Update: I love you Pinterest, but…

 

I first wrote about this over a month ago and I realize it has been a month since Pinterest updated their terms, but I still wanted to address this topic.

In my previous post, I was pretty upset with Pinterest and wanted to delete all my pin boards!  I’m glad that I didn’t delete everything (a lot of time went into organizing and pinning) and until today I didn’t pin anything.

What changed my mind?  Well, Pinterest did revise their terms, you can check them out for yourself here, and removed the wording about using images for profit and however they see fit.  It seems to me that by removing this language, it certainly could lessen the legality blow to Pinterest users if someone decided to sue Pinterest.  These changes do help make it more comfortable to use the site, but this whole discussion highlights the sensitivity one should use when using online media.  A lot of people assume that just because it’s on the web means that it is “free game” to use however you would like.  It is not “free game,” there are copyrights and various other legalities that pretty much go unseen and unheeded.

The rule of thumb I use is:

If you don’t own it, you should ask to use it. 

Hence, this is what I will be doing for Pinterest pins.   If the site does not have a “Follow me on Pinterest” button or a “Pin-It” button on their post, I will be emailing site editors / authors for authorization of use of their content.

I still think that my use of time on Pinterest before this discussion was egregious and needed adjusting.  I will still limit how often I visit, but I do love Pinterest….

Disclaimer:  I am not a lawyer, nor pretend to be.   Please consult legal consul if you have any questions regarding this topic. Check out full site disclaimer here.