My Corgi Winston Briefly Tasted the Sweet Nectar of Online Fame

I'm not famous, but my dog is.

His name's Winston. He's a two-and-a-half-year-old Pembroke Welsh Corgi with his own Instagram account (I'm his unpaid social media manager). But until a few weeks ago, his closest brush with fame was appearing in one or two Motherboard stories over the past few months. Fun, but not exactly life changing.

But a chance email sent to me has now rocketed Winston into the upper echelons of famous corgis like Corgnelius and Ralph. Forget Powerball, I've hit the jackpot with my little furball.

"You and a corgi in a Mashable video?" the email subject read, followed by a brief pitch: Winston and I were to eat a specially prepared meal of spaghetti and almond cake for the benefits of Mashable's huge audience. The video producer is friends with someone in my apartment building who also happens to own a corgi. (There's a bunch of corgis in my building.) This other corgi couldn't make it to the video shoot, but would Winston be interested in participating?

Hmm, let me check his schedule. Yes, I think he can make it.

I immediately sent this panicked instant message to my girlfriend, whose name I've censored here because I've ruined her life enough already:

To help Motherboard readers understand just how big a deal it is for your pet to be featured in a huge online publication like Mashable, I reached out to a couple of people who know a thing or two about internet pet celebrity: Stacie Grissom, Editor-in-Chief of amazing pet website BarkPost.com, and careless, the head moderator of /r/aww, the subreddit that fills the internet with all sorts of adorable photos of boxes filled with puppies, a bird standing on a cat's back, and a golden retriever reading a textbook.

On my mind: Am I crazy, or is it a whole lot of work nowadays to get your dog noticed online?

"The rise of the animal as a celebrity has been among the most fascinating developments I've seen online in the past couple of years," BarkPost's Grissom told me, adding that the site gets hundreds of requests each day from people looking to have their dog featured on the site or its Instagram account. "Compared to a few years ago, it's definitely gotten harder to get noticed," which Grissom in part puts down to the rapid rise of Instagram, ensuring an infinite supply of on-demand, cute pet photos that are merely a hashtag away. "We're all kind of looking for that little bit of fame," she said. "I think my dog is ridiculously adorable, and I want other people to think that too."

The head moderator of /r/aww, careless, didn't entirely agree that it's harder nowadays to get noticed online, but did suggest that people online are excellent at spotting craven attempts to become internet famous.

"There isn't a silver bullet to fame, but you'll have a much better chance with great content," head moderator careless told me via Reddit private message. "Grumpy Cat didn't succeed because of a social media marketing team, but became popular because it was great content."

So!

On the morning of December 16, Winston and I took a car service paid for by Mashable (I'm no slouch when it comes to contract negotiations) over to the publication's Union Square headquarters. I didn't take an Uber, like a normal human, because too many drivers have in the past outright refused to pick me up after telling them I was traveling with a dog. That's their right, of course, but not exactly a way to earn my business.

After being dropped off, Winston peed a little, sniffed some other dog whose owner was clearly annoyed, then we made our way up via a freight elevator. (Building rules prohibit cute pets from riding in the "real" elevators.) The freight elevator's doors opened, and we snaked our way through to the main foyer of Mashable's rather handsome offices. He was immediately greeted by a handful of staffers, and then we were off to the races.

Winston and I were led to a Mashable video room, and he quickly decided that the best course of action was to sniff the entire perimeter and then stare out the glass door. I quietly sat in a chair, awkwardly, because I am not good at interacting with fellow human beings.

After a few minutes, the food arrived.

Winston and I were seated at the table, and within the blink of an eye he was absolutely murdering the spaghetti. It didn't stand a chance. I meekly took a few bites before Winston decided, "Hey Dad, I'm going to eat yours too." And so he did, followed by a helping of the almond cake that was brought over to the table shortly thereafter.

Winston did great, Mashable friendly video production team told me, before thanking me for my time. The team then told me that the video wouldn't be published until early January, which was a little disappointing because I was so jazzed about him rolling in, I don't know, Purina endorsements within a few days.

To date, that hasn't happened, but it hasn't soured my opinion of the entire experience. From the thrill of getting that initial email pitch to walking through the Mashable offices with Winston by my side, the whole process was a genuine treat. But if there are any talent scouts among the Motherboard readership please feel free to contact Winston on Instagram. He's cute, reasonably well-trained, and will do just about anything for a Greenie.