I have mixed feelings about 'best' anything. On the one hand it gets attention to different fields - Olympics, Nobel Prizes, World Cup, Academy Awards, Spelling Bees, Miss Universe - but it also artificially creates this idea of 'best' which is pretty hard to judge in most cases, is temporary, and creates more 'losers' than winners. It encourages some people to work much harder, some to work maniacally, and yet other to cheat and take shortcuts. I don't think the dog bloggers are in the competitive class of Olympians and they do get more people to their blogs and a pat on the back.
Probably the main purpose of these things is to drum up publicity. The website that is giving out the awards says on the bottom of the page:
Encourage your readers, friends, family to vote for your favorites! The blogs with the most votes will win! Voting will close on August 20, 2010.Which translates into lots more hits on the site where people vote. More hits means more ad revenue. OK, I know I'm a cynic. This is starting to sound like American Idol.
I've briefly looked at the Best Pet and Best Dog nominees. I surely don't have enough knowledge to vote seriously. (Of course, you can legitimately ask, after all I said, how can I think that there is such a thing as a serious vote?)
I do think the blogs do offer pet owners some useful information on a wide variety of topics from pet health, training, dealing with issues like "taking your dog to college with you." So, if you are interested, you can check them out and vote. I won't tell you which one to vote for though. The email I got said that you have to leave your email to prevent people from voting more than once, but be careful to uncheck the box that says to sign up for the newsletter if you don't want lots of email from them.
Here's the link to voting page on Dogtime.com.
Well, I don't know how you make difference between dog blogs, while at football you win if you score more. It is not ambiguous, but dog blogs cannot be ranked by any Mathematical expressions.
ReplyDeleteProtect yourself, your dog walkers, and dogs from post-blizzard outdoor shockings or electrocution.
ReplyDeleteHOW TO SLAY AN INVISIBLE DANGER.
Blair Sorrel, Founder
http://www.StreetZaps.com
Contact voltage is a chronic hidden hazard that can readily victimize an unsuspecting dog, walker, or both. No dog lover could possibly observe a more horrifying scene than witnessing his beloved pet instantaneously maimed or tragically electrocuted. When you exercise your pooch, please exercise greater prudence. Common outdoor electrical and metal fixtures may shock or even kill your vulnerable dog. And depending upon the current, the walker will be bitten and like poor Aric Roman, suffer permanently. But you can, indeed, self-protect.
Just start to adopt this simple strategy — EYEBALL THE BLOCK, AND AVOID A SHOCK. Take a few seconds and make your trajectory toward generally safer, free standing, non-conductive surfaces, ie., plastic, wood, cardboard. Intuit your dog’s cues and if it’s resistant, change directions. Work site perimeters may be live so try to elude them. If necessary, switch sides of the street or your hands when leading to skirt hazards. If you traverse the same route, you may memorize locations of potential dangers. Carry your pooch when in doubt. Consider indoor restroom products like PottyPark when external conditions are chancy or RopeNGo’s hardware-free leash and harness. And don’t rely on dog booties as a palliative as they will actually put your pet at even greater risk since the dog can’t tell you they’re leaking! To learn to more, please see StreetZaps. A safer walk is yours year round if you are willing to open to your eyes and mind to it.
Blogspot put the Blair's comment in the Spam bin. Probably a good call, but it is relevant to dog owners. I didn't look to see what all he's selling, and I'm not sure the risk is worth buying another product, but I'll let readers decide for themselves.
ReplyDelete