::Pinterest Post Follow-up::

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!

You can now find me at

www.acottagegirl.com

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Well, that was a trip.  Lots of pretty great input on my Pinterest post.  You should go read it if you haven't. Seems there are quite a few newbies still learning the ropes, and of course there's grace for you :)  I hope postings like these will help even out the learning curve without making you feel yukky.  We've all been the new guy, trying to wield this powerful tool called the internet without hurting others or making a fool of ourselves!

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In light of that, some points to clarify: All pins (and repins) DO have a source link back to the post (or at least the blog) where the image was taken.  The exception is when an image is grabbed from google images (a no no) or from a person's personal photo album (iphone images or flickr or whatev).  My point was not so much that people can't get back to my place from a pin, but how pinning and running degrades community.

I don't freak over my images that get pinned.  I like the exposure.  It's an ataboy that what I do is sometimes worthy of notice.  Yes, it's irritating to see others credited for my work, yes it's frustrating to have folks ask specific questions about a project when the answer is contained within the post that was pinned.  I mostly wish there was more give and take on both the blogger and pinner's part.  Blogging offers a platform for that, Pinterest does not (at least not a very useable one), and I'm kinda concerned about the increase in traffic and decrease in comments.

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I totally get that putting myself and my ideas out on the 'net means there will be some uniformed users still learning and some just plain nasty people using my content in inappropriate and possibly illegal ways.  I don't lose much sleep over that either. Folks with blogs are not surprised by this kind of thing.  It's been going on since the beginning of blogging.  As many of you pointed out, it's the nature of the beast.  Although if I had a biz to promote or blogged for a living, I'd be very concerned about the copyright stuff going on.  But again, my biggest issue is the increased traffic combined with decreased commenting.

Also, about pinning my own images:  I do this for several reasons....First, for exposure, and I'm not ashamed to say it. I like having new readers who talk to me, and I like discovering those followers' blogs.  The more the merrier. Second, it's a great way to organize my own projects. I'm the first to admit my labels on the sidebar are joke.  Third, it can gives me an idea of what types of things drive traffic, and if I ever monetize this blog, I want to know what's going to bring folks here.  The Nester wrote about this as well (hat tip to Perfect Imperfections by Jeanne who reminded me of it!)

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There were a few of you who thought I was overreacting, and well, ok, maybe I am.  I do that.  But I'll be darned if I will feel shamed for caring about the blogging community.  Just because folks abuse the system doesn't mean we don't  work to bring ickies to the light and do our part to educate the masses.  Throwing up my hands and shrugging my shoulders isn't how I'm wired.  When I notice something not-quite-right, I talk about it.  One particular anonymous comment (who I must assume isn't a follower/subscriber because my readers would never be so rude) makes my point perfectly:

I agree with Leah. You seriously need to chill out. It's the Internet. You put stuff there. You lose control of it as soon as you hit post. Pinterest provides the link to the original post. It's not like they're stealing money from you. Sheesh.

Yeah. Well, ok then.  As long as there are cowards people who post stuff like this anonymously, who see no issue in the breakdown of community or the using of others' intellectual property without proper credit (or in this case, who completely miss my point, write snarkiness, and won't leave a name), there will be need for folks like me to post overly-sensitive blogs about them.   No apologies.  I want blogging to survive, and I want Pinterest to be the best it can be.  I'd LOVE for folks to be considerate, but I'd settle for aware.  None of us will do it perfectly.  All of us will mess up from time to time.  But there should be no shame in kindly (and/or humorously) holding each other accountable.

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50's Wannabe hit the nail square on the head:

 I guess I'm saying that people who blog will generally do the right thing by each other because we understand what each other is trying to do. People who do not blog do not understand, therefore will be more likely to pin and move on.

I suppose there are bloggers out there who really don't care, but it makes me sad.  The overwhelming majority of comments were about loving blogging AND loving Pinterest.  I hope we can all navigate this new technology as smoothly as possible so the beloved community element of the blogging world is preserved.  I offered my pithy solution as well as Darby's, and that's all you'll hear about it from me for now.  Thanks for taking time to share your thoughts, frustrations and concerns.  Dialogue is good! Decorating posts to resume shortly.  Pinky promise.