As I flicked through the paper last night, I was struck by an article in the Daily Mail (granted I don't read the Daily Mail often) about 'Dogbook' - the online social networking webpage for dogs. For the article check out this link (here). Dogbook was created as a facebook application for people to share pictures and information about their dogs. However, many online communities now specialise in a network dedicated to canine interaction. I feel that this is another great example of how online communication is mediated through offline relationships. For to long had the concept of a 'network' been considered to mean things like a university or employment affiliation. It appears that owning a dog can be part of a network too. Like belonging to a university, owning a dog requires abiding to certain social rules. Just as a group of students could talk about taking exams, the collection of dog owners could talk about taking their pet for a walk. The mediation of the offline activity is crucial to the sustained relationship in the online community. A mundane question that springs to mind is, do dog owners use facebook the same way as college students?But I think there is more to it than that...
What is the purpose of the pensive, human-like pose of the dog in the photograph (Daily Mail article)? Why has that particular author chosen to photograph the dog as if part of a human model photo shoot?
In the human facebook (I realise how stupid that sounds) there is a strong tradition towards 'posing' for the camera to create a profile image. Is this also true for dog profiles? A dog is just a dog after all.
