I’m going to be honest, this post is part lazy blogging (because I really need to spill my thoughts here more than once a month) and part shameless self-promotion (just in case you’re somehow reading this blog and unaware that I’m now the Editor of Change.org’s animal welfare and wildlife community). But mostly, I hope, it’s informative about some of the issues animals have faced over the past month.
So, in the spirit of last week’s announcement of the latest Webby Award winners (Congratulations, ASPCA!) and to celebrate my awesome new job, here are some recent highlights from the last month on the Change.org Animals blog:
Best Animal Story: Where There’s a Protest, There’s Riot Dog - It’s said that this stray dog in Athens, Greece, hasn’t missed a major political protest in two years. And he’s not just a mascot; he barks at the police, dodges tear gas, runs from the scene … it’s almost as if this guy believes in the cause. He may be a stray, but I think he’s living the life that many spirited dogs I’ve known would have loved.
Most Fun to Write: Zynga Removes Pit Bulls From Mafia Wars - When Mafia Wars announced the addition of a pit bull weapon to the game, more than 500 Change.org community members signed a petition and contacted Zynga, asking them to protect the pit bull image. Zynga contacted Change.org, letting us know they were removing the pit bull. During the email exchange, I found out that they’re a pretty cool dog-friendly, pit-friendly company. Campaign victory + positive image for pit bulls = Win!
Best Overdue Idea: Animal Shelters Go Green - Even though I’m leaving you, Ecology Center, I’ll always have a soft, green spot in my heart (that’s environmentalism, folks, not Michigan State or some strange disease). It was only a matter of time before the green building movement hit animal shelters, and some sweet upgrades are being incorporated into new shelters that help animals and the environment.
Most Disappointing: Will Obama Sell Out Whales on Earth Day? After a series of sketchy back-room talks, including an Earth Day meeting, Obama seems to be backing the legalization of commercial whaling. Even George W. Bush upheld the moratorium on whaling. ‘Nuff said.
I’ve decided to nix the Twitter auto-updates for now, because I can’t seem to get the format right. Instead, here’s a review of where you can find me (I’m not abandoning this poor little blog, but in case you want more…):
Martin Matheny, one of my fellow bloggers over at Change.org, posted about a new gizmo from Mattel that will tweet for your dog. “Puppy Tweets” attaches to your dog’s collar and when she is within range of your computer, it will generate and upload one of 500 pre-programmed Twitter messages.
Here’s why this waste of $29.99 misses the point, whether you’re tweeting for your dog, your writing career, or any other reason:
1) Pre-programmed messages are great … if you want to have a really lame account. Twitter is about interesting soundbytes: sharing bits of who you are, what you’re interested in, and how you see the world. Not only do Mattel’s messages not fit any of those criteria, but 500 options are likely to get old really fast (especially when they’re sure to be scintillating quotes like “OMG, I love squirrels!”)
2) Dogs don’t care about Twitter. They don’t care about sharing their thoughts online. They don’t want to talk about the squirrel, they want you to take them outside so they can chase it. The moral of the story: Don’t forget the real world. As you get caught up in social media, don’t sacrifice your relationship with your dog, or your writing, or the world outside of your office.
3) What’s the point? It can be connecting with friends or fans, or building a character’s online presence, or being an activist, but it has to be more than sharing your own thoughts for your own amusement. No one likes a narcissist, human or canine. The people who do a decent job tweeting as their dog are sharing information and insight into a dog’s world, versus attempting to actually give their dog a voice on Twitter. And, again, what makes all of this interesting is your unique perspective, not the canned response from some gadget.
4) Social networking is about being social and building a network. One-sided, pre-programmed messages don’t do the trick. You (or your dog) need to be available to respond and react to what’s happening in the Twitterverse.
If you can’t dedicate a few seconds to post a tweet, as your dog or yourself, it’s not worth being on Twitter. So be interesting, be unique, be interactive, and save the $29.99. Or, better yet, donate the money to your local animal shelter to help the dogs still looking for a home where they can set up a Twitter account.
Anyone who does animal rescue needs to see the documentary Mine, about people trying to reunite with their pets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Even if you don’t have animals, it’s a powerful statement on perseverance, how humans treat each other, and the meaning of home. For rescuers, it’s a powerful magnifying glass about the ways people are affected by animal rescue.
Before I saw the film, I wrote about the premise for the documentary over on the Change.org blog. I thought it could tell an important story about the connection between people and their pets, particularly in crisis situations, and the complications of custody battles. It did. But it also told the story of how people are treated when it comes to animal rescue. And it’s not always pretty.
People in rescue don’t have a ton of resources and usually don’t have much information on the animals we’re rescuing. We get in, we help the animal, we get out. Then we move on to trying to find the animal a good home so we can help more because the pool of animals in need is bottomless. As a group, we’re doing the best we can with what we have.
On the whole, we are a very judgmental group. Even those of us who try to keep an open mind tend to read between the lines of an animal’s situation and assume we know the type of people who caused it. We’ve seen enough abuse and abandonment to have good reason to be cynical. Our fellow humans rarely get the benefit of the doubt.
Mine highlights a group of people who suffered from these judgments. Hurricane Katrina was a unique situation in many ways, but the way people were treated was not. Read the rest of this entry »
Change.org, that is. This socially conscious social network just launched a shiny new Animal Welfare blog…and I’m lucky enough to get to write for it.
If you’re not already on Change.org, you should be (and if you are, why aren’t you my friend?). Every day, I’ll be blogging about animal stuff – the latest news, primers on the issues, updates, amazing/tragic/fillintheblank stories, or whatever happens to be on my mind. Got something on your mind that you’d like to see a post about? Let me know!
Check out the new blog, join the cause, and help me spread the word!
Ever read a national news story and think that some organization really should get the word out for people to write their representatives, or know of a local animal cruelty case where the judge needs to hear from people on why the abuser needs the strongest sentence possible? Now you can do something about it.
Change.org has opened up their online petition tool to everyone. That means that any organization, no matter how small, or any individual (that means you), can start a campaign of their own. Your campaign – on your issue – can get national media attention and change policies.
This is ridiculously cool. Seriously, this is what social media and the power of the internet is all about. Modern-day grassroots at its best. You don’t need to be a big national organization to make a difference. And these things work. Just a few weeks ago, there was a blog post on Scholastic’s decision to exclude a book with two mommies from their book fairs. A petition was created, it was recommended and retweeted (all part of the petition tool), and two days later, Scholastic changed its mind and the book was back on the table.
If you’re passionate about something happening in the world, you can find it on Change.org. Check it out, then spread the word to everyone else you know who cares.
For those of you with the occasional twinge of guilt that you spend more money on books than groceries, and for those of you who are free from buyer’s remorse but like to make a difference whenever you can, check out Better World Books.
When you buy a book from them, you help fund global literacy programs and support programs that provide books to literacy organizations around the world. They’re also environmentally conscious – they rescue used books from a landfill fate and all of their shipping is offset through Carbonfund.org.
If you’re looking for educational or children’s books, you can also check out First Book, which helps overcome the literacy obstacle of access to books by providing new books to kids across the U.S. and Canada.
So, you hereby have permission – almost a duty, really – to go forth and indulge your book addiction for a good cause!
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