social networking success

Dogs and cats are probably more important than Second Life to the future of the internet. While major media have hyped Second Life, the number of concurrent online users of Second Life rose above 20,000 for the first time on December, 29, 2006 (oddly, “peak concurrency” reportedly was 25,000 about a week later). The CEO of Linden Lab reported in early January, 2007, that “252,284 people have logged in more than 30 days after their account creation date”. That’s an upper bound for reasonable definitions of current active users in December, 2006.

Dogster and Catster have been about as successful as Second Life in acquiring active users. Dogster and Catster currently host about 244,000 and 103,000 dog and cat profiles, respectively. Some Dogster and Catster members post multiple profiles: 260,000 members accounted for over 300,000 pet profiles across both Dogster and Catster. Dogster/Catster has made available of variety of additional statistics:

* Over 20.5 million virtual treats given
* There are 7.8 million distinct friend-to-friend connections
* 2.6 million private messages have been sent through the sites
* Over 50,000 pets keep a diary
* We host and server 1.34 million pet photos
* Almost one million forums posts
* Members have created 4,601 affinity groups
[stats reported on Oct. 9, 2006]

Assuming that pets can’t write, “over 50,000 pets keep a diary” provides some indication of persons who actively use the service. However, one user may write more than one pet diary. On the other hand, active use can involved many activities other than writing a diary for a pet.

Define active users to be persons who used a service in a given month and who had also used the service more than 30 days prior to their use of the service in the given month. Based on the scanty available data and estimates, I would guess that the number of active users of Second Life and the number of active users of Dogster/Catster were both about 200,000 in December, 2006.

While Dogster/Catster has received relatively little funding, it has a much more propitious field for development than does Second Life. The economic value of Second Life artifacts is rather speculative. In November, 2006, Second Life users cashed out about US$1.1 million. Real-money trade of virtual commodities in all virtual worlds worldwide has been estimated at US$1-3 billion in 2006.

The value of pets is well-established and much larger. At the end of 2001, 36% of U.S. households had a dog, and 32% of households had a cat (see Table 1227). Total spending on pets in the U.S. in 2006 is estimated to have been $38 billion. This spending is not just for necessities:

As it is becoming widely recognized, pet owners’ spending is not limited to the basics. [American Pet Products Manufacturers Association]’s National Pet Owners Survey shows 27 percent of dog owners and 13 percent of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents, and 55 percent of dog owners and 37 percent of cat owners buy their pet holiday presents.

Pet-based social networking has real business potential.

Pet-based social networking opens up a new field of creative possibilities. Vinny the Pug may become more famous than a world-famous mountain climber. When the Dogster company blog reported more than 300,000 pet profiles on Dogster and Catster, a commenter wrote:

I was wondering how i can get my 2 year old brindle great dane to be in movies, or magazines, everyone seems even my self that she is a sight to see for being as large of a dog which she is. i would like if you could email me at [address omitted] and give me some insight of how or who would like to give cagney a chance to be a star in the dog world, i do have her site on dogsters here and i hpe you like what you see hope to hear from you soon

At the technological cutting age, SNiFlabs, pioneers in Social Networking in Fur, are developing intelligent pet collars, active leashes, and supporting information services:

Unlike impersonal web services, SNiFlabs lets someone you know and trust make personal connections for you: your dog. Every time you take your dog out for a walk you meet other dogs and other dog owners in your neighborhood. The SNiF® tag takes advantage of this and automatically keeps track of the dogs you have met while out and about. Want to meet new people? You already have something in common with other dog owners. Need to find a good plumber? Want to try a new neighborhood restaurant? Chances are that some one in your dog’s social network can make recommendations for you. [see Meeting People]

The future of the internet is as real as pet-based social networking.