All Things Dog Blog

Friday, February 11, 2011

Dog Lovers Love #FF on Facebook and Twitter, but What Does it Mean?

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Every Friday I see it all over the social media sites. I've never asked. Sometimes it's obvious; sometimes not so much. I'm talking about the acronym or hashtag FF.

I've searched and searched for an official meaning of #FF. I've come down to one conclusion: Bloggers and other social media users love it and use it for whatever acronym works for them. Here's a few I've found that you may find relevant:

Follow Friday (as in Twitter)
Facebook Friday (duh)
Friend Friday (I guess this works for both)
FIDO Friendly
Friend feed (on Facebook)
Furry Friday (pet bloggers?)
Friends Forever (as in BFF)
French Fries
Firefox
Fat Free
Frequent Flyer
Full Figured

Let's collect some data here. Leave a comment with other meanings for the acronym FF that are family-friendly (no pun intended) and might be useful to our readership. Then answer 1 question: Do you use Twitter and/or Facebook for social networking? If so, which or both?

Don't use either? Check my pages out here, just for the fun of it: Facebook and Twitter. Comments? I'd love your input. What were you expecting to find? What would you like to find? Hit that comment button at the bottom of the post and spill!

Now, let's move on to today's drawing winners:

No! You're not seeing double. Well, maybe you are, but there really are 2 mugs up there! Today we're giving away these two adorable dog-lovers' coffee mugs from one of our favorite sponsors, MANKINDdog™. They have a ton of cool dog and dog owner gifts, and they also have Phil and Gotham greeting you as you arrive on their site. It's definitely worth a visit, just to get a glimpse of these two fine specimens (tongue in cheek). Haven't seen them? Be sure to visit after you read this prize giveaway post.

Last week's Magical Mystery Mutt Tour and Blog Hop offered a fun guessing game for many visitors, trying to determine the genetic makeup of many of my blogging buddies' mixed breeds. It made for a fun-filled afternoon of guessing, for sure, and there were many interesting Heinz 57s to ponder. With 18 comments on my one post, this clearly was a big hit with you, my readers.

As a little added bonus, I offered to give away something that signifies the meaning of "Mans' Best Friends" to me--the 2 mugs from MANKINDdog™. The winners are:

Patti S.

Lillij (no last name!)

Dust off a spot on your desk, ladies, right after you drop me an email with your address to LetsAdoptaDogPark@gmail.com. This will be the perfect office coffee mug--it affectionately identifies your love of dogs. Watch for some other surprise freebies in your package as well, something I do just for fun. Enjoy!

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Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bringing Your Kids into Fido's Fold

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

Recently I have had the opportunity to observe a couple of families whose youngsters seemed oblivious to the presence of their dog. Dogs can be a wonderful example to children in so many ways, but sometimes they need a little help getting interested. Enter Toki Poki, a social networking site for you and your dog, with the vision to include kids.

Recently launched, Toki Poki's trading cards were a big hit at the pet bloggers' conference in Denver, Blogpaws. Your pup or kitty can join up with Toki and make friends all over the world, all the while helping you to learn about other breeds and enjoy meeting new friends who befriend your dog, or other pet. Along with your membership, you receive trading cards to begin your collection. This seems like a no-brainer for kids, to me, particularly when you add the "this is my doggie" component to the trade. What fun this will be for young children!

I'm especially excited to see some of the features that owner Christy Myhre has planned for the near future. For instance, online quiz shows like Jeopardy will involve answers about actual members, encouraging children, young and old, to explore the membership and meet new furry friends.

Coloring pages can be reloaded, when complete, to show off a child's work. Memory games will test our Alzheimer's potential, while we'll also be able to upload our dog or cat's actual meow or bark to their profile. Imagine, then, a game of matching barks and meows to pet's profiles. Does this sound fun for kids? You bet!

Christy tells me there will also be a birthday party package available soon through the online shop, with all sorts of intriguing possibilities for parties. And don't miss their Halloween costume contest, launched earlier this week. That's your call to arms; it's time to join up and "Do the Toki Poki" right now! That's what it's all about!

Let's get some dialog going here. I know you guys will love Toki Poki for your kids. What else can we do with trading cards, or at home, to get our children involved in learning more about dogs? Dogs are nature...right in our homes. This is a learning opportunity that we should not ignore.

Christy, of Toki Poki, mentioned another possible game where kids could play a 'guess the breed' game. There will be plenty of ways to research the answers on the computer, even right on Toki Poki's website. Have you got any other ideas you'd like to share? What do you do to involve your children in your dogs' care? Check out our poll on this topic at 5 Minutes for Fido.

Prize Giveaway Announcement:

Comments on this post, our 5 Minutes for Fido post, or on Facebook, whether questions, conversation or opinions, will be considered an entry in this week's contest. You can enter (with a comment) as often as you like. Prizes will be announced next Friday, October 8, and will include Toki Poki Tshirts, stickers, trading card starter sets and more. Oliver has even promised to dance next week. Check it out at "Lets do the Toki Poki and Turn Yourself Around". Oliver and Tanner's cards turned out adorable, as you can see above, and I'm enjoying putting them in each prize winner's package of goodies. What about your pup?

Visit Adopt a Dog Park

Help protect our precious dog parks

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