By Emily Stark, Research Library Intern

I don’t know how my puppy manages to keep in touch with her friends; she doesn’t have a Facebook page. Nor does she have a Twitter, Flickr or YouTube account. She doesn’t even have a blog! These days even our four-legged friends have a need for social networking. A quick search of some popular social networking websites reveals that there are lots of animals who are committed to staying connected to their people and animal friends alike.

Facebook is filled with pages dedicated to dogs and family pets. Many of these animals even have their own profiles and are “friends” with other dogs as well as people! These dogs somehow manage to take time out of their busy day to think about their special interests, favorite TV shows, and quotes. They can join social groups or become “fans” of the CEA and CES pages to follow the latest CE news.

For pets who want to share their up to the minute thoughts, activities, and whereabouts, Twitter is an excellent outlet. There are lots of dogs who like to tweet in addition to the multitude of pet-related twitter users that share information about pet adoption, training, new products, and pet-related causes. All those four-legged tweeters will also be able to follow CES tweets from their bipedal friends and attendees. I know my puppy is a big fan of consumer electronics (chewing on them, at least) and would also be interested in @CEAfeed for consumer electronics new s and updates. Celebrity dogs are in on the Twitter action as well. The Obama’s dog, Bo, has multiple twitter accounts all claiming to be the real Bo. Even Lassie has a twitter account where she tweets about her efforts to find and rescue Timmy.

Social “petworkers” have no doubt spent time exploring pictures of their friends (and CES!) on Flickr, and posting videos of themselves and their friends to YouTube. Furry technology fanatics and their people should also check out CESontheTube for CES footage, interviews, and consumer electronic and CEA info.

Of course, there are lots of furry friends on the blog scene as well. Doggie bloggers enjoy sharing the details of their daily lives and their ideas about the world. They author their own blogs and share their opinions with fellow blogger’s posts. I hope these pets know they are always welcome to share their thoughts and comments on Digital Dialogue, CEA’s blog.

Clearly people have married their love for pets with a love for technology.  What better way to stay in touch with the community, any community than through social networking (or “social petworking”). From Fido’s blog to the latest consumer electronic news, social networking has become a big part of how people stay connected and informed on a daily basis.

If only I could convince my puppy to set up that Facebook account already…

CEA members: to suggest research topics (like pets and technology), leave your ideas at the ResearchForum on the members Website. (login required).