The Etiquette of Pinterest

I’ve added another bookmark onto my toolbar, another app into my iPhone folder…I think most of us have. Pinterest has become the fastest growing of all the social media giants, according to this keen article from Huffington Post Tech.

As an artist and ‘visual’ person, I seek out cleverness, love to learn about new websites to check out, and get giddy over things that tickle the eyes. To be able to construct my own simple DIY or meal, or even be encouraged by other people’s stunning things (a beautifully decorated room or outfit.) This is why I think Pinterest has exploded. It focuses on “who we want to be”, if just for the minutes we are on there.

While skimming around yesterday, I saw a cool craft to try out, but darn it, the picture did not have its original link attached.  I have come across a lot of pictures posted from secondary websites– directly from Google images or from other blogs that post “from Pinterest” therefore the creator gets lost when pinned from there. Someone created that painting, outfit, photograph, garden, craft, recipe, and room design… Pinterest would not even exist without the creations from artists, stylists, photographers, landscape artists, talented crafters, chefs, and interior designers. Basically, the ‘etiquette’ is to make sure the original website from where the visual came from is credited. If I see a picture I would like to ‘pin’ on someone’s blog, but that blog got it off another website, I just click through to the original site and pin it from there.

From following a few bloggers stories about losing credit for their ‘creations of hard work’, I have been reminded about a Lesson Learned– Consciously position your URL information or Copyright within all your photos posted on the Internet. Maybe this will help free artists up from concerns of copyright infringement, and they will continue providing us with the beauty that is Pinterest.

Happy Pinning!

~Susan Bee

[If you’d like to receive an email when new posts are published, leave your email address under ‘Follow me by email…’ Thanks!]