My rabbit is more popular than I. Granted, he's a lot cuter than me, but still, you'd think that I would have more friends. I have language skills, after all, and opposable thumbs. But after three months of the Great Social Experiment, where I signed us both up on different social networking sites, I have concluded that Thumperdoodles is much more popular than I can ever hope to be.

It all started when I heard about a new social networking site - for rabbits. I thought it was all a joke until I saw it for myself at www.bunspace.com

This is a place for rabbits to connect with other rabbits. Only "real" rabbits are allowed, not play rabbits or the big imaginary rabbit that occasionally follows me around, especially at night when I'm out wandering the streets of America's Finest City. But enough about him -

Since I have a real rabbit, I decided to sign him up. It doesn't cost anything for a regular Bunspace membership, although the site offers a VIB (Very Important Bunny) membership at a small monthly fee. I wrote a quick profile for Thumps, uploaded a handful of photos, and posted a blog. On a whim, I signed myself up on a human social networking site, purely out of arrogance, thinking that I'd connect with many more people than Thumps would connect with rabbits.

Within minutes, Sir Thumps-Alot had his first buddy request, a sweet Lop from Canada, with a charmingingly French way of writing. Like other social networking sites, friend requests can be set for approval or disapproval. Cocotte was approved as Thumps' first Bunspace buddy.

Meanwhile, my own social page had not gotten a single view. But it was still early, after all.

The next morning, I posted another blog for the Thumpinator. By the afternoon, he had six more buddy requests, plus a handful of "carrots."

Carrots, I learned, were carrot icons that Bunspace bunnies could leave for one another on the rabbit's profile page. Cocotte, for example, had over two thousand carrots on her profile. I started to feel a little worried.

Then I discovered that the Thumpmeister had email. Dozens and dozens of emails from other Bunspace rabbits. Most were of the chit-chatty variety - what they had for dinner, the best place to buy hay, the weather in England. But others were deeper, more personal notes about poop, "binkies" and spay or neuter experiences.

As the days went on, I discovered that Bunspace had a forum for the rabbits (as if blogging for rabbits wasn't enough!) The forum, though, had several threads for rabbit owners, where topics such as rabbit health, enrichment activities, and litterbox training could be discussed. Adoptable rabbits also had a presence, and it seemed that most rabbit rescue groups and shelters with an abundance of rabbits had Bunspace accounts.

There were contests, too. Best Binky, Best Nose, Best Standing-Up-On-Haunches. Small prizes were offered, but I had to draw the line at entering rabbit contests.

I also drew the line with Thump-a-Lump's email. After several weeks, I turned it off. I couldn't keep up. He was getting around eight to ten emails per day, whereas I was getting nothing on my own social networking page.

I recently called a halt to the Great Social Experiment and declared Thumper-Bumper the King of Social Networking. He has well over fifty buddies. We won't even discuss how many I got.

Social networking for rabbits may be here to stay. Certainly, the Thump has found it to be enriching to his little life. He regularly gets comments on his blogs. He gets invited to the occasional virtual party. (And, surprisingly, to the occasional virtual funeral.) I did some quick research and found that other animal species have their own social networking sites. If your pet is interested, you can check out the following:

www.fuzzster.com

www.muttspace.com

www.catster.com

www.bunspace.com

Happy networking!