Digital sanctuaries

Maia and Thomas are not outliers. RedNote has helped people from around the world find common interests.

Scott Phillips from US state of Washington is the owner of two dogs, Thor and Polly. In just six months on RedNote he has gained over 33,000 followers.

Every morning, Phillips dresses Thor in a tie and posts a photo with the hashtag "#DTOTD" (Dog Tie of The Day), paralleling the "#OOTD" (Outfit of The Day) social media trend. Polly, less cooperative, is usually shown chasing socks birthing the hashtag"#SockOfTheDay".

While most US users left the platform after the easing of the threat to ban TikTok in the US, Phillips stayed.

However, RedNote isn't Phillips' first social media foray. He tried other platforms but had few responses.

"I put the same pictures on Facebook and only my mother commented," he joked.

Phillips sees pets as an opportunity to take aspects of daily life to a broader audience. With a newborn on the way this November, he was imagining how his online scrapbook might grow. He dreams about launching a "#Baby Tie of the Day "hashtag to match Thor's daily fashion updates, though he suspects his wife may have the final say.

"I think pets are a common thread across cultures. My dogs are cute and people see it as a commonality," said Phillips, "I gain popularity from showing the dogs, then take advantage of that to show common things about my country."