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| "Style Me Pretty" Board |
pinterest. a collection of images, videos and words that make you smile, give you warm and fuzzies and may inspire you to DIY everything in sight - of course that is my definition of Pinterest, based on my interests which includes beauty and fashion, DIY and crafts, home decor, cooking, wedding planning, quotes and travel (aka wanderlust)
But, what exactly is Pinterest? For those who yearn a more professional, concrete answer, look no further than the definition from the Pinterest creators themselves:
"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web... Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."
I've had Pinterest for about 8 months now, and 21 boards later, I'd say it's my new obsession for self-expression. Don't get me wrong, I love my blog, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter... But it takes time to create content. With Pinterest, it is within a matter of seconds after you click the "repin" button that an image of your interest becomes associated with you and your online presence. Yes, it takes time to find those images too, but usually your friends or those that you're following have similar interests, and their pins are typically at the top of your feed.
Since its inception in 2009, Pinterest has become social media's "next big thing." According to a Shareholic Referral Traffic Report, the image-sharing site drove more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. As traffic to the site grows, brands are beginning to see Pinterest as a huge advantage to further increase engagement with their fans.
It's a smart move for brands. However looking at it from an average-Pinterest user, I'm wondering if certain aggressive brands will become intrusive to the Pinterest experience. Personally, I enjoy Pinterest because I'm not constantly spammed by ads - the layout is refreshing, simple and the content is generated by me, the user. If Pinterest does become so successful for brands, what will happen next? Will they be buying ads to pop up when I click "pin" or "like?" Will Pinterest developers create a "suggest" feed on the side?
Let's be real. Facebook already bombards its users with ads, and soon they're coming out with premium "social" ads which the concept is smart for large corporations - disguising ads as actual FB posts is genius! But, for the average Facebook user, it can be frustrating.
Keeping 'em fingers crossed that Pinterest stays the way it is. Simple. Ad-free. Engaging. Clean.
Remember Pinterest creators defined the site as "a fun way to discover new things."
Yes, let's keep it fun.
To learn more about Pinterest, visit their site here.
Want to follow my boards? Click, here.
Hello dear,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! It made me think, and I wanted to share those thoughts with you. One of my good friends actually posted a FB status the other day ranting about news organizations who use Pinterest. I remember when I started following USA Today College, and promptly unfollowed them because news just isn't Pinterest materials, I don't think. (And it sounds like you agree.) Then I thought about how we have a Pinterest for Outside magazine (which I'm sure you know from my excited tweets haha). When we developed our strategy for our Pinterest, we decided there wasn't really a place for a "news" board. Instead, we wanted to focus on themes that Pinterest users like: travel, "bucket list" ideas, fitness tips and apparel. We also decided that I would not only pin directly from Outside's website, but that I would repin from other users and also pin from other sites on the web (I tend to visit National Geographic Adventure a lot). In this way, we're hoping not to seem too "self-promotional," which is actually against "Pin Etiquette."
So I don't know, is that hypocritical? What do you think about brands that have Pinterest, but don't have ads? e.g. Real Simple, Martha Stewart, etc.?
Just some thoughts!
P.S. - Saw you hit 19,000 views! Woot woot! :) Congrats.
Hi hi! You get another (completely unrelated) comment from me on this post haha.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if you're interested in doing a blog "chain post," as I like to call it, but I nominated you for The Sunshine Award today! Check it out here: http://megancstroup.blogspot.com/2012/03/sunshine-award.html
Love you!