Finding the Purrrfect Niche
always loaded with adorable pictures of cuddly animals that make their owners swoon. Cute eyes, fluffy tails and adorable poses are impossible to not share!
Personally, I'm a cat FIEND and everyone who knows me knows that. I often find people who enjoy cats and will typically spend some time appeasing my interests by sharing some photos of their own feline. However, it's very rare that I meet people in my day to day life who share my same extreme level of passion and adoration for these four-legged furballs. That is, until I found my internet niche.
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Since everyone knows about my cat addiction, I am often suggested to social media accounts or hashtags that would be likely to peak my interest. It was through a friendly suggestion that I found one of my favorite pages on the internet: Catspotting.
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| 'Catspotting' Home Page Cover Photo |
Catspotting is a private Facebook group dedicated to sharing photos or videos of cats that you may randomly spot in your everyday travels. Members of this cat-loving congregation will post the digital media with a description of where they ran into the animal and how the cat responded to the humans presence during the interaction. It has become somewhat of a game, where people can comment and award points for the 'spotted' cats. For example, if a cat has particularly long fur, one might comment "+10 for fluffiness," therefore making the post appear more popular on the page due to consumer traffic.
Cats are not the only animal to have a "spotting" page. There are ones for dogs, bunnies, and even squirrels. Going beyond just furry creatures, people have created pages dedicated to spotting things of all natures, from fictional automobile characters to communities of people who share photos of food that vaguely depict images of Jesus. Whatever you have an interest in and passion for, the internet will be able to guide you in the direction of people with compatible engrossment.
It has only been through this digital age of media that people have been able to correspond with one another about such pigeonholed topics. With oral communication, you had to be in close proximity to the messenger, therefore limiting your chances of meeting someone with an enthusiasm matching exactly yours. By branching out into this 'bottom-up' sense of communication, where people can post and share whatever they please, media is becoming more individualized and able to flock like minded folks to one another.
Thanks to this expansion of communication,from oral to electronic and digital forms, I have been able to find an outlet where I can freely and interactively contribute original subject matter while fulfilling my desires of seeing unlimited cat related content on the daily.
First of all, let me say that I am an active member of the Herbie the Love Bug Fan Club. The group is full of very passionate people and I am really happy to be a member. Second I would like to say that you forgot about Dadspotting, a group where Dads are spotted and rated on their dad-ness.
ReplyDeleteI assume from this you can deduce that I am a BIG fan of the internet niche culture. It is a phenomenon that is unprecedented in which Humans from all around the world who don't really know each other can have inside jokes and constant communication. There are numerous jokes present in the group "Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia Shitposting" which are not about the show but are memes created in the group.
Understanding these makes me feel special. And encountering others who understand these jokes makes me feel close to them. Whether this ability to find your internet niche is good or bad is something time will tell, but on my end, I appreciate it.
Hey Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun topic! I personally am not a huge fan of cats, but am very passionate about dogs. To be honest, I just followed the dog-spotting page you linked to in your blog. I think internet niches are a very valuable part of the internet and can be extremely valuable to target when doing social media marketing.
Now I miss my cat so much!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, your topic is indeed a great example of how social networks can bring people with rare interests together. Such internet niche culture creates a sense of community and as Sam mentioned it makes you feel special.
It can be actually used by SMM agencies. For example, they can create memes featuring the brands that they promote. Those memes will be understood only by the existing customers and it will make them feel privileged. Not that it would attract new clients but it would definitely work as a customer retention strategy.
Well done!
Alyssa,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great article, I guess we both have like minds writing about our favorite four legged friends. I honestly feel that people are drawn to things they can relate to and that pulls at their heartstrings. I use memes all the time, especially cat and dogs ones.
Just think how successful businesses could be by using cats and dogs in the ads!