Pinterest Pros And Cons

Hi Eric.

Here's my 2 cents...No pinterest do not claim to own your images as you are not truly uploading images to their servers, but rather posting links from other sites, at least as far as I can tell. As for driving traffic, it's difficult to say. I use pinterest to promote my own work and also that of the Quintessentially British Group on FAA. The group members tell me it has driven traffic to their FAA images.

Don't forget to use hashtags to aid in searches on pinterest too!


http://www.pinterest.com/rreevephotos/

Thanks for the 2 cents Richard. It is good to know they do not try to claim ownership of artists work.

I resisted to pin my work until I found out that people pin them anyway. Even if you don't activate the Pin-It-Button on FAA they can make a screen capture and upload the pic to Pinterest. So I pinned some of my work from my artists website and include a description. I'm pleasantly surprised by the traffic it creates to my artists website. According to Google Analytics 47% of all traffic comes from Pinterest (Twitter and Google+ on 2nd and 3rd place)

Some (few) images get repinned really fast, this one gathered 119 Pins within some days:



I'm still in the beginning and don't know if and when it helps with sales but I think Pinterest has lots of potential!

http://www.pinterest.com/hauserfoto/

@Matthias, you are correct about other pinning your work. I downloaded the pin widget or app on my laptop and it seems to allow me to pin just about any image, so disabling the pin button on FAA will not stop this. Incidentally do I make a point of never pinning any FAA artists unless they have an active pin button, as I think that's only fair to the artist!

If you have your own pins on pinterest at least you can put some control in the image description and choice of keywords (hashtags) too. I know it can be overwritten, but let's face it most pinners aren't going to go to the effort and are probably grateful they don't have to add any text themselves!

RR

Pinners are only pinning the link to your photo because when you click on the pinned photo it will take you to wherever it came from. They don't get an actual photo just by itself. I pin from my AW site (comes with premium plan) not my FAA site so that my AW address shows up under the photo so each time the photo gets repined it has my AW address, which has my name in it. I have a few photos that have been pinned a lot but I think it's from people in FAA or going to the AW page. You can add a Pin It option under Tools on your browser that will let you click on it when you are on any webpage to find the pinable photos. I've used it many times on catalog sites. All you get is a link back with a small res photo, not the photo itself.

pinterest has a rather short (if i remember), TOS, that holds them totally innocent of wrong doings and things that are on their page. that said they have an applet that lets users take images from any source including google and really any other. anyone can change your link if they pin your image to their wall. while they claim that doesn't happen (you can still change it), and it happens all the time.

i hate the format. you can't find anything. it's one long menu without words (most of the time), of endless pictures that only loads up as you scroll. i can never find my own work on there. it's doubtful anyone would look at an image and say - i want that as an image. because due to the nature of the place it's set up as a collection. so it's not like - here is art you can buy. it's more like - here are a bunch of cool looking reading nooks. or just chess pieces and people admire them for that only. so i honestly find the places useless as a selling tool.

however that said - the pros - you can often find your own name there, and there are countless people who have Mike Savad directories. and for the most part it's all my art. i can get an idea of what they like. i can also look at other collections and get an idea of images they do like and maybe get images like that myself. though i don't do it often because as i said the place is cluttered.

for the most part i hate the site. while people can become familiar with your work, it's more of a copyright breaking haven, because for a while i didn't want to be on that site. and yet, even though i had blockers - on everything - they figured out other ways to get it on that site. from downloading and uploading there, taking it from tumblr, google, the search here, the pricing page here (you can't leave that page there is no link back to the image, and only the curious might find my name). and my name, and info were stripped because people didn't care about what was written. and it was too hard to chase everything down. so i joined for the sole reason to have a little bit of control.


---Mike Savad

Better to pin it yourself so you can control the text and link.

I've found some of my work grabbed from Pinterest and used with the information stripped out. A couple of my images have had a ton of Pins and a few sales. Don't know if they are a direct result of Pinterest. Its like anything, you need thousands of lookers to make a sale.

I have not read all the comments here, and was going to start a new thread but figured it's best to keep this on going.

Now that it's the end of the first quarter of the year I'm pulling back posting on my Facebook artists page, and was considering moving to Pinterest.

Then I remembered this dated article by Dan Heller. Can you help shed some light on any updates since this was written, please? Thanks!

http://danheller.blogspot.com/2012/03/pinterest-demonstrates-photo-industrys.html

Interested to hear how this thread goes, & I will be looking over Frank's link.

My work is on it. While I love it for perusing for ideas & inspiration - that may be well be just the problem

Last week really annoyed me. I did a Google search & just decided to click on the Pins of my work to check that my info was still on them.
Yes, Pinners remove your information - & they even "retitle" your work to words of their preference.
They also list lovely comments under the image like " DIY project - I'm loving painting all these pieces ! " or " would be great for a 4H project" or " use this for upcoming show"
Really people....... Have you no scruples ?
I then go in & put in a Hello, & a Copyright notice in the notes. Which gets a delete or a hidden board.

Everyone is complaining about sales & the economy . I don't know... I see people spending money on non-essential items.
I am wondering if people are just oversaturated to images due to sites like Pinterest.
Why should they purchase my cards or small prints - when they can just print them out themselves for shows ?

I realize this is a no-win situation - & that my work just appeals to the crafty/cardy crowd. " Yeay".

Frank, Dan Heller states that "the courts will eventually be forced to reconcile the law with society’s desires, and "the legal system and the copyright "process" needs to be updated to reconcile this."

Astute observations for 2010, and he is still 100% correct. I would like to see if his thoughts have changed regarding Pinterest.

Dan Turner
Dan Turner's Seven Keys to Selling Art Online

Dan, thanks for your observation.

About a year ago I had an email conversation with Dan Heller and he still felt the same about stock photography, creative commons, JPEG instead of RAW, etc. I follow him on Flickr for a few years and, just checking, he now only has a few dozen images and everything else if gone or private.

He did mention in his last post on his website that he is now an instructor at a California University teaching the business of art and the art of business. But, other than his website, he doesn't see to have a social presence. IF this is any indication of how he feels about Pinterest and the rest of them ???

Bumping this up.

"the courts will eventually be forced to reconcile the law with society’s desires, and "the legal system and the copyright "process" needs to be updated to reconcile this."

What if society "desires" everything for free? Should the "copyright process" simply be wiped out to suit the desires of society?

The "push" to make "everything" belong to "everybody" is insanity.

That quote above, is the definition of everything that is wrong with the world today.

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I've found some of my work grabbed from Pinterest and used with the information stripped out.

The only image site I have found so far that leaves the IPTC data intact, is the PRO account with Flickr.

Tiny- You're right about Flickr, except there is no more pro account. All accounts have the same features, and if you pay it it for ad free service. FYI.

I agree with all you said. I"m waiting to hear back from Dan Heller per my last post ....

That is a shame about the PRO account. I guess this list is outdated then.

http://www.embeddedmetadata.org/social-media-test-results.php

I missed Google+

According to this chart, they leave all the CMA intact as well.

According to Vision Crritcal, in the Art & Design, DIY, Craft, and Photography category Pinterest has 21% of the sales compared to twitter's 9%, and Facebook's 5%. Of those that are a Pinterest purchase 47% said they happened upon the item compared to 21% that said they were looking for the item.

I for one have seen my views go up and my first ever random FAA purchase ( meaning the transaction did not go through me). I would not be surprised if that sale was a result of my marketing efforts through Pinterest. 90% of my social media presence over the last year has been on Pinterest.

Tiny - That is a great list it just needs to be updated. Never heard of that list, by the way.

Jean - I read something about that too. Thing is I'm finding similar numbers from About.me (without sharing my pictures) and Flickr search through referrals. What you say about FB I believe because that was the reason for my OP in this thread.

Dan Turner -

You said "Frank, Dan Heller states that "the courts will eventually be forced to reconcile the law with society’s desires, and "the legal system and the copyright "process" needs to be updated to reconcile this."

Astute observations for 2010, and he is still 100% correct. I would like to see if his thoughts have changed regarding Pinterest."



Sent Dan an email and asked if he feels that same now as when he wrote that article about Pinterest. He says that, yes, he feels the same about Pinterest. He also thinks the opportunity to reign in public perception about photography copyrights is all but over.

In a sad way, he thinks it's a moot point now

I tend to agree with him.

So, my question in this thread may be answered. I think I'm going to stay off of Pinterest, cut back on Facebook, share links ( not pics ) only on Twitter. Keep my pictures on platforms that share the Attribution.

Thank you for that information Jean.

I have read on another thread here( from one of our favorite Moderators) that views to sales ratios double.
But does that also bring an increase in sales too is the question.

OK, if the views to sales ratio doubles but the views triple, it increases sales.... If not, then it doesn't.

I just don't know that answer. But it is quick and easy to pin things. It is free. It gets my art in front of people that wouldn't see it otherwise. I can't see where it is a bad thing.

Thank you JC. I do use Pinterest, & enjoy it too. It is easy, & that's exactly what I need.

I would love to see more statistics. As Artists we obviously need as many eyes on our work as possible, with links back to it.

Social Media has changed the world, & the playing field. As with most things " When in Rome.....do as the Romans do "

Demographics will help us to see what the wisest investment of our time is.

That is the thing with Pinterest. When I upload the art, I copy the keywords, submit the image on FAA, then pin it and paste the key words. Takes two extra seconds. Now, going back and pinning old work takes extra time but I only do it when I have nothing else to do so not a horrible waste of time even if it doesn't help. If it does, then time well spent.

Pinterest is fun for sure. But hey! The sheer ignorance of Intellectual Property makes the mind boggle.

Most the re-pinned stuff violates the everyday rules governing IP - no-one seems to care.

Yet... !

The 10 Rules That Every Business Needs To Know Before Pinning On Pinterest

https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/10-rules-every-business-needs-know-pinning-pinterest-182309469.html

Interesting link. Thank you, Frank.

Glad it could be of use to you, Carol ...