These days there are many many choices for one to choose from online to be very social. I'm sure no one doubts that. You may already know that a few of the big giant companies are so against social animals and setting up rules for people only. They are so hung up on 'real names" rather than "screen names". I actually find it a bit surprising in this day of identity theft risks with all our real data getting around.
Sadly the big boys in the social media explosion go on rampages of deleting and inactivating accounts. What's the point? They say it is for interacting and socializing, people should be able to pick if they want their friend to know them by a real name or a screen name. Not everyone is online to catch up with old friends or family as the big guys assume.
So where does that leave us? What options are there for us who enjoy being a social animal, who enjoy leaving all those human problems behind and having good ol clean fun in the social animal world?
Let me share a few places with you.
Please note that there are many sites out on the net and I am not trying to say I tried them all.
I'm also reviewing these as a free user and most of the sites limit how many photos or videos you can add as a free user.
(I'm not going to cover Catster or Dogster, they have been around for several years and most animal lovers have already checked them out. If you haven't, just google them and check them out. )
This is a large social site, some go online here as pet owners and some as a pet.
There are forums, photo and video galleries, chat, and articles and a rather simple profile.
When I checked out the chat there (a few times) it seemed to be some young people in there just goofing off, so not my cup of tea in the chat there. It looks like a good site if you want to see lots of dogs, cats and other pets and read about what their people have to say about them. They have a lot of articles about pet care as well.
So Into Cats is a small little community of cat lovers. It seems very sweet. A little quiet, and is growing a bit slowly. But if you want a small intimate group of friends to share with about your cats, this is the place to be. You can customize your profile and background and also use animated gif graphics on your posts and write blog posts. This site does not have chat but you can upload photos and embed videos. There are some apps available to add to your page through the Ning network. I don't know how many apps you are allowed to use.
Cat Hugger is a fun site based on a ship theme. There are quite a few members on this site. One thing they do different is you can sign up with one account and make several sub accounts. So you can sign up as the pet owner and have several pet accounts, or be all pet accounts. There is one-on-one chat, forums and groups. You can also use animated gifs in you posts, upload photos and videos. You can also customize your background on your profile there. It seems like a nice bunch of members on there.
Friendburst is a rapidly growing site which is modeled after what myspace used to be. It is not loaded down with a bunch of apps and runs very smoothly. You can leave the large html and animated gif graphics on your friends profile just like myspace. It has one-on-one chat and group chat. There are a few animal people on there and they seem to be growing in numbers. You can customize your profile quite a bit and also upload photos and videos. Its a lot of fun if you like to be creative. The animal friends can find some great animal graphics to share too.
Fursbook is a site created for animal profiles, no human profiles. If you want to play as an animal this is the place that will always welcome you. Many of the members are part of the anipal community on Twitter.
But not everyone. You do NOT have to be a Twitter user to be on Fursbook.
You can customize your profile a lot, including the background and some apps from the Ning network. There are forums, groups and you can write a blog. You can also upload or embed photos and videos. There is one-on-one chat and group chat. There are also online games to play. This is an active group that is growing. This is a closed group and you can have access by invitation and verification. The site is striving to keep it animal profiles without s p a m. Ask me if you think you would like to join.
Some enjoy just chatting on twitter. They have parties (pawpawty) nipclub, chickfest, dudefest, weddings, birthday pawties, and other social events. Many of them are fund raisers for animal charities and shelters.
And lets not forget the Blogosphere, many are happy just blogging about the animal world and interacting with friends that way.
I hope I have encouraged you to check out some places you have not been yet.
I hope you will leave me a comment, tell me what you like, or don't like, or if you are going to try some of the sites.
See you online!!!
