there's a lot of chatter going on out there about pinterest. first, it was about the pinterest business model. and then it was about copyright issues. today, flickr blocked all copyrighted images from being pinned. which is actually kind of a shame, because as i see it, pinterest is flickr faves categorized. if flickr had kept up with what was happening, they would have given us the ability to categorize our faves long ago, without leaving their site (but i digress).
in my view, it's all much ado about nothing. i pin because i want to find images again. because i am inspired or prompted to think or cook or drool. or because i think something's clever or beautiful or shocking. i'm not using a single pin for commercial gain, and i always leave the link to the original pin intact (if i'm originating the pin and not repinning, i don't always have control then). plus, i am flattered to be pinned, even if don't feel the prick itself.
here's the deal, people, if you're putting your work out there, whether it be words or images, someone is undoubtedly appropriating it. if you don't want that, don't do it. in my experience, the rewards are far greater than the drawbacks. my photo would never have appeared in the moosletter, my kitchen never been on apartment therapy and i'd not have been asked by multiple ikea publications if they could feature my house if i hadn't been sharing those things online. so get over it. and get pinning. i am.
12 comments:
Totally agree with the sentiment. My personal Pinterest beef is not with Pinterest but all the companies jumping on board and doing it "wrong"
I completely agree with you - for goodness sakes, I find people putting my toys into 'to make' or 'project' Pinterest files - it's annoying, but then, the likelihood of them making it (or making it well) is slim. I've seen little known creatives getting all het up about who could do with the exposure - storm in teacup, as you say, it's out there. If you don't like it, get your stuff off the internet.
Me too.
Also, I wish someone would point out that while Pinterest could sell a version of your stuff, they don't appear to be doing it.
AND!! Why exactly do people think the should be able to pin their own things so that they are shown to millions of people, for possible material gain, without paying a penny?
amen.
Agreed.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Just found you via d smith kaich jones. So glad I did.
also, wtf is all this hoo-ha about not swearing on pinterest? come ON fuddy-duddies, leave us the fuck alone.
agree, get over it or get out of it.
I agree with you, creative types have much more to gain to from Pinterest than to lose. As this controversy heats up I've felt increasingly sheepish about using Pinterest but I find it totally indispensable!
That said, I think Pinterest needs to modify its user agreement so that it is more transparent and limited (that is, specifying what they want to do with the images--which as far as I can see, basically seems to be "add affiliate links"--rather than claiming irrevocable and eternal rights; I can see why people are uncomfortable with that).
And I think that bloggers need to be more thoughtful about how they use pins. Posts that are basically a roundup of "pretty things I saw on Pinterest" seem not cool to me. (Though people have been doing "flickr faves" posts for a long time which never struck me quite the same way. Hm.)
We are the Borg. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.
This! I completely agree. As a photographer I am sensitive about copyright, but like you say...if you put it out there it's out there and there'll always be something happening with your pics that you can't control.
Personally, I'd rather people pinned my images because they enjoy them (even if it doesn't directly link back to me) than for example used them out of context and linking back to me. I got links back to my blog from a tumblr about anorexia and self-injury once and it upset me far more to have my pictures used in a context like that than seeing them in a Pinterest board.
I'm pretty taken with Pinterest myself....just as a little sanctuary for myself to look at images I complete adore. I've seen a bit of traffic in my Etsy shops coming from there, so for me, it seems a good thing....kind of a way of getting my work out there. If people are pinning it, I'm honored....the links seem to be working and that's the thing...if people are honoring the work and not taking it as their own, I'm happy! Still, I do find myself feeling a twinge of guilt if I pin something....what if the link doesn't go back to the artist....what if they don't want their work out there....our mental maps haven't yet caught up with the times! Great post, Julie!
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