I love pets. I love social media. But a combination of the two? I don’t know if I’m sold.
I know at least two people who tweet or update a Facebook page dedicated to their pet. And they do it well. Mister Scrubby is one such pet, who owns Michigan native and North Carolina transplant Laurie Ruettimann. He chats about a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, the size of his butt, his incontinence, mischief he gets into while his mom’s traveling and his birthday celebrations. Scrubby’s fan base on Facebook includes 493 people and 2,800-plus on Twitter.
Proud papa Matthew Ruffi helps his canine companion, Valentino Ruffi, keep his fans and followers up to date about all of his latest adventures, including trips to the dog park, play dates with his friends, and lazy afternoon naps. “Tino” boasts 181 friends on Facebook and a whopping 3,200 followers on Twitter.
Valentino’s a really happy pup… who just so happens to tweet.So why o why are tweet-happy pets on my mind? Because to know me is to know my English bulldog, Mona. She’s 50 pounds worth of snorting, burping and wiggling love, and has been the source of many admirers since I brought her home in 2009. I get asked at least once a month when she’s going to start her own Twitter account, or when I’ll finally let people become a fan of an official Mona Facebook page.
I’ve rejected the notion every single time (I have a hard enough time maintaining my own social media accounts, for goodness sakes.) And does that take me to a whole ‘nother level of pet-loving craziness if I cave and do it? The jury’s still out.
But there are some crazy, tech-loving geeks who decided to make it a lot easier to give Fluffy or Fido a voice on the Interwebs. Enter: Puppy Tweets and Pet’s Eye View. Puppy Tweets automatically tweets for your dog, translating movements and barks into more than 500 phrases such as “I bark because I miss you. There, I said it. Now hurry home.” Pet’s Eye View is a tiny digital camera that you clip to your pet’s collar, which takes a photo every 1, 5 or 15 minutes.
Mona’s already a diva. Does she really need a Twitter page, too?A recent experiment with the Pet’s Eye View camera found that house cats aren’t as lazy as one might assume. Fifty felines were given these collar cameras, and, based on the photos, 22 percent of the cats’ time was spent looking out of windows, 12 percent was used to interact with other family pets and 8 percent was spent climbing on chairs or kitty condos. Only 6 percent of the cats’ time was spent sleeping,according to MSNBC.com.
The cats were looking at a TV, computer, DVDs or other media 6 percent of the time, and 4 percent of the time was spent eating or looking at food.
But because I can tweet on behalf of my pet, should I? I’d love to hear your feedback on this highly polarizing issue.
Post by Erica Finley, digital media strategist at The Urbane Way and @Erica_Urbane on Twitter. At The Urbane Way, we specialize in social media marketing and PR and lifestyle branding. How can we help you?
Photos courtesy of Matthew Ruffi and Laurie Ruettimann.
This post is brought to you by the fine folks at Paragon Apartments, offering apartments across Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and the Paragon Patio, where residents connect. We’d love to talk with you on Facebook and Twitter!
