Alas for Pinterest…I knew it, Horatio…~Hamlet
I have never been really good at following trends. When I was in fifth grade, everyone decided that any pant leg that, like, moved, was a bell bottom, and they also decided that bell bottoms were the stupidest things ever. Therefore, everyone had to roll up their pant legs into the “French cuff.” I thought that was really stupid. I’d do it on occasion but my pants weren’t really hemmed to be rolled up. Trend – missed. When Google Buzz and Google Wave launched I didn’t even sign up. I tried my best to resist Google Plus but I just can’t say no to Sandy Hubbard, and she insisted I give it a try. So you see, the only trend I really follow is that I don’t seem to follow everyone elses’ trajectory.
With that in mind, it may not be surprising that I have opted to delete my Pinterest account while everyone else is still talking about how great it is. Yep, that just happened.
I’ve always thought Pinterest was pretty fun. It’s like a super colorful, happy scrapbook/bookmarking system. It’s a nice visual way to share information. I dig all of that. But there are a few reasons why I had to call it quits.
1. My time is too valuable – I’m already pretty saturated with online world time. Twitter, Facebook, blogging, trying to figure out Google Plus still…and all of this is a professional hobby. With my work and with wanting to have some semblance of a life beyond the computer, Pinterest just takes too much time, and in the end it doesn’t really yield anything for me but fun and a few smirks. I don’t want to devalue fun and a few smirks, but I have other stuff I need to do more, most of the time.
2. It doesn’t really tie to my business/job or clients – I know a lot of people are saying that Pinterest can work for B2B companies, and they may be right. I just am not seeing it as a good match for our clients and their products/services. I have to emphasize things that will either help our clients or help me grow as a professional/human being. I love looking at pictures of beautiful clothes, but I can’t rationalize that as being a part of my professional development (even if I look at really professional clothes).
3. Questions about affiliate links: Even if Pinterest was a perfect match for some of our clients, I’m still not 100% clear on the impact the erasing of affiliate links is having on sales for companies that are selling products there. Granted, few sales situations are 100% pristine these days, but it’s hard for me to recommend something that I still feel a bit wary about.
4. The spam, spam, spam: The final breaking point for me, though, is the growing problem of spam. From the beginning, I raised questions about how you know where all of these images click to. It’s really easy (if you haven’t been on the site you may not realize how easy) to simply click “repin” and place an image on your own boards. You don’t have to click anything. You don’t see a URL. You just see a funny or interesting picture. Well, the problem is that a lot of those images can hide a spammy website that unknowing people will be directed to. I know this because this has happened to me on two pictures I have clicked in the last two days – the only pictures I have clicked on in the last two days. Given that I don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to the platform, I don’t think it’s realistic to sit there and make sure everything I was sharing led to a legitimate site. I would rather not share anything instead of risking sending spam to anyone who shares my pictures.
Pinterest is fun. It may prove really valuable to certain businesses, and I’m sure people will continue to find innovative uses for it. I don’t frown on any of that. It just doesn’t seem worth the time commitment or the spam risk to me. And I would caution you to watch out for what you are sharing. Have you checked your links lately, especially for things like recipes or things people would need to click to see full-size? It might be worth your time.
Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ladymixy-uk/4059154289/ via Creative Commons
Right on, Margie! I did the same about two weeks ago. Things are consolidating.
@WillReichard That’s an interesting word. You could be entirely right though. My friend Jack Steiner has what he calls the Rule of 4, which says you can only handle 4 social media platforms at a time. I’ve got this blog, Facebook, Twitter, and sort of G+. Pinterest was more than I could do.
I have been considering it too. I haven’t been on it in quite some time. Also, the “french cuffs” were the worst (or at least one of the worst) fashion trends ever!
@AngelaDaffron yeah, my parents thought I was lying when I told them about it 🙂
Hi Margie,
Long time, no talk. (You gave me tips when I started Twitter many months ago.)
I have pointed out the deficiencies in using a visual medium for service businesses, but I hadn’t thought about spammy links. I’ve just always checked them before I repin. Always. Of course, that makes the fun a little less fun, but I like to go to the source to see if there is more of what I liked. Am I crazy? or abnormal that I do that? I’m not quite ready to throw in the towel because it continues to lighten my life of a Friday or Saturday afternoon, so I keep coming back. Your comments about the value of your time remind me exactly why I don’t go there on a Monday morning, or any morning.
Thanks for your insights! Always insightful.
@SallyE Hiya Sally! Thanks so much for popping by!
Doesn’t sound crazy to me. Sounds pretty darned smart, as a matter of fact. From the very first time I started pinning things from sites, I began to wonder if people would pin things from sites that weren’t, how shall we say, reputable. And then when I noticed that URLs aren’t readily visible on Pinterest, I really started to worry. Sometimes caution is okay, I think. Right?
Margie, although I was tempted, I never got on Pinterest. Your post today confirms that my “wait and see” approach was, and is, valid for me. Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough Ah, you madly refrained. You go girl 🙂
For me – Pinterest is really a great time sucker. My boards will just sit there for a while – I change a few once a month and that’s it. Leave them be. That makes me not a great sharer but oh well!
@lynngosselin I was definitely very spotty. I would go through mad phases of pinning, like when I was gathering ideas for my garden, and then I didn’t come back for 3 weeks. Very uneven. Images do seem to have a long shelf-life there though, so maybe absences don’t matter as much.
Great thoughts, Margie. I haven’t deleted mine (yet) but haven’t used it in awhile. It was fun with the novelty of it all, but I echo many of your above sentiments. If I wasn’t trying to determine uses of it for our brand, I would likely have deleted my personal account by now. I agree with @WillReichard that you can’t be everywhere – you need to consolidate. As a person, it is hard to effectively manage each of the social platforms. As a brand, you need to be where your guests/customers are. As our marketing plans and digital strategies evolve, I want to make sure we’re making thoughtful decisions on these platforms and not just going there because it’s new and shiny.
@cmcphillips Very well said! I actually joined because I thought it would be fun, and then I *sort of* started wondering if it could work for some of our clients, but the concerns about the affiliate links sort of scared me away from that. And…well, I guess the rest is history now!
And that’s without even mentioning the copyright issues, which many (most?) users seem either unaware of or uninterested about. I wrote about the issue recently if anyone would like to follow up – although this article is aimed at healthcare marketers, it is relevant to all Pinterest users.
http://healthworkscollective.com/marie-ennis-oconnor/31115/what-healthcare-marketers-need-know-about-pinterests-revised-terms-service
Margie, I’d skimmed this when you posted it but hadn’t really had anything for a comment – ’cause let’s face it, you already have some awesome commenters – and then I saw this pop up in my reader this morning:
“Pinterest’s Hype Bubble Has Burst, And Now It Is Actually Losing Users” [http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterests-hype-bubble-has-burst-and-now-it-is-actually-losing-users-2012-4#ixzz1saYovcNd] Apparently, you’re not alone.
In my case, I don’t set aside time for Pinterest, unlike my FB, Tw, L-In & G+ feeds. It is a fun diversion occasionally, and I want to stay involved because I’m curious about how people are using it and what they’re sharing. I learned about “those links” early on, and it should be a concern for the Pinterest admins. If they can address the link issues and the spammy issues, they have a real shot at some serious growth.
Right up until Facebook buys ’em for a billion dollars.
I haven’t deleted mine yet, but hardly pin anymore! The entering of business, issue with the links and now spam have stopped my use. I liked it for my vision boards, instead of pinning pics to a actual board. I will need to find an other way…