Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand, and what could be more evil than harming kittens? “Save the Kitten,” a joint-venture from Resn, Stinkdigital, and rehabstudios, attempts to raise awareness for Internet freedoms threatened by bills like SOPA and PIPA. “Save the Kitten,” which sounds too much like an unfavorable sexual position, asks users of the Interweb to sign the petition for the Declaration of Internet Freedom. Create positive awareness, and the cat lives. Stand idly by, and bad things happen. In other words, apathy kills kittens.
This is a one-day awareness campaign, so the creators have used all the tricks available to stir up viral success, including naming the cat Webster (humanization) and promising a special appearance from Lil Bub (celebrity endorsement). Personally, I dislike cats, because they make me sneeze, but I’m sure others will see the appeal of a digital feline in danger no matter how absurd the situation. There’s even a Twitter account for Webster to say things like “Finding myself thinking about my life in hour increments. This sucks. How do you humans do this? #save the kitten.”
The looming danger for us Interneters is a global meeting to discuss expanding the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). I imagine diplomats in expensive suits who influence international policy won’t give two licks about Webster, but “Save the Kitten” definitely gets an A for effort no matter how strange the campaign truly is. If you want to fight for your right to party (on the Internet), sign a petition, free Webster, and save the day.