Let’s face it. Animals rule the Internet. Between LOLcats and upside-down dogs, people just can’t get enough cute. Even serious news stories can’t compare to the viral power of a sneezing panda or giggling slow loris.
In the world of social media, animals have been tweeting with more than just their beaks. They’ve been updating Facebook and YouTube accounts as well. The human faces behind these animal status updates spend precious time managing fictional animal accounts, but many have more online followers than major media outlets.
We’ve collected the most popular animal social media accounts and compared their fan bases to those of prominent media organizations. The results should shed some light on the Internet’s priorities.
1. Sockington vs. ESPN
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The Internet may be chock-full of cats, but only one can be its king. @Sockington is a normal cat that belongs to Internet archivist Jason Scott, but he has somehow recruited more than 1.48 million people into his "Socks Army." Compare that to @ESPN, which attracted 20,000 fewer sports fans to follow its account. Litterbox maintenance beats out the leading sports network. Go figure.
2. Bronx Zoo's Cobra vs. BBC News
In March, one of the worldâs deadliest snakes slipped from its cage in the Bronx Zoo. Along with the media cacophony, someone began a BronxZoosCobra Twitter account, which gained more than 200,000 followers in less than a week. The cobra was recaptured, but it didnât stop the hijinks of this account, and its companion escapee, BronxZooPeacock. It also has more followers than the well-respected BBC News.
3. Maru vs. currentTV
Maru is a male Scottish Fold cat who lives in Japan. He also has the distinction of having more than 139,000 YouTube subscribers, and videos of him have been viewed more than 108 million times. It isnât hard to see why â seriously, this cat is adorable. It was actually hard to find a media YouTube channel that rivals Maruâs dominance; he has more subscribers than CNN, Fox News, and The New York Timesâ channels combined. It was just barely beaten by Current, the TV network started by Al Gore that features original and user-generated reporting from around the world.
4. Boo vs. People Magazine
While weâve talked about top cats, social mediaâs top dog is Boo. Heâs a cute Pomeranian who likes to wear sunglasses or bear suits, and he also has more than 1.3 million Facebook fans. No big deal. Apparently, more people would like to look at adorable pictures of Boo than read about celebrity gossip on People Magazine'shttps://www.facebook.com/peoplemag Facebook Page, which is odd, considering Boo isnât even being toted about in a celebutauntâs purse.
5. Nyan Cat vs. MSNBC
If you havenât caught the Nyan Cat YouTube video, take care of that first. Now imagine a Twitter account that emulates Nyan Cat -- it only says "nyan." Now ask yourself, why would this account have over 120,000 followers? We're not sure, but thatâs more followers than @MSNBC. If you're stumped, maybe just watch the video again.
6. Beast vs. Forbes
It should be no surprise that Mark Zuckerburgâs dog is doing well on Facebook. But Beast, a breed of Hungarian sheepdog called a Puli, has now surpassed the Facebook fans following business magazine Forbes. Hundreds of thousands of people look at pictures of the pup being walked, cuddled and lazing around Facebook's offices. Maybe Forbes should include Beast on its 400 list.
7. Common Squirrel vs. San Francisco Gate
One tweets breaking news for the San Francisco area, and one tweets ponderous things such as "run run run," "dig" and "stare."@Common_Squirrel is doing very well on Twitter. Maybe @SFGate,*San Franciscoâs daily paper, should consider "reportâ and âbreak newsâ for its next tweets.
8. JFK Turtles vs. Newsday
Two weeks ago, turtles stopped airplane traffic on JFK airport's runways in New York. They quickly became the latest animal sensation on Twitter. Those turtles may be slow and steady, but they have gained more than 8,000 followers, surpassing Long Island's @Newsday Twitter account.
9. Raccoon Willie vs. RadioLab
Raccoon Willie has won YouTube fame by being a domesticated raccoon, and for teaching the world that you should never domesticate a raccoon if you value your home. The channelâs owner also invites viewers to send postcards to Willie. The wily raccoon has more subscribers than science podcast RadioLab, which, come to think of it, might be interested in this kind of thing.
10. Toaster vs. Savannah Morning News
While @Toaster canât hope to rise to Internet stardom as compared to Beast, any dog belonging to former Digg owner Kevin Rose is bound to be popular on Twitter. The labradoodle has surpassed the @SavannahNow Twitter account, meaning more people get social updates from a canine than from the Savannah Morning News.
More About: boo, bronx zoo's cobra, cute animals, JFKTurtles, kevin rose, mark zuckerberg, maru, nyan-cat, sockington
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In the world of social media, animals have been tweeting with more than just their beaks. They’ve been updating Facebook and YouTube accounts as well. The human faces behind these animal status updates spend precious time managing fictional animal accounts, but many have more online followers than major media outlets.
We’ve collected the most popular animal social media accounts and compared their fan bases to those of prominent media organizations. The results should shed some light on the Internet’s priorities.
1. Sockington vs. ESPN
[url="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?text=sdasdasd&url=http://mashable.com/2011/07/12/animals-social-media/"]
[/url]
The Internet may be chock-full of cats, but only one can be its king. @Sockington is a normal cat that belongs to Internet archivist Jason Scott, but he has somehow recruited more than 1.48 million people into his "Socks Army." Compare that to @ESPN, which attracted 20,000 fewer sports fans to follow its account. Litterbox maintenance beats out the leading sports network. Go figure.
2. Bronx Zoo's Cobra vs. BBC News
In March, one of the worldâs deadliest snakes slipped from its cage in the Bronx Zoo. Along with the media cacophony, someone began a BronxZoosCobra Twitter account, which gained more than 200,000 followers in less than a week. The cobra was recaptured, but it didnât stop the hijinks of this account, and its companion escapee, BronxZooPeacock. It also has more followers than the well-respected BBC News.
3. Maru vs. currentTV
Maru is a male Scottish Fold cat who lives in Japan. He also has the distinction of having more than 139,000 YouTube subscribers, and videos of him have been viewed more than 108 million times. It isnât hard to see why â seriously, this cat is adorable. It was actually hard to find a media YouTube channel that rivals Maruâs dominance; he has more subscribers than CNN, Fox News, and The New York Timesâ channels combined. It was just barely beaten by Current, the TV network started by Al Gore that features original and user-generated reporting from around the world.
4. Boo vs. People Magazine
While weâve talked about top cats, social mediaâs top dog is Boo. Heâs a cute Pomeranian who likes to wear sunglasses or bear suits, and he also has more than 1.3 million Facebook fans. No big deal. Apparently, more people would like to look at adorable pictures of Boo than read about celebrity gossip on People Magazine'shttps://www.facebook.com/peoplemag Facebook Page, which is odd, considering Boo isnât even being toted about in a celebutauntâs purse.
5. Nyan Cat vs. MSNBC
If you havenât caught the Nyan Cat YouTube video, take care of that first. Now imagine a Twitter account that emulates Nyan Cat -- it only says "nyan." Now ask yourself, why would this account have over 120,000 followers? We're not sure, but thatâs more followers than @MSNBC. If you're stumped, maybe just watch the video again.
6. Beast vs. Forbes
It should be no surprise that Mark Zuckerburgâs dog is doing well on Facebook. But Beast, a breed of Hungarian sheepdog called a Puli, has now surpassed the Facebook fans following business magazine Forbes. Hundreds of thousands of people look at pictures of the pup being walked, cuddled and lazing around Facebook's offices. Maybe Forbes should include Beast on its 400 list.
7. Common Squirrel vs. San Francisco Gate
One tweets breaking news for the San Francisco area, and one tweets ponderous things such as "run run run," "dig" and "stare."@Common_Squirrel is doing very well on Twitter. Maybe @SFGate,*San Franciscoâs daily paper, should consider "reportâ and âbreak newsâ for its next tweets.
8. JFK Turtles vs. Newsday
Two weeks ago, turtles stopped airplane traffic on JFK airport's runways in New York. They quickly became the latest animal sensation on Twitter. Those turtles may be slow and steady, but they have gained more than 8,000 followers, surpassing Long Island's @Newsday Twitter account.
9. Raccoon Willie vs. RadioLab
Raccoon Willie has won YouTube fame by being a domesticated raccoon, and for teaching the world that you should never domesticate a raccoon if you value your home. The channelâs owner also invites viewers to send postcards to Willie. The wily raccoon has more subscribers than science podcast RadioLab, which, come to think of it, might be interested in this kind of thing.
10. Toaster vs. Savannah Morning News
While @Toaster canât hope to rise to Internet stardom as compared to Beast, any dog belonging to former Digg owner Kevin Rose is bound to be popular on Twitter. The labradoodle has surpassed the @SavannahNow Twitter account, meaning more people get social updates from a canine than from the Savannah Morning News.
More About: boo, bronx zoo's cobra, cute animals, JFKTurtles, kevin rose, mark zuckerberg, maru, nyan-cat, sockington
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