Sockington Should ReTweet a Note from Romeo
In the past couple of days, friends have sent me news media links about Sockington, a cat on Twitter that in three months has amassed over 500,000 followers in a few months. The latest headline calls the phenomenon "ridiculous."
I don't consider it ridiculous, but I think it's a shamefully wasted fame. While Sockington's owner, Jason Scott, may rake in a few dollars from sales of Sockington Twitshirts, he could do well to follow Caroline Golin's example by turning Sockington's popularity into a tool for helping other cats.
Take Ms. Golin's Romeo the Cat, for instance, a Cat of the Week on this site in April. Romeo has been on Twitter about the same length of time as Sockington. Unlike Sockington, he has only 4,601 followers today. However, Caroline Golin decided early on that she would donate 5 cents to an animal charity for each of Romeo's followers. His followers quickly matched her donation, then corporate sponsors arrived on the scene. Romeo's current sponsors are SeaYuŽ Enterprises, the makers of Clean+GreenŽ, Wellness Natural Pet Food, Petwebdesigner.com, FURminator DeShedding Tools, and Feline Pine All-Natural Cat Litter. They have each agreed to donate a certain amount each month. Petco and Iams each donate goods. To date, Romeo the Cat and his followers have raised more than $14,000 for animal welfare organizations. All money raised goes directly to the selected non-profits.
If I were Jason Scott, I'd turn Sockington's page into something really meaningful by using it as a funnel to financially help a really worthwhile cause. Imagine the impact of 400,000 $1 donations per month to charity! Sockington's Army would really have something to tweet about then.
Photo of Romeo © Caroline Golon
Comments
Franny – shameful seems like an exceptionally strong word.
Perhaps you’re right, James. But I think you inferred it differently than what I meant. I do think it’s a shame that Sockington’s owner hasn’t explored the opportunities to do good things with his cat’s fame. No criticism of his pride in his cat was intended. Guess we’re just looking at it differently.
I agree with you, Franny. You would think that considering how much people love their pets, there would be terrific funding for rescues. You’d also think everyone would automatically spay and neuter their pets too. I’m glad you spoke up.