1.26.2012

::Pinterest Post Follow-up::

PSSSST...I'm no longer blogging here!
You can now find me at

-----------------------------------------------------------------

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!

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.



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!)


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.





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.



Pin It

24 comments:

Laurie said...

Love your rebuttal! And I agree. Who cares if you are over sensitive. It is your blog and your platform. Write about anything you want and we will decide if we care to stick around to read it!

Kristin @ Yellow Bliss Road said...

Obviously Anonymous didn't quite get it - Pinterest doesn't ALWAYS provide the link to the original post; like you said, sometimes people grab pics from Google images and such. I've had some of my pics pinned from blogs that had featured my projects so then, no, the pin doesn't lead to the ORIGINAL post. The point is that we should all be considerate. And you know what, it's YOUR blog so if you want to tell people they're being morons you have that right! (not that that's what you did, but you totally could LOL).

But if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! Or in this case, you're under no obligation to leave a comment!

Sorry, that anonymous comment irritated me. I don't think you owe any apologies for sharing how you feel. Those who don't have blogs, should be educated as well. If they don't agree with it, then they can go on how they've been pinning without any recourse. I for one think you've done waaaay more good than harm here!!

PS looking forward to your decorating posts :))

NanaDiana said...

I love all those anonymous comments where THEY don't quite get it..or can't stand up for what they DO get so they post anonymously.

You have written this beautifully and it is well thought out! xo Diana

Victoria said...

I've been getting a lot of images from Google, but just because you're pinning it doesn't really change anything IMO. Just say I want to see images of Paris for instance, so I Google it...whether I pin it or don't pin it the image is still out there online with no source credit.

I think the only true solution is everyone watermarking their photo's...especially the bigger blogs who are more likely to be pinned or found via Google. Or the photographer watermarking their photo's if it's not blog related photography.

When something bothers you nobody has the right to tell you to "chill out"...I think it's wonderful to bring these things up, whether we agree or disagree it opens up the issues. If it wasn't important to the person who told you to "chill out" then why the heck did they click on the link?

Dixie Redmond said...

Another thought...people (sometimes us) can be resistent to new technology. For instance, there were people who looked suspiciously at the internet when it was an infant. Or blogging. Or the telephone. Or the telegraph. Or electricity. The people who benefit from those changes are the ones who embrace them and use them effectively. So the question for bloggers is, "How can you use Pinterest effectively?"

I love Pinterest. I scoffed at first but now I scoff at my scoffing self. ;-)

Shawna said...

There is a problem with your anonymous commenter's concept of control. "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."

There are some people that make projects appear to be their own both on Pinterest and on blogs. This, people, is a form of plagiarism. It can be completely unintentional, but sometimes it is not. I have written a bit for examiner.com and there are other writers who have had their entire articles copied and pasted into blogs and other news databases without being credited.

Go back to the writing ethics that were taught in high school. Remember "thou shalt always cite"? It also applies to the internet.

There is a learning curve for new brands of social media and expression, but to think it is not important is flippant and erroneous. (I am in that curve on Pinterest.)

Merle said...

Cindy,
I do not blog but I do floow many. Until this post I never knew bloggers really want comments from the masses, I thought comments were from friends and blogging buddies. I now know better.
I also lve Pinterest. I always visit the original poster and many times become a follower. I too hate when they don't post the source. If I like the picture, I usually like the blog.
I do have a question, I follow my blogs on Google Reader. Does that show me as a follower to you? It really doesn't matter, but I just wonder.
Now that I know better, I will postt comments when I like a post and this is the first! I do love your blog and thanks!

Merle said...

Cindy,
I do not blog but I do floow many. Until this post I never knew bloggers really want comments from the masses, I thought comments were from friends and blogging buddies. I now know better.
I also lve Pinterest. I always visit the original poster and many times become a follower. I too hate when they don't post the source. If I like the picture, I usually like the blog.
I do have a question, I follow my blogs on Google Reader. Does that show me as a follower to you? It really doesn't matter, but I just wonder.
Now that I know better, I will postt comments when I like a post and this is the first! I do love your blog and thanks!

Merle said...

Sorry! Now you know I was telling the truth, I don't leave comments. I will get better.

Momof2 said...

OK, except when I was introduced to Pinterest I thought the whole point of it was to be kind of a virtual 'idea bulletin board'. I'm not quite getting why repinning someone else's pin to my board of ideas is bad. I mean, for every repin I go to the original post; if the image is only a Google image I don't repin it cause it isn't worth my while.

I love Pinterest. My boards are filled with projects I'm going to do, tutorials I'm going to try, and beautiful rooms/gardens/crafts I'm going to try to emulate. It's taken the place of my bookmark folder...only with visual bookmarks, because I'm a visual person.

I'm an artist. I filled one Pinterest board with reference photos for different flowers I painted into a mural, for example. Is that against the rules too?

I also didn't know it was bad to follow bloggers without commenting. I follow probably twenty five blogs. Do you guys get paid for comments? This isn't sarcasm - I really don't know. I read the other post for a long, long time and still couldn't get the gist of the comments. I don't understand why it's bad to lurk. I come every day. Most of the time, when there are 500 comments I figure the blog owner isn't going to read them all anyhow, and someone probably already said anything I would have said and more eloquently. Bloggers really want the verbal equivalent of "Me too"?

I love this blog. I come here every day. I admit, maybe I'm thick in the head, but I just don't get it. Can somebody enlighten me?

Jacqueline~Cabin and Cottage said...

Well said. Congratulations on caring enough to speak up and take the hits.

Renna said...

I do thank you for yesterday's post (and today's!). I did take time to post comments (where appropriate) at blogs pinterest linked me to today. Not that I've never done that before, because I've started following a lot of new blogs that I've discovered through pinning, but I never gave it a second thought the times when I just pinned and ran. Now I do. Love your blog, and love your style! :-)

Deb Ruth said...

Very interesting topic and conversation! I am very new to Pinterest and found your post very informative.

As someone who has been blogging for over a year (genealogy) I can relate to your concerns.

Thanks for bringing this to the forefront. Will enjoy reading further and discovering wonderful new ideas along the way!

Unknown said...

Being a blogger and pinner myself, I appreciate your concerns. I always do my best to give credit where due, and I try to comment, but I have a 3 year old and I babysit 3 others, so time is not usually on my side. I think the problem wiht bloggers being pinners is we look at it the same as blogging, we want followers, and more followers. Pinterest was made to be your online idea board. It is public yes, but it is yours. I feel like if we look at it that way, and not as a way to build our blogs it might be better. If someone wants to follow my Pinterest board, fine, but I didn't link it to my blog cause I don't really want to use it that way. All of my boards, save one, are ideas that I want to try, or things I want to buy on etsy at some point (when funds are available). The one that is not, is for items I want to feature on my blog. When I feature a pin on my blog, I don't give credit to the original pinner as Pinterest suggests, I give credit to the blog that actually created the project. Anyhow, I read your blog daily, but my time is limited so I don't always comment, sorry! Thanks for the reminders on Pinterest etiquette.

CB said...

I appreciate this and your previous post (and really enjoy your blog) but still have a lot of confusion. I am new to Pinterest and am just starting a blog. I had the impression that Pinterest could be used as a personal bulletin board. Since it is not really for commercial use, I saw it as a way to save images for later,knowing that others could repin and do the same. I have tried to give credit but had not considered finding the "orignal" source - will try to do so now. I also didn't know that using a Google image was a bad thing - not sure I understand. Maybe I should skip Pinterest and just keep things on my own hard drive. Again, love your blog. Carol

Unknown said...

Cindy, I have a makeup channel on YouTube and I make money on that channel. It drives me CRAZY when someone post a negative comments on a video and I go to see their account only to find that 1. the don't have a picture 2. don't have any vidoes they've made and 3. post MANY negative (thumb downs) on NUMEROUS videos. I have seen personally people who have stolen someone's personal work (actual videos) and post them as their own. It's a sad thing that there are people out there who take credit for another's hard work. I agree that bloggers (& YouTube video makers) understand what others are doing and we try our best to do it the right way. Giving full credit where credit is due. True, you're putting yourself out there but there IS something that is called copyright infringement and there are laws out there protecting us. "Thus, it is clear that passing off someone else’s work as your own by linking to a site in a manner in which it appears that the linked to content is a part of your site, is considered copyright infringement and it violates state laws that govern competitive business practices." Our work IS ours and IS protected.
Have a wonderful night & keep up the great work ~ Deanna

Unknown said...

Oh, I have a blog too and anonymous comments drive me CAH-RA-ZY !!!!!!!

amysewz said...

I just found your blog and I'm a fan! As a new user of Pinterest I appreciate your thoughts and can't help but think that ethics aside, it basically boils down to common courtesy to give credit where credit is due. I'm happy to know some people still expect courtesy, even on social networking sites. You Go Girl!

Sharalynn74 said...

Thank you for this post. I am a Pintetest "newbie" and break the rules... :( I pin what I like and do move on. But gems like this (i.e. your blog =] ) make me appreciate the Pinterest and blogging community for the hard work it promotes. Kudos to you for being passionate. And thank you for crafting and blogging. You are appreciated!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I actually found your blog through Pinterest. I think there will be room for both blogs and pinning. You will get more readers to your blog through the beautiful pictures I have seen pinned from your blog site. Don't give up. We each have our own niche on the web. There is plenty of room for everyone. Chin up! :) You're blog is beautiful. I do wish to ask one thing. You mentioned you're on Pinterest but I did not see a "follow me" button so we could follow you on Pinterest.
Thank you,
Anita

Anonymous said...

Never mind! I found the link to follow you on Pinterest. I really enjoyed what I saw there in those few minutes. :)
Anita

Anonymous said...

Correct me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that the "biggie" rule on Pinterest is you CAN NOT pin anything you do not have the copyright to.

I don't pin and doubt I have been pinned, but many blogs I read clearly state all content and photos are copyrighted, and you need permission to use. So, would that not mean you can not pin any photos on a "copyrighted" blog without the blog owners permission?

It is sad to see so many debates on so many blogs about Pinterest. Clearly something is NOT working.

blessings, jilly
ps. Cindy I hope all is OK. I come back often and no new post.

Melancholy Specter said...

Hi Cindy, hope you are well. Hope you're not being overwhelmed by follows by Spammers on Pinterest the way I am. I used to really enjoy going on Pinterest but now it's being spoiled by the spammers. They post pins with abbreviated links so that you can't see where the link is taking you. So much for Pinner Etiquette. Sue

Sharon from Long Beach, CA said...

Hey Cindy, Thanks for your post. I agree with you we need to be considerate of the work others have put into what they share. I have been doing my best always to go to the source when pinning. It does take a little more time, but it's worth it. I often find when I go to the source there are other things there that interest me, too.
It is the internet and a lot can get lost in translation. I think it is important to acknowledge others.
Thank you for taking your time to put up your thoughts.
Happy pinning.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails