I love you Pinterest, but…
Recently, I came across two blog posts that I have led me to rethink how I have been using social media , especially Pinterest. The first post I came across is from Oh My! Handmade Goodness on Why We Don’t Need More. This article examines why we do more, more, more (i.e. marketing, sales, tweeting, etc.) of lots of things for your business to increase profits rather than building meaningful relationships with customers the slow and steady way. In my opinion, this is applicable to all aspects of life and not just running a business. This article also doesn’t directly speak of Pinterest, but it led me to think about how I’m spending my time. Which anyone who is familiar with Pinterest knows, it can quickly take up every last free minute. But more importantly, this article led me to think about the activities that I do every day and which ones help me build lasting relationships (personally and professionally). Pinterest is not one of these activities!
Then the following day, I coincidentally saw this pin on Pinterest from Kwoed regarding Pinterest user terms.
Basically, the terms state that you, the user, by pinning an image agree that you own the rights to the image, are releasing the rights to Pinterest and therefore fully liable for any legal fees, etc. that Pinterest might incur if they sell one of images that you pin. Whoa! Are you as shocked as I was? This seems so contradictory to me because Pinterest’s own “Pinning Etiquette” states that the site should not be used for self-promotion. So, then how are you suppose to pin anything? But don’t take my word for it, check out the terms for yourself. I am certainly not a legal expert!
I love you Pinterest, but I have decided to reorganize the must-have pins from my account via bookmarks or my Action Method or Evernote account and delete my boards.
From now on, I will use Pinterest as a search engine, idea gathering, or project finder from time to time and nothing more.
Weaning myself down to an occasional glance rather than several times a day look-see will allow me to engage in more meaningful, relationship building activities. So, really this “issue” with the terms is a good thing, it led me to apply what I learned from Oh My! Handmade Goodness and reevaluate. So, thank you, Oh My! Handmade Goodness and Knoed for opening my eyes a bit wider!
Please read: UPDATE: I love you Pinterest, but… for the latest on the Pinterest terms and what this means to me.