Even your dog has a blog
It goes without saying that Max, a 3-year-old golden retriever can't talk. But that doesn't stop him from chronicling his dog's life -- as told to his owner Aubrey Jones -- on the blog Max the Golden Retriever. There are trips to the dog park, musings on his owners' socks, confessions about crushes on poodles and, of course, his passion for tennis balls. "Hey, look, a tennis ball," a December 17, 2007, post reads. "My long-lost tennis ball. ... How many hours has it been since I saw you last?" These days, it seems everyone from the UPS man to your mother-in-law is a blogger. At last count, the blog search engine Technorati.com shows nearly 113 million blogs on the Internet, and it estimates that more than 120,000 blogs are created each day. So why shouldn't pets have voices? At least that's the sentiment of lots of pet owners who have set up blogs for their dogs, cats, goldfish and hamsters to channel their household companions online. Jones, a small-business consultant, says he and his family in Raleigh, North Carolina, get a kick out of Max's blog. "It's a blast," he says. "I was looking for a way of doing something humorous. And I can really see Max in these posts. It's about capturing his energy." In the process, he's captured other readers, too. Some leave comments on the blog about their own dogs; others have inquired about Max's availability for play dates. "There's a definite connection among dog owners," says Jones. Max is in good company. Fellow pet scribes include Daisy, a frisky 4-year-old calico cat who writes about chasing lizards in and around her home in Parkland, Florida, along with catnip capers and modeling the latest kitty couture clothing. After each of her posts, between 50 and 150 fans, many of them masquerading as felines, leave comments. Some pets are part of their owner's social network. Some 34,000 users daily visit Dogbook on Facebook, which allows owners to create "profiles" for their pets. Kitties may be a little neglected with 13,390 daily visits to Catbook. what a life.'" She thinks pet blogging might even be an effective way to relieve stress. just some imagination and creativity. McPherson offers this advice to would-be pet bloggers: "Try to see the world through your pet's perspective," she says. "It's his or her blog, after all. If you want the blog to be from your own point of view, do your own!" |
