Image via Wikipedia
Pinterest seems to be the hottest thing since, well, heat. It’s everywhere, and it’s apparently, addictive.
Post (or pin) photos of your favorite shoes, camera gear, or bookshelf chair and share them with your friends. It’s been driving lots of traffic and creating lots of buzz.
Recently though, the buzz has sounded more like a swarm of angry wasps.
It turns out that Pinterest has been quietly adding affiliate links to those pictures. So, if someone clicks on your camera bag photo and buys it, Pinterest makes money.
Money good
Nothing wrong with wanting to make money. Pinterest is well-funded, but the ultimate goal is to be self-sufficient, not dependent on venture capitalists.
They “broke” the interaction
Pinterest got caught up in what they needed, i.e., money) rather than thinking about the people who use the site.
Users think they’re creating a sort of online scrapbook and sharing their interests with their friends. They’re not thinking about shopping, but about inspiration and fun.
They didn’t know they were posting content that earned the company money.
No disclosure
Pinterest doesn’t mention this anywhere, and FTC rules in the U.S. require disclosure of affiliate relationships. I’m not a lawyer, and whether that extends to content posted by a third party (users), I don’t know. I do know that Squidoo has a disclosure statement at the bottom of every page on its site.
No response
As far as I can tell, they haven’t responded to any of the criticism. The only response has been from Alicia Navarro (the CEO of the affiliate link company they’re using).
I’m no PR pro, but I do know that if you’re in the middle of a social media firestorm, you should respond to it. Acknowledge there is a problem, explain what you’re going to do to fix it, and then report back when it’s done.
What do you think? Are any of you on Pinterest? Does this bother you?
I’m not happy that they’re making money off of social media, but like Mark Zuckerberg, they’re treating people like $ signs instead of people. If they’re making money off of the poster of a photo that someone used and posted to an online store then I want a piece of that. They’re treading on thin ice and ONE unhappy Pinterest artist whose stolen or violated copyright will bring, can bring them down. Karma’s a bitch and Pinterest will find that out soon enough.