t go on the computer and socialize with other animals! Not to mention the fact that they have far better things to do than check their feline friend’s status update. And yet, somehow our animal friends have found their way to another place us humans thought we dominated.

It is easy to see the rise in animals that have joined these social networking websites. Simply search “cats” into Twitter and you’ll find many house cats that have their own Twitter account.

A perfect example of this, is our cat Antonio, who has his own Twitter account. He enjoys checking it daily and would love to get more followers. Follow him on Twitter @hungryantonio.

The fact that a pet has their own Facebook or Twitter account seems funny and ridiculous at the same time. Perhaps, the owners of these internet savvy pets on the web have valid reasons behind creating an account for their furry friend. In a way, creating a social networking website for your pet gives the pet more character and makes you feel as though they are a part of the family even more than they already are.

Updating a status on what your hamster is doing at that very moment, or putting pictures of them eating dinner up on Facebook is a fun way to show your friends and family what’s going on with your beloved little pet, without having it take up all the space on your own Facebook profile.

Today, not only is it common for pets to have a Twitter or a Facebook, but now there are countless social networking websites made exclusively for pets as well. These websites are
not only used to have pets interact with other pets, show off how good your dog’s looking, but they are also a great way to learn more about your pet, and even adopt a friend for your dog,
cat, hamster, fish, bird, or whatever animal you view as a part of your family.

Here is a list of some of the most common social networking websites for your pet, along with a summary - Catster, Dogster, MyDogSpace, MyCatSpace, Petbrags, United Dogs, United Cats, are just a few of the social networking sites that are popping up on the internet.

Other animals with major followings online include Mark Zuckerberg’s pet dog Beast, as well as those who have become famous without the help of such celebrity endorsement.

Boo, a dog on Facebook liked by nearly 1.4million people, is officially categorised as a ‘Public figure’. He is shortly to be the subject of a book to be published in Ameriocas entitled “Boo: the Life of the World’s Cutest Dog”. Sockington the cat, who has nearly 1.5million Twitter followers, has tweeted nearly 8,000 times.

Based on the increased number of pets on the internet and social networking sites, it seems that animals are gaining in popularity, even more than celebrities. Many pet social networking sites help pet lovers gain an online presence so they can share their information with other pet lovers.

There are great benefits to have an internet pet community. From getting advice and being up to date on the newest pet products, pet lovers can get knowledge at their fingertips.

With over 78 millon dogs owned in the United States and over 86 millon cats owned in the United States, it is just a matter of time before our pets take over the internet.

This hub was researched and written by ToKnowInfo’s daughter, aka 3KnowInfo, affectionately known as HasNoInfo.