Author: Hilary
Getting Doggy on Facebook
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 @ 1:30 am
How to Waste Time as a Dog Obsessed Facebook Fiend!
I am not the only Facebook user constantly using Dogbook, the Facebook application for people to share pictures and information about their dogs.
In fact, according to the group’s page, there are about 21,480 daily active users. Not too shabby! I am certainly not alone in my obsession with Dogbook. Louis Reginald has had a profile, pretty much since he came to live with me.
He has a whopping 492 friends on Facebook. To give you a point of reference, I have a paltry 148 friends. Ella Bean has only been on the site for about a month and she has only 21 friends. Other dogs have upwards of 1,000 friends!
Dogbook was developed in a week’s time by a 21-year old named Alexandre Roche. The application essentially makes a Facebook Profile for your dog. You enter in your dog’s name, its breed and type, its favorite actitivites, ect.
Why are seemingly logical adults and college students spending hours making ‘friends’ for their dogs, updating their profiles and even their status?
Unlike breed or health topic specific chat forums, Dogbook is a more personal approach to social networking in the vast online canine community. Canine members communicate to one another by taking on their dog’s persona, rather then speaking directly to the human owner. Its fun, but not really all that useful, it is purely social and you have to chance upon users interested in topics like health in order to connect with like-minded pet owners.
Dogbook, however, makes it clear that we are just a group of people, so in love with our dogs, we want to show them off on the world wide web.
I hope that they add more functions like the human Facebook, where our dogs can join ‘groups’ (i.e. Frisbee Lovers, Raw Eaters, Fat Dogs, Tiny Dogs, etc.) and the ability to communicate and connect via those interests. This would advance Facebook’s superficial value and turn it into a place where dog owners can share information, valuable tips and experiences as a dog owner and more.
The major downer about Dogbook is that the programmers regularly encounter problems that disable the application. At one point the server was down for a few days. Check out the messages from users on Dogbook’s page [click here and head to the discussion board]! Users were livid!!!! You would think that people would stay calm, after all, its a pet profile, but people were seriously freaking out! All of the features have yet to be restored at this time, but the programmers assure users that they are working day and night to restore all the features and add more to capitalize on the application’s success.
My other fave dog application, which I started using to waste time when I am bored. This application, PetPupz, beats Dogbook with 104,421 daily active users. Nice! What is so funny is that PetPupz is no longer for bored people in front of their computers. We have become owners obsessed with giving our virtual dogs the best food, care and having the highest levels of obedience. Its great, with the click of a button, you can train your dog! I wish I had that button for Louis and Ella!
In this application you choose a dog breed, adopt a puppy, name him or her, decide his or her likes and dislikes and take it from there.
It is up to you to earn Puppy Points to feed, train and play with your puppy to keep it happy. Every 24 hours the program gives you some points and points can be earned by inviting other players, playing with other peoples dogs and participating in advertising surveys. I only earn through petting other dogs and inviting people. I can’t explain why I am compelled to keep using this application, with two real dogs snuggled up to my side, however, I keep coming back for more!!
Try it, you’ll see, its addictive fun!
If you have a Facebook account, check out Louis Reginald and Ella Bean on Dogbook and ask to be their friend and come visit my fake dog, Winston, in the Petpupz application!
What’s your favorite Facebook doggie application?
Email This Post
Related Categories:
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:53 am
[…] Hilary wrote an interesting post today on Facebook Dog ApplicationsHere’s a quick excerptI hope that they add more functions like the human Facebook, where our dogs can join ‘groups’ (ie Frisbee Lovers, Raw Eaters, Fat Dogs, Tiny Dogs, etc.) and the ability to communicate and connect via those interests. … […]
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:33 am
[…] Emily, Maggie, and Angel wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptMy other fave, dog application, which is just a total time drain, is called PetPupz. It beats Dogbook with 104421 daily active users. Nice! In this application you choose a dog breed, adopt a puppy, name him or her, decide his or her … […]
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 am
[…] Emily, Maggie, and Angel wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptIts great, with the click of a button, you can train your dog! I wish I had that button for Louis and Ella! In this application you choose a dog breed, adopt a puppy, name him or her, decide his or her likes and dislikes and take it … […]