Woof Woof Goes the Webcam

My 8-month-old border collie mix, Crash, has spent a lot of his life at the GigaOM offices. He was on the blog before he even had a name, and he’s been part of more product demonstrations from visiting video companies than I can even remember. (Having a live, wriggling subject is an awesome way to make sure demos aren’t canned!)

But sometimes we just need a little peace around the office, or I need to attend a conference. So I checked out a local doggie daycare to take Crash to once every couple weeks. I found it on Yelp, of course, and it offers discounts for employees of Google and Genentech — very Silicon Valley.

What’s more, the folks at Planet Pooch have a “webcam” — that is, a Java-powered still image they refresh every three seconds from each of the rooms where dogs play during the day. (If you’re wondering, yes, I am paying too much for this service.) How cool! We all got to tune in yesterday and see Crash having fun without us. Sometimes, it’s the simplest implementations of technology that are the most satisfying.