Pinterest Changing How I Blog |  LivingLocurto.com

NOTE: This Pinterest article was written in early 2012 when Pinterest was just starting to gain popularity. Information here is still relevant today.

Since writing a post with information about my Pinterest finds, I am learning even MORE things that I didn’t know. Thanks so much to all of your comments and discussions for helping me explore this topic even further.

Here are a few more things you might want to know and how Pinterest has changed the way I will blog.

1. Pinterest is so popular now that celebrities and big companies are flocking to it to try to get more traffic, new fans and customers.

Pinterest will become more commercialized and even more popular, therefore more reason to protect your images and ideas.

Like I said last week, the average person probably doesn’t realize the amount of traffic people are getting from Pinterest. In the creative community, the referral traffic is higher from Pinterest than any other social media platform as of now. If you’re lucky, you can get more hits to your website from ONE pin than an entire year of Google search traffic.

(Read my last post on this to see why some people might use your ideas and photos for commercial gain.)

 

2. There are all kinds of sites just like Pinterest and will likely be more in the future.  

Clipix, We Heart It and I’m sure several more that I haven’t heard about are other sites similar to Pinterest. I won’t link to these sites as I don’t want to advertise for them. (You can use Google to find them.)

If you have a blog, these points are more reasons why you need to put detailed information on your photos to protect them.

A logo or simple watermark just won’t due.

Make sure you have your URL, name, project description or the © symbol on your photos. Make sure your Terms of Use or Copyright info is in the sidebar of your blogs as well.

I just searched for my friend Cheryl’s cute Baby Shower Duck Punch on one of these sites. Cheryl owns Tidymom.net and has a VERY popular photo that is pinned all over Pinterest.

Look at where this source from We Heart It is going…  Pinterest!

 

Luckily for Cheryl, the pin from Pinterest goes back to her post.  She also has her logo on the image.

This is one of those great photos where you might not need a tutorial to know to add ducks to the punch. So although Cheryl’s cute photo is getting passed around and her logo is being seen by lots of people, she is probably missing out on tons of hits to her blog as well. So there are good and bad aspects to this.

If you care about your photos or creative ideas and recipes, you might want to search these other sites for your ideas and report any mis-use of your images. For example if they are claiming the image as their own, if they copy your recipe into the description or if they are not linking to the correct source.

I know this is NOT possible and sort of a crazy thing to even think about, which is why I’m really down on blogging right now.

I don’t have assistants, I can’t monitor the internet. What about my three years worth of photos on my blog right now? I can’t go through and add detailed copyright info on every photo.

It’s overwhelming.

There have always been bookmarking sites, but this Pinterest craze is causing a shift in the creative community right now more than ever before.

I have so many fun ideas that I’d love to share, but I’d also like to create products out of those designs eventually… so it’s leaving me unsure of where to go from here with my blog.

I’ve been copied many times before and get emails from readers often informing me of people selling my free printables on eBay, Etsy and local shops. I also hear about people re-creating designs I did and selling them in their Etsy shop.

I used to contact these people. It’s crazy when I have to call a bakery in the state of Washington or an Esty shop owner and tell them to please stop selling my cupcake toppers that they they got for FREE on my blog. You would think people would know better. I have copyright information all over the place.

I have since given up on worrying about those things because it happens so much and try to focus on my own business. But now with the huge money making traffic coming from Pinterest, similar sites popping up and people creating “Pinterest Inspired” websites… as a designer and blogger, it has me re-thinking everything.

Maybe I’m just burned out? Maybe this is actually GOOD for business? People are promoting creative ideas on Pinterest and other similar sites and maybe eventually they will come back to my blog and purchase my products or read my tutorials? Maybe this won’t lead to more copyright infringement or stealing of my designs and photos?

Anyway, I have many questions for myself. I am going to be thinking about where I go from here.

 

Pinterest is changing the way I blog.

Changes I will be making for future features and round-up posts:

  1. I will encourage you to go to the original source to pin something.
  2. I will either create a generic image for pinning or make a collage of small thumbnail photos. Hopefully, this will encourage readers to click the link and pin the original source.
  3. I will read blogger’s terms of use and contact each source of the photo to get permission if they ask for that in their terms.

Contacting people for a round-up post is going to take time and many I would like to feature, won’t get displayed here. Plus, I have two blogs which means double the work!!

I get over 1.3 million page views per month to Living Locurto and people get a lot of exposure from being featured here. I used to take it for granted that you would want to be featured by me. Because of Pinterest, it’s not the case anymore. Since I can’t control what photo gets pinned from my blog, now people could get upset with me if someone pins my post with their photo. Really, I should have contacted people before and I am mad at myself for not doing that! ugh.

If you feature others on your blog, please think about this as well.

There are some other choices that I need to make. I will keep you informed on what I decide.

What are some changes you are making because of the popular Pinterest craze?

 

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149 Comments

  1. Thanks for taking time to comment on this. I wrote this article a long time ago and it’s still a big issue. Pinterest is changing the blogging world. Hopefully people will read blogger’s terms of use policies more before using or pinning other’s photos.

  2. Hi, I’m not a blogger, but have owned a popular web site since before blogs, Facebook and all that. I have completely changed my copyright regulations and put a “No pin” script on my web site. But this doesn’t stop people from using my images. They just make a screen shot and put them up. I spend hours a day on Pinterst fililing out copyright infringement forms. I used to let some web sites and blogs use my images just so I could get higher page rank from links, but letting bloggers use my images is no longer effective because they put pin it buttons on my images so the images show up on pinterest as coming from their blog and not my web site. I think in the past companies didn’t complain about bloggers using images without permission because it did help in their page rank, but in the future I think those companies will make bloggers take down their pictures or require them to use the “No Pin” script so they don’t loose web traffic. I have already seen this happening. Bloggers can be their own worst enemies. Bloggers who are letting people repin the images they have used without permission or with permission are encouraging people to use those images in violation of copyright law. I think they will be seing lawsuits in the future.

    I have also taken down all my pins, except for the ones that come from my web site. I also have to put my web address on all pictures, which I haven’t done in the past – very time consuming. I have also been adding scripts to my site that prevent people from pinning from my pattern files.

  3. Hi I just found your blog via Blogging With Amy (another blog, which I found via Pinterest lol). I am on Pinterest all the time and upload my blog posts to it a lot of the time. I have discovered the necessity of adding my blog name and url to all of my photos and I even do the cutesy one for pinning and leave the rest pretty basic. I love Pinterest and am on there every day!!

    Helen
    Blue Eyed Beauty Blog

  4. These are such pertinent questions. Great pics by the way. This even goes further – I assume you had to get signed release forms from the individuals in the photos to use their images; and now their faces are all over the internet, and maybe more. It is such a nightmare (pun intended!).

    I have luckily found out about the P-interest controversy, having signed in only one day ago (I found out via the “Link with Love” campaign http://linkwithlove.typepad.com/linkwithlove/what-we-are.html) – and I’m glad I did; it’s got me closely scrutinizing all the terms and conditions… and who even understands them all, let alone reads them! It has got me scared right off using the services, as ethics are a strong part of who I am, and how I operate.

    Is there anywhere you guys have come across as an ethical alternative. I want to make a simple inspiration board (for personal use), as inspiration for a new website. Perhaps I should cobble something together in Publisher, and technically each picture copyright holder must be contacted for every photo I wish to download and then delete when the job is done!

  5. Thank you for sharing your thoughts – it is such a tricky topic and I find I have a love/hate relationship with Pinterest myself. Just want to chime in that it is always a great idea to let bloggers know you are including them in a “round-up” or in a post also from and SEO perspective because they will likely share that they were featured and link back to the round-up post. It is ALL about relevance and relationship 🙂

  6. I’ve only just begun using Pinterest in the hopes of driving traffic to my blog, but I quickly realized that the types of photos that are popular are very different from anything I post.

    I’ve also noticed that a lot of people seem to have very professional-looking photos on their boards, but I can’t imagine that everyone on Pinterest is a professional photographer. Therefore, I have to believe that they took the photos from somewhere else, but that is not always immediately apparent.

    If Pinterest really does take off like many are predicting, I think the owners may face some legal troubles. Hopefully they address the issues you brought up before it’s too late.

  7. @memomuse,
    Your photography is awesome. I have the same problem with my photography. I have not taken it down as of yet, BUT, I may have to.

    I am still watching the process of how all of this is working. I used Fine Art America, http://fineartamerica.com/index.html, and they set up a website for you. Mine is, http://renee-holder.artistwebsites.com/galleries.html, and they advised against watermarking.

    Pinterest has changed that, so I am now going to have to do the same thing as you have with going back and watermarking everything. It is so frustrating because like you said, it really takes time away from other things that are important in your life, when you thought all would be well with your already hard work just to get it on the internet.

    What program do you use for watermarking?

    I really feel that Pinterest has changed the hole avenue of blogging because everyone is (Pinteresting) and has become very discouraging.

    Amy thank you for shedding light on this topic and letting others vent and share their thoughts.

  8. I used to have a website dedicated to all things rodeo and cowboys (and I don’t have to remind anyone how attractive cowboys are, especially when they are ready to get on a wild animal, in fact, cowboys are beautiful and so are cowgirls and I really believe rodeo tells beautiful stories).

    I had photos from 2001 – 2009. I uploaded high resolution photos and created a right click dream. I have had to take that website down because of the photo piracy. I have had my photos stolen and reposted on all kinds of websites. It is really disheartening as an artist to see my work posted on other people’s website and not have even my name credited. It’s funny how people will take credit for other people’s work. I follow a hard core artist code — blood, sweat, and tears and a lot of heart, produced and created those images.

    I literally had bullshit slung on me and my camera lens to get the photos I took. Since I have been finding the photos all over the place, I actually thought I could reclaim them by putting up watermarked images on Pinterest (from my online print on demand gallery — http://www.artflakes.com/en/shop/megan-oteri). It was my big dramatic shout in the crowd — these are mine! Since I am still learning how to put a watermark on, I used the watermarked images from my Artflakes gallery.

    The whole thing has taken time away from my family, trying to track down photos and contact people to take down the photos and made me a jittery basket of nerves and depressed. I am usually very upbeat and I like to use my photos to inspire people.

    Samatha’s quote from “Sex and the City” to Smith Jarod, came to mind — “First comes the gays, then the girls, and then the industry.” I thought something positive would happen since my photos were stolen and posted on a gay guy’s cute faces website, a Russian mail order bride website advertising a “Wild West” party, and a bunch of other ones. Heck, a professional bull rider is using my photo that I took of him in Wyoming, as his facebook profile photo and for his fan page.

    I am waiting for the industry to contact me! I actually have a whole advertising campaign for Wrangler!

    Is my name credited on any of these websites? NO. I thought Pinterest would help me. Now I have another headache to worry about now that I found out Pinterest owns all my photos now and can sell them and even though I deleted my boards of my photos, they are still available in a public server. It is such a nightmare. What I think it totally wrong with Pinterest is people can change the URL site. They don’t have to keep the original source. It’s like an honor system gone bad, real bad.

    It makes me want to take my toys and go home. But it makes me think about how can I benefit from this? I feel like I am missing something?? Am I? Or is the new internet fueled by the non-renewable resources of artists’ hard work. Does artists’ work just get burned up in a Pinterest sharing fest? What would Picasso and Monet have to say about this if their paintings and works of art were being shared without their name. They had enough smarts to sign their paintings.

    I think I should just cut and paste this comment and make it my next blog post!

    The final kicker for me was seeing two of my photos posted on Deviant Art. This person actually copyrighted my images and is selling them! Talk about salt, lemon, lime, tequila, alcohol, and a scorpion bite all to the wound.

    I don’t know if I have the left brain skills to sort through all this nonsense. I do have a friend (thank goodness) who has legal knowledge of copyright to help me through this internet nightmare.

    The ironic thing, is I posted the photos with the intention of sharing my art, visually, and trying to make a name for myself as a rodeo and cowboy photographer.

    But that is my art. I created it. Anyway, I do have my photos posted on a flash site so people can’t copy it. I sure hope people can’t copy it. I guess they can with screen shots these days.

    I am rambling on. Sorry. This is a hot button topic for me. I have deleted my Pinterest boards with my photos (even though they had watermarks from Artflakes), And I am deleting all photos that I am not sure I have permission to post. Pinterest kind of sucks by putting all the legal responsibility on the users. I think the people using the site have no idea what they are doing and the repercussions for the very people that are providing them visual inspiration. In the meantime, I am sticking watermarks all over the photos I do put on Pinterest. Thank you for this post and I am sorry if I rambled on too much about this. My facebook community is sick of hearing me whine about this.

    I hate it when people say, “Well, you shouldn’t have put it on the internet then.” Thanks for letting me share.

  9. Terrific post! I found your blog via Pinterest. 🙂 I’ve been reading all I can on the updates to the copyright guidelines, etc., and greatly appreciate your practical tips.

  10. Pingback: Pinterest
  11. @melle, They used to allow email sign up (I did it that way, too), but now it’s strictly Facebook or Twitter. I just tested it out today, since friends & readers have been complaining about that. I was able to request an invitation to my spare email address, but could not sign up without Facebook or Twitter.

    Pinterest’s reason, “We require Facebook & Twitter to make it easier to find people you know, and to reduce spam. You can unlink your account at any time.”

  12. Look what came across my email this morning: It’s a site/movement to form a “trademark” for the web so that proper attribution can be given to discoveries. It’s a really interesting and thought provoking organization that I hope catches on, especially after the discussion here on this blog. http://curatorscode.org/
    🙂 Catherine

  13. Holy crap! I am totally freaked out after reading your articles on Pinterest! Like many others I have enjoyed a lot of increased traffic through Pinterest but there is a lot I didn’t know. Because my blog is food related people have to get back to me to find the recipe unless it’s being claimed by others without my knowledge. I’m going to watermark and include my URL in my blog pins from now on as suggested and I will definitely be going through my boards to make sure the original owner is linked to on all of my pins. I have always just repinned and taken for granted that it will link back. I won’t be making that mistake anymore. Thanks for shedding light on this issue!

  14. Amy, thanks for your insight… it’s definitely a lot to think about. I have enjoyed the increase in traffic Pinterest has brought to my blog, but understand the frustration of pins not being credited properly. I always do my best to pin from the original source, as I’d like the same consideration and I never repin without checking first.

  15. I’ve added the code to all my WordPress blogs to prevent images being pinned on to Pinterest period.. I won’t have my work in any shape of form on there at all. Why should Pinterest make money out of my content without sharing some of that profit with me?

  16. I’m a 6-year blogger and a newbie Pinner. I pin some of my own posts, some of other people’s, but when I repin, I always, always go to the source and pin from there directly rather than from someone else’s pin. One thing that Pinterest has caused me to do for my own blog is I make sure that my images are obviously (as in larger font) watermarked with my URL. I don’t feature my pinboards on my blog. I don’t use Pinterest an awful lot, and I’m not sure what to make of the controversy happening right now.

  17. I’m not really a huge pinner, but since there has been so much conversation regarding copyright, I’ve actually copied and pasted the url that links directly to the actual post in the comment on my pin. I don’t know if that will help, but Pinterest actually “liked” the first pin I did like that…thought that was interesting. I hope others would do the same for anything they pin from my blog. Once it’s out there, it’s hard to control.

  18. @Amy, Thank you so much for clarifying. Holy Cow, I am not so sure about Pinterest anymore and will be so much more conscious of my pinning. Yeek!

  19. @Catherine,

    I just read where Etsy added the Pin It button without giving the shop owners any way to remove it. So no, I would not pin anything from Etsy now. Someone could sue you. As an alternative, I have been using Evernote.com to keep track of my favorite things.

  20. I’m a new Pinterest user and not a blogger….I have a question for you all because now I am feeling so guilty and confused.

    Can I pin directly from Etsy without permission since it goes directly to the seller’s site?

    Please let me know! Thank you!

  21. I discovered that a few websites I go to are now using Pinterest as a form of free advertising. THey plug up my pinterest page with junk……….photos of Pillsbury Flour…….Sugar, Pam, etc. I had to unfollow one as it was so darn annoying, 30-50 posts a day from her own website pushing cupcakes, etc.

    I discovered that some of the things I was pinning weren’t going back to the original source, so I either hunted them down and repinned with the source or removed them. I may not have all of them, but I got a large portion. Then I educated myself on how to get them to post with the original blog/website URL included.

    I love the bloggers that put their links right on their photos. I have asked a few people for permission, esp. the artists on ETSY that have beautiful lampwork beads that I want to PIN. More are willing than not. Their sales have skyrocketed because of it.

    I appreciate your blog post, it was helpful, but not much that I didn’t already know.

  22. I found your blog from i am baker and I love your thoughts. I have to say that I am so overwhelmed by all of the information that is coming to surface. I know that I am at fault for some of the same things that you have mentioned and will take the same steps to ensure that proper credit is given when due. I want to love Pinterest and I want it to stay around. As a blogger, I have benefited from huge traffic bumps. I just hope that they can fix the issues!

  23. Amy, what a great source of information. I do try to contact most other bloggers when I like their content and want to share. Just good karma.
    You have given a lot of information that I just hadn’t thought about. I just really getting started with Pinterest. It is a time consumer for sure and when I would find something I really liked I wanted to know who it came from. This is where the adventure would start to find them and ending up with several pages opened and lost as a goose, most times. Sometimes I could find it and then sometimes not. The reason for my search was because if I liked what I saw, I felt they had other great content.
    I think from now on in the comments I will start adding info of where my pins come from.
    I actually found this post through http://ohamanda.com

  24. @Lesley, I always worry people won’t take a comment in the light that it was posted, so i really appreciate that you did not mind my comment.
    FWIW, sometimes when i want to find the original source of something, I drag and drop the image into Google Images search box. The search results will tell you all the places on the interwebs where the photo can be found and most often, with a little sleuthing, the original source can be found. As a photographer myself, I am cautious myself (i don’t allow anyone to pin from my website for example) but I think most people who pin without citing original sources do not do it with malicious intent.. they are just unaware.. and if we just take the time to educate people, I am sure it will affect change. 🙂

  25. @Rashmi, Yes that makes complete sense. I am going to take off the Flickr picture all together. When I posted it I had that gut feeling even though I have seen it on several other blogs but secondly it has a child in it. As a former child care director it just doesn’t set well knowing that I am using a photo of a child w/o permission we always had to have written consent and I wouldn’t do that now while I’m blogging. So I’ll be taking that one down. I also had to go and investigate a second picture because it lead nowhere from Pinterest and I finally found the original source and re-pinned it to the correct link although the photo was from a different angel. I understand what you are saying I just recently saw all the photos from a blog being sourced to one particular person via Pinterest and I know that these photos were not personally taken by this person. It was just sourcing their Pinterest Board I believe. I plan to mainly only use my own pictures but every once in a while I do use others as I did for the “Cozy Corner” post. Thanks so much for the info. Lesley

  26. @Lesley, As long as you link back to the original source (BHG, House Beautiful) and it goes back to the correct part of the website with the information/photo you are sharing, that is okay. But linking back to Flickr/Pinterest is not okay. Flickr because it is particular flickr user you should credit and Pinterest because it is not a direct link to the original source. Hope that makes sense.

  27. I really appreciate your post but I do have to say as a new blogger I feel like it has been a form of flattery when I have been featured. None of the bloggers have asked for permission and I don’t mind at all. As long as my blog is sourced correctly I don’t have a problem with it. I understand copy right infringement and I don’t want people taking my photographs and claiming that they are theirs but if others want to use them on their blogs and talk about how they like them and if I gain traffic then I think it’s a win win situation. I also never realized their was so much controversy stirring up about Pinterest. I really enjoy the site for inspiration. And now I am doubting a Post I did yesterday where I used pictures that were images from other sites like BHG and Southern Living.

  28. Playing devil’s advocate for a second (read my prev comment.. i totally support the original source thing).. i have to say that bloggers who rely on pinterest for marketing purposes.. well, maybe they can’t have the best of both worlds. Free marketing.. yes. But 100% credit back to them.. no. Ideally that would be the case.. but perhaps it is just not something to be expected.

  29. Yep. I can’t even go on pinterest anymore.. drives me MAD to see uncredited pins… and then i waste time going back and finding original source, and then original pinner and leaving a comment with the original source. What bugs me is that the same people who would get bent out of shape if it was done to THEIR photo/blog/creative idea do not mind repinning something which does not credit the original source. So sad.
    I think pinterest should come up with an easy way to not allowing pinning from a website (like it doesn’t allow pinning from facebook).. OR.. not allowing bad pinners to be part of the community anymore. I think pinterest has totally jumped the shark. It used to be a couple thousand people back in 2010.. now its everyone and their mother and people have to pinning ethic. Sucks.

  30. wow. that’s really alot to think about… pinterest has always seemed like a blessing as numbers on my little blog have gone up exponentially. i never stopped to reconsider the effects. very thought-provoking. thanks so much!

  31. Thank you so much for taking the time to share these thoughts with us – it seems like Pinterest is the new gold rush and having someone take the time to point out the caution flags is so helpful.

    Thanks for the good food for thought. Because of these two posts I went and added watermarks to all the photos on my post up today that’s getting a lot of Pinterest traffic. It’s just never been that huge a concern for me before, and it’s now going to change the way I blog too.

    ~Lisa-Jo

  32. Wow, thanks for the articles. I have accidentally pinned items that I didn’t realize had a bad link-back. When I find them in my boards though, I do delete them because I don’t want people to go to the wrong place or not get proper credit. (Still working my way through all the pins,t aking a while). That said, didn’t think about photos on my blogs, and will definitely begin adding information to them. Might even “redo” some of them just to be on the safe side since I tend to pin some of my finished versions (and do give link-backs for the pins that inspired the work). Lots to think about. Thanks!

  33. This is interesting as a (basically) non-blog writing, blog loving reader. I saw Pinterest when it was in testing and loved it for its curating capabilities. I have always tried to link to the original source-not just for the original blogger but also because I don’t want to waste my time pinning something that I can’t use later on. Now that Pinterest has become popular I have been reading about and becoming aware of these issues. Particularly annoying is the fee they apparently receive if, out of convenience, I pin a book cover from Amazon (or some such site). I am a loyal local shopper and love to share books but not for the sake of Pinterest or Amazon. Thank you for your informative posts on this topic!

  34. Great post! I NEVER pin something unless it links back to the original source and I have found myself having to track back several sites sometimes in order to get the correct address and originally pin it myself. Real bloggers seem to understand this but I have tried to educate my non-blogger Pinterest addict friends. And I hate that you can’t alter your photos once they’ve been pinned. I didn’t watermark my stuff at first and now even if I do, the original unwatermarked stuff is out there…

  35. I’ve seen some of my work on Pinterest, linked back to my blog, fortunately. However, I have nothing on my blog to protect it but will soon. This is the problems all creative artists have been facing. My son is a musician and downloading and leaking albums before they hit the stores is a huge loss of revenue to them. This means they must be on the road more. Personal appearances and selling special tour only merch is the money maker these days. This is not how they want to live, out of a bus leaving wives and friends most of the year. The internet is a wild baby out of control. Taming it will cost freedom. I’m holding my breath for now. There isn’t an option that I really like at this point.

  36. Found you through Chef Dennis. Thanks for such a great post, I make a very conscious effort to only pin from the source and if I ‘repin’ it’s not a pin that has all the instructions/recipes. I’ve even adopted in my pin comments adding “….from “so and so” so that my followers know exactly where I’ve pinned it from. Pinterest is the best social media we have (personally speaking), let’s not degrade it by abusing it.

  37. Hi! I found this really interesting! I post on pinterest EVERY day! I am madly in love with it. I totally hear your concerns though. And I too have worried about this – even before there was pinterest. I decided I couldn’t let these issues hinder my ideas and projects. I was taught that imitation is the best form of flattery. And I remind myself that even if someone copies my idea, they can’t copy my work . Only I can make that wreath exactly that way. And people will start to realize they are investing in me creatively instead of just purchasing some random product. Thanks for your post! I loved it!

  38. First, I refuse to have a Facebook page which is required to join Pinterest. Second, I found the Picasa account that Google started without my knowledge or permission and deleted all photos that I had on the blog that I had deleted. I no longer plan to have a blog. I removed photos of me from all forums. Everything I have given away is truly free – there can’t be strings attached to something that’s labeled “free”, or it isn’t really “free”, is it? Once it is in the public domain, and labeled “free”, forget about it. It’s gone forever. I am a senior citizen in poor health, so I’m reducing my footprint from the internet because someday I’ll not be able to contain or remove information that I have left behind, or someone else has used, and I don’t want my family to have to chase it down in my absence. Lately I think of an admonition of my grandmother’s: “A lady’s name should only appear in print three times; once when she is born, once when she marries, and once when she dies.” That’s a far cry from today’s female presence on the internet, where it is “show all, tell all, and give it all away.” I am no longer comfortable out here, so exposed and well, really, so vulnerable. There is no privacy, and there is no such thing as “mine” if you have a web presence. On March 1st, Google is going to make that so much worse.

  39. Good for you Amy for being conscious about how you blog and use other people’s work. Don’t beat yourself up – you simply can’t control what everyone does, and have to focus on doing what’s right yourself…just believe that karma is payback 🙂

    You’re right about a logo not being enough as a watermark – definitely include website URL, and at least if the image is pinned and not given link or credit, people can still check out your original work.

    One “photo archive” on Facebook that does a good job of giving attribution is ArtPics. It’s hugely popular, and Kami is simply a curator or sharer of images (a lot like Pinterest), but his images all give credit to the photographer/artist, as well as the Artpics Fan Page.
    https://www.facebook.com/photoarchive

    Angelique

  40. Amy,
    Thank you for letting other’s know these things. Please keep up the good work, don’t pay attention to some of these people, we need people like you that lets us know how these sites affect creative people and they don’t get the credit they deserve.

  41. @Jasmine,

    Really, Jasmine? Really? Amy isn’t whining or complaining she is talking about a problem that is very real and very very big if you’re looking at it from her perspective. Try to use a little tact next time and say something that is worth saying rather than putting someone down.

  42. I’m not a real blogger (I have a blog that gets a couple hundred hits a month, mostly from my mom) and I’m only a hobby crafter but I do browse pinterest fairly regularly. Mostly for quicky craft ideas for kids parties or minor home projects. I also never visit the site that the picture came from. If I can’t figure out how to do it from the picture, it requires too much time and effort and I move on.

    @Jenny, is there really an expectation of a comment for each repin? That seems like a ton of work on the pinner’s part. My daughter is having a beach birthday party in a few months and I’ve found several ideas on pinterest but I’m honestly not going to each picture and commenting “thanks for the shark goody bag idea” (which is lunch sacks, painted blue, with a triangle cut out for the mouth). Most of them are so simple to create, it would take longer to comment than it would to make the craft.

    I use pinterest because it is fast and easy. If it were to become more involved, I’d have to leave it behind. I’ve always planned very successful parties simply using Google and if comments are the expectation on pinterest, I would just have to go back to that. I just don’t have time in my life for all that.

  43. I totally understand where you are coming from with copyright and I am an artist myself and am sensitive to the issue. However, I noticed that one of your free printables is an iPad (and iPhone) valentine. Did Apple give you permission to use the images of their devices for those printables? See, It’s a fine line that we all have to walk.

  44. Hi, Amy.

    I am a HUGE pinner and love Pinterest, but I have changed the way that I pin since I began. I used to spend a lot more time repinning others’ pins from Pinterest, but now I pin directly from blog posts and then I credit the creator.

    I run into some problems with guest posts – now I usually label those “xyz from guest blogger name via host blog.” I’ve also found that when I do find something on Pinterest that I want to repin, I click through to the source so I can credit the original post.

    Definitely an issue now are projects and such that are inspired from the projects of others…I now try to pin the project and that it was inspired by the name of the other blog, too.

    Finally, I have to throw in the delicate issue of bloggers who do “knock-offs” or “inspired by” projects based on ballard, west elm, pottery barn, or anthropologie. This – technically – is the same issue for them as it is for bloggers who create original projects that are “knocked off” by others. The scale is certainly different, but I thought I would throw it out as food for thought.

    Love your blog and read this post in my Google Reader….

    Cheers,
    Laura

  45. Gosh, I had NO idea how Pinterest worked. I have to be honest & say that I have pinned a few images that I thought were really cook from your site. But I usually clicked on your site & then visited the blog it was linked from & then pinned it. I hope that it gave credit in the right place. If not, I’m so sorry. Since reading this, I have actually not been on Pinterest much because I want to make sure that the things I am pinning aren’t just ‘taken’ from people who came up with the idea. I personally don’t have the kind of mind to come up with new ideas but I do enjoy copying ideas & tweaking them to fit my needs but I have no ambition to make money from any of the things that I make. I might make something & donate it to local fundraising things to help out a family in need or something like that but not for my profit.

    I do think that the way this is headed is going to continue so getting some ideas from other people & how to handle this newer craze is very important. I do hope that you figure something out because I do enjoy looking through the ideas you have on your sites as well as those you’ve linked to. Thank you for researching & sharing these important things about Pinterest. And please share in terms that everyone can understand, how to protect personal images as well as how to make sure credit is given where it is deserved. Thank you!

  46. One idea that I use on my popular posts is to upload my photos (with appropriate watermarks/info) through photobucket. Then I just replace the photo (by deleting the original from photobucket and uploading a new one with more info on it using the same file name as the original) This way the links aren’t broken and the original photo just gets deleted. But the best thing is to start right now with the photo credits that can’t be cropped out.

  47. Hi, I have been blogging for about 5 months and just do it as a hobby but found your post very interesting. I have been hearing all the “pinterest” talk for a couple months and don’t have a really good grasp on it but am getting it! 🙂 What do you mean, create a generic image? and how do you go about searching sites to see if your pictures/stuff is on someone elses site? Unless I am missing something, the internet is like a black hole…how would I find out if someone is claiming my pics? ugh, so much to know ! Thanks so much for the tips and holy smokes…..1.3 million a month…that is awesome!

  48. I have loved the last two pinterest posts! I am going to have to go back 2 years and watermark photos! Unfortunately that will not change the photos that have already been pinned! ;( Let me ask a question, if you have a weekly link party, can you embed a “pin it” button linked to your link party button only? That way when someone clicks on their “pin it” button, the link party button is their only choice of photo? We already direct readers to please visit the individual blogs to pin, but would that force the correct pinning?

  49. Very good points….I love the traffic as well. It is a hard line to draw with creative works, you want the exposure but no matter what platform you have someone will copy…There is a whole company out there with exact copies of my rolling pin designs..what can you do….my theory is to keep being more creative and skilled, the copiers will fall by the wayside.

  50. I agree with everything you’ve expressed, and one thing in particular gave me pause. We have a very large link party we host every week, we receive 400+ links at every party and I have found that when I search our name on Pinterest many of the pins are links or features from our party and not really “our” projects. I am going to ask that from now on if you really like someone’s project or photograph to not pin it from our page but to pin it from the original creators page. I honestly never even processed that through! Thanks for helping me think through the whole Pinterest issue. It definitely has become our number one referral after Google. We love the traffic but want to make sure that pinning is done with integrity!

    Heather

  51. Amy- thank you so much for bringing attention to this topic. 1) Looks like I will start watermarking my photos. Here are a few helpful tips for WordPress.org bloggers: 2) WordPress has a Pinterest plug-in that lets the blog author select the photo and comment that can get pinned. Although the comment can be changed, most people don’t do so. 3) WordPress also has a copyright plug in that makes it difficult for people to copy/paste from your blog. 4) When I pin, I try to put the author’s website in the comment section just in case. Thanks again!

  52. I know… I feel the same. I emailed a guy from Pinterest and asked if they were ever thinking of being able to make boards PRIVATE and I told him I would even pay for the service!!! I think I will email him again!

  53. Amy, thank you for talking about this. I, like you, was happily pinning along, thinking that Pinterest was collecting the proper link. Never thinking I should make sure the original source was identified. I’ll be more careful in the future.

    Also, on my blog, I’ll be rethinking how I credit the other stationers that I feature as well as how I post my own work. It seems crazy that I didn’t think more about it before. Watermarks, etc, here I come…

  54. You can cut out a lot of the steps if the people posting the images/photos would watermark their pics, or learn to watermark if they haven’t before.. Not only with their name but their site addy as well. That’s what the graphic artists on the web have done for the last ten years that I know of.

  55. I agree with Naomi. Great posts, if only everyone whose ever used Pinterest would read them. I’ve often thought that Pinterest is running the risk of getting sued, again, again and again.

  56. Amy, I was under the impression that when we pinned to Pinterest it pinned the web address etc from the page…I have pinned some of your ideas, never intending to take credit but to get them out to a bigger audience, and so I will have them in one spot for future reference. I know most people are not knowledgeable on copywrite laws, and that many who are choice to ignore them, which is why I gave up on being a photographer and a digitizer, I had clients who blatantly ignored my ownership of photos and designs, so I know first hand how frustrating it can be.

  57. @Aimee Jongejan,

    Great comment and not preachy at all:-) See, if it wasn’t for Pinterest I wouldn’t have cool readers like you. It’s not that I’m against Pinterest, I just don’t know where to go from here as a creative blogger with many readers. I feel it’s my duty to make try to make a change and set an example to other, but not sure what yet.

  58. I suspect somewhere in the near future there will be major changes to Pinterest’s policies. They risk being sued for copyright infringement a thousand times over.

  59. What a great post; one of the best I’ve read. People have copied my recipes for years with no credit, and I mean big companies like an editor at AOL under their “recipe collection” policy. And, my recipes are from my book published by Penguin Putnam and protected by a US copyright (although, technically, a recipe itself cannot be copyrighted). But images are another story and while many fabulous Content Curator blogs have been great PR for those of us who create original content, there are others who steal images or unbelievably get images for free and the sell them such as your cupcake toppers. That is absolutely unconscionable.

  60. I found your website through pinterest. It’s an awesome marketing tool. If only people would start pinning me (wishful thinking since my blog is new). I think if you take reasonable steps to ensure your original work is protected then there is nothing much we can do about it EXCEPT for those of us who use social media and pinterest to do so responsibly. I believe that a lot of good can come out of good Karma. We have all been blessed with talents from God. He gives us talents so we can share them. Unfortunately once something is shared we no longer have control over what happens to it (think recipes you give your friends, music that is published, literature, etc.) That should not stop us from sharing our talents (remember, the servant that buried his talent? It was taken from him.) You are incredibly talented, funny, and fabulous! Don’t be afraid to share that with the world. Did you get into the blogging business to make money? If that is your only goal then be happy that you’re getting so many hits every month (I seem to be stuck at 100 but again, my blog is a baby). If you’re in it to share your talents and to make our lives better – which you do wonderfully – then continue to share what you do and protect it to the best of your ability. Just my two cents from a big Living Locurto fan.

  61. Thank you for these posts! The same things have been on my mind for a while now. I always try to pin an original source and feel quite bad about linking to something else. Sadly, I have seen a lot of my products as well as products by others being pinned as FREE printable ideas, when that is just not true. There is a difference between products for sale and free printable, people just choose to ignore the difference.

  62. Hi
    I have not read your blog before, but have liked your two posts about pinterest. I do not have a blog, but I do enjoy reading them! And it annoys the crap out of me, when a pin is not returning to a source! I will follow your example and remove all my pins without source. I simply use pinterest as a library for great ideas because I like to craft – for my own benefit, and because I don’t have the imagination to come up with the ideas my self. But I would like to pay honour to all thouse wonderful crafty people who makes is possible for me! Thank you for giving this topic awareness. I will now browse through your blog 🙂

  63. I am going to pin this blog post!!! I am so glad that I am not alone in thinking about this issue. If you look at http://pinterest.com/claireisabel/social-media/ – I have pinned/posted many things about correct Pinterest usage. I am really frustrated with this issue. I have started slowly going through all my boards & checking my pins to make sure they all link to the original owners of the images. Google Image Search & my sleuthing brain have helped me to locate original sources. I have done about half of my boards so far. It is time consuming, but I don’t want any pins that are not correctly sourced. I now put all pins in my likes until I have time to check them & repin them. I wish more people would start doing the right thing. If you want to know how to find many of the versions of your personal images that are posted all over the internet – read this post that I pinned – http://pinterest.com/pin/248049891946047382/ – It explains it easily.

  64. You can edit an image that has been uploaded by a user – you go to edit & put the url in the link section. The url will show up on the image if you go & look at it on your board. I do this all the time with pins that say uploaded by user but actually the photo belongs to an original internet source.

  65. Amy- I volunteer at a local thrift that benefits children’s charities and people steal from there…..they steal from a CHARITY. Try not to make yourself too nuts, but it drives me crazy, too. I have seen so many people selling images and downloads that were given for free…..many times I have contacted the seller and told them outright to stop stealing from others and selling what isn’t theirs. There is a website that sells individual baby shoe patterns that come in the McCalls pattern pack for $6 each when you can wait for JoAnn to have a pattern sale and buy the whole pack of 12 designs from McCall for .99!! it’s just all too much for someone from my generation to understand. How can you take any pride or enjoy blessings from things and ideas you have outright stolen?? These are strange times indeed. :/

  66. I’m just like Libby–a mom who likes to craft with my kids and throw them fabulous parties. I am not super tech savvy and I do not have a Facebook or Twitter account, purposely. It is very sad that you will have to be “censoring” your blogs because we are living in a world where everybody is out to make a buck without doing the work. I truly believe in Karma and that only good will come your way. I will continue to spread the word about your wonderfulness…by mouth only : )

  67. This just stinks. Eloquent, I know! This IS changing everything and not for the better. I think we’re all going to have to start doing things differently. Thanks for bringing awareness to this issue!

  68. I love pinterest (I pin like crazy, however, I always pin to the source) but my big issue with pinterest is that it seems to be so much easier for people to copy people’s work. Once you would see something on a blog and if you wanted to do something similar for yourself you would, but you’d like to the blogger and you wouldn’t dream of selling the item. Not anymore – people seem to be using pinterest as a place for them to pin things to copy and sell without giving any credit anywhere because it’s become faceless. I love the concept of pinterest, I love that I have a whole board of craft tutorials to refer to, printables to print out, recipes to try, but I can see the downsides and copyright is the most obvious. I did discover you via pinterest though, so it’s not all bad!

  69. I am not a blogger but when I see something cute on Pintrest, I always try to find the original because I will want to see the other creative things that person has done, which may eventually lead me to following them.

  70. I get most of my traffic from Pinterest now and NOW my older posts that were long lost in archives now get seen by many….I noticed the other day that one year old post has been pinned over 3000 times…WOW!

    My blog is just a hobby and NOT a business….yet. But I write and share with the intent for others to make or be inspired so I totally expect people to ‘steal’ my projects and ideas…..and I know NOT everyone will link back….it is what it is…

    If I recreate something I always link to a site/blog. AND I always try and pin from the original site IF I can find it:-)

    This article gives lots to think about….even guest post that I’ve been ask to write……thank you…AND I would LOVE to be featured here regardless of who gets the pin:-)

  71. @Michelle,

    Right and now with the huge Pinterest popularity, more and more crafts are being exposed, which means more will be made and sold in Etsy shops. It will be harder for everyone to make any money online because there will be duplicates all over the place even more than there is now. The creative community is exploding. It’s exciting to so many that they might not realize the negatives that could come until it’s too late.

  72. Your last two posts have made me reconsider how and why I use Pinterest. I am a member of the public at large; not a craftsman, not a blogger, just a lover of creative works. I love to use Pinterest to find new blogs and have found so many that I follow daily and would have otherwise never known about. It is, in fact, how I found your wonderful blogs! I have never really know what the intended purpose of Pinterest is or how it was designed to be used. It was only after reading your posts that I learned that I have been “repinning” improperly.

    I want to support all of you who create and blog (what a wonderful, empowering outlet this has become for so many women!). For my part, I have linked your posts about Pinterest on my Facebook page and forwarded my emails to friends. I am also in the process of cleaning up and cleaning out my Pinterest boards that do not give credit to the proper sources. Education and advocacy are mighty forces and saving blogs like yours are worth the effort.

  73. VERY interesting post and a topic that’s been nagging at me and the copyright of images…you’re thoughts are mine as well. I have a boutique online art gallery and it will be difficult to watermark all my images right now…but I must begin the process. But the images are NOT mine, I’m a representive for artists, so I’m in an interesting situation. I think I need to think more about ‘pinning’ my artists’ work, it may be better if they do directly. Thank you for your take on this issue, I need to think long and hard before I post my images…even though I ultimately want to sell the work, it may not be worth others ‘taking’ the image without buying it. Again, thank you!

  74. I wonder if the “local” movement will cycle back to the crafting world….once you put up a craft online to sell, and especially if its easy to reproduce, I can’t imagine getting much online sales. Now if you have a booth or storefront or space somewhere, especially where tourists are, basically somewhere where the buyers are really buyers, not artisans looking for creative inspiration, I would think thats where the sales might be. When I first found out about Etsy it seemed to be more for true artisans that make things the average person couldn’t….now its quite shocking how its become a trove of simple crafts….I’ve saved a bunch to my favorites and whenever I look, they still haven’t sold….so I wonder if anyone is really making money on it…I could be wrong, just my personal observations…

  75. Amy, I really appreciate you sharing your findings, research and thoughts about Pinterest. All food for thought. Thank you.

  76. Amy, I appreciate your series on Pinterest. I have noticed significant changes to my blog in the last few months with the growing popularity of Pinterest. While it has driven traffic to my blog, it has not increased my GFC following. People like to “pin and go”… they visit for the idea and leave without even leaving a comment. My most popular pin has 25,000 pins yet sadly only 10 comments on the actual post. I really do love Pinterest, but its popularity is growing quicker than they can handle. There are many improvements that have to happen to make it more user friendly for both the “pinners” and “pinees” such as better search features, less technical errors, etc…

  77. @Miz Booshay,
    It’s really hard to wrap my brain around how this is just the tip of the ice berg. And get my point across to people. They just don’t get it. With maybe 1-5 million people on Pinterest now and it’s out of control… what happens when it becomes like Facebook with 500,000 million people on it? The politicians are already starting to use it… it’s just the beginning. I’ve already found about 5 Pinterest copycat sites as well. EEK! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-drapeau/pinterest-for-politics_b_1272317.html

  78. Thank you for all the thought you are putting into this, Amy.

    I joined Pinterest early on and have enjoyed it, but there was always a nagging feeling I had about it… Especially with all the spin offs and such. As a creative, I can think of nothing worse than to see someone gaining notoriety for my ideas (I’ve lived through that in the past, and it is gut-wrenching).

    Again – Thank you for helping to educate people and for sharing your thoughts and ideas on this.

  79. I have been noticing that several of the other blogs I follow are adding pinterests pins to each of their photos.

    I too, pay attention to the source of the photos. I actually make an effort to have my pins come from the source. (I know it doesn’t always happen – but I try.)

  80. Great post Amy!! Lots of great info! I think if we (as bloggers) can continue to educate people to pin from original sources it will make a big difference! Thank you for this post and for even being willing to make changes that will take you some time, but you are going to do simply because it is right.

  81. Amy,
    I agree with you it is a big problem that is not going to go away. I decided to close my pinterest account. I saw too many of my pictures on there without credit, including one of my daughter that had been shared from another website. It is too easy to remove watermarks and repin without meaning to “steal” I am also reluctant to share my ideas so freely now.
    Jeannie

  82. My heart goes out to you, Amy. I’m not a blogger, nor do I have any type of Web presence, so to speak. I’m simply a mom who loves her kid and loves to craft. When I discovered you, I was absolutely blown away by your incredible gift, and further grateful for your willingness to share that gift with the rest of us. I am deeply saddened by the lack of integrity and level of dishonesty that appears to be pervasive in/around Pinterest. But ultimately, you must do what is right for you and your family. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I’m crushed that the selfish actions of lazy people has caused you to question what the future holds. And that’s just not right. For whatever it’s worth, thank you for being you & having the courage to share with us.

  83. I think anytime someone puts anything out there in the internet world they should realize it has the potential to be misused. And you have every right to do everything in your power to protect your intellectual property. But everyone has to remember that all of these great things, including the internet itself, started out as a great way to share information. But as with anything, people decided they wanted to start making money from it. This is the biggest reason I don’t read but a couple blogs anymore. My favorites started out great but they all ended the same; cranking out posts meant to attract the masses and full of advertisements. Everyone saw the potential to make money off their blog and that’s exactly what they set out to do. I personally love Pinterest and I don’t see it as stealing anyone’s ideas at all. I think the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to anything related to the internet.

  84. Personally I’m addicted to Pinterest, and I make sure as often as possible that the links go back to the original source. “As often as possible” means that sometimes I’m just mindlessly pinning, but I go back to check links when I can find them, and I never pin a recipe in a pin content, I always black it out and say click through or just give the title so it goes back to the person, etc. Anyway – I’m not a big person who is frequently pinned, so it’s different for me, but I try to respect the people I pin and those I re-pin and so on. Thanks for sharing your experience! Great post!

  85. Amy, I’m thankful for the education about Pinterest…I’d really never given much thought to how easy it’s become to steal someone else’s creative work…now I’m thinking about how I can combat it…

  86. I don’t blog, so I don’t have anywhere else to drive traffic. I try to pin from the original source not just for the blogger, but for myself and the people who I follow b/c the best directions are always with the original source, not the 5th person who modified it. I have recently completed several projects that I found via Pinterest. And after reading your post the other day, I have decided to do the following to help the bloggers that I love and am inspired by: I am saving the images on a board I call “Projects I Completed” and am trying to create side-by-side images in PSE – the left is the inspiration with the URL added by me if they didn’t include a watermark, the right is my version. And in the comments to go along with the pin, I give the permalink, since Pinterest doesn’t yet let me add my own link to a photo that I upload from my computer. I love Pinterest, so it’s important to me to be a productive, responsible member of the community. Thanks for giving us all something to think about and I hope you find your new groove with blogging and pinning soon!

  87. I so appreciate all of this info that you are sharing with us. I have mixed feelings about Pinterest…I have not even pinned anything myself because I am not happy with how easy it is to “steal” others ideas. I do have a pin it button on my blog…..should I keep it there or take it off??? I am still trying to decide. Until then I am making changes to my photos as of now because I have noticed that others are giving themselves credit for others work. darn them! Keep on spreading the word and hopefully this will help others make some changes on how they are pinning. Thanks Amy!!

  88. Amy, although I don’t have any ideas that anyone would want to steal, I appreciate your e-mails educating us on Pinterest because they are making me more conscience of making sure credit goes where credit is due!

  89. I hate to say it. Pinterest has made it terribly easy for us all to be thieves. That little pin it button is a cute way to steal. I thought, well, isn’t this fun. Pinterest says its okay. But it’s not. I once placed a painting on my blog and I credited it and linked to it. The artist wrote me, scolding me, saying how dare I use his work without permission. I apologized. Took it down. But then this cute and easy Pinterest came along and I have been duped into saying its all okay because it’s “just” on Pinterest. And what happens when Pinterest wants to monetize the site. They will be making money off of stolen property. That is illegal. It’s a big mess.

  90. I recently deleted all my blog-posts, except for boring ones…NOT because of ideas that people were looking for, etc. but because the most viewed photos were pictures of my kids—us at the beach–my boys, no shirts, and their dirty feet. There are a lot of sick people out there and I took too much for granted. My children did not ask to be put on the blog, and their pictures to be out there for everyone to see…it is not fair to them. They are 8 & 10–and I’ve been blogging for 3 years. Unfortunately, I cannot get some of those pictures back from the web—they are out there forever, but at least it can stop from here on out! WHY do disrespectful people and weirdos have to ruin everything fun and good! So frustrating. Sorry people are selling your free items. I know copying is the best form of flattery, but not at their gain and from your kindness! Good luck!

  91. I have featured your free printable calendars on my blog before, with a link to you of coarse. ( if people wanted to print them, they have to visit your blog to do so.) I hope this is how it works, because I’m very new to blogging, and I’m not sure how all of it is supposed to work. I never host the download on my blog, I only link to the original source, I do however use the picture. I hope that’s o.k. ? I would be absolutely thrilled to be featured by you, and I would not expect to be asked first. The problem that I’m finding with pinterest is there are so many creative blogs, with so many of their ideas being pinned, that when I have posted an original idea that I thought of all on my own, I later find the same idea on pinterest. There doesn’t seem to be anything new under the sun. I’m sure that every one didn’t copy my idea, ( my blog is so new, and small it doesn’t generate enough traffic to be copied yet) It’s just that others have also thought of making something similar. So this is why I don’t like pinterest, because it makes my ideas seem less original. 🙂

  92. Amy,

    Thank you for tackling this subject. I share your feelings and concerns, and have for some time now. I enjoy Pinterest as much as the next person and often use it to find inspiration for home projects. The area that I am having trouble making peace with is the fact that a year ago if you were to lift information from someones website, including photos, people would be angry. Why did this suddenly become ok? I run a small business and Pinterest has become my largest source of traffic over the past few months. This is great for numbers, but I have seen a huge decline in sales in these past few months as well. Coincidence? Maybe. I also have an issue with people pinning products from my store and giving them their own label (ie. recycled project, DIY, etc.) In my opinion, if you pin products from a store they should only go on to one board, “Products I love”. I look forward reading your future posts on this topic. I plan to write a post for my blog as well, and if it is ok, I would like to link to your posts concerning this topic for future reference. Thanks!

    Rebecca

  93. Amy,

    Thank you for tackling this subject. I share your feelings and concerns and have for some time now. I enjoy Pinterest as much as the next person and often use it to find inspiration for home projects. The area that I am having trouble making peace with is the fact that a year ago if you were to lift information from someones website, including photos, people would be angry. Why did this suddenly become ok? I run a small business and Pinterest has become my largest source of traffic over the past few months. This is great for numbers, but I have seen a huge decline in sales in these past few months as well. Coincidence? Maybe. I also have an issue with people pinning products from my store and giving them their own label (ie. recycled project, DIY, etc.) In my opinion, if you pin products from a store they should only go on to one board, “Products I love”. I look forward reading your future posts on this topic. I plan to write a post for my blog as well, and if it is ok, I would like to link to your posts concerning this topic for future reference. Thanks!

    Rebecca

  94. Sites such as pinterest are strong now. When I pin a site, I try to search for the originating site and leave the link to that site. Anyone who wants information on the pin, then goes to the originators website for the information. I hope this is OK with your site. As social media develops, things spiral quickly while rules on how to protect the author/creator are not as well defined. I like the sites that have their own pinterest site so they are aware of pins regarding their site.
    For me, pinterest is a library of things/sites/DIY’s of things I enjoy.

  95. I love Pinterest, and the visual creativity that it sparks for me. I also love it’s simplicity and ease of use; in that there are not a bunch of settings, etc that need to be monitored.

    That being said I DO understand where you and other bloggers/creators are coming from in copywriting issues with your materials.

    It seems like there (unfortunately) will always be peeps who infringe upon copyrights, via blogs, music, writting, etc. So it’s both the consumer and companies like Pinterest to help this issue as much as possible.

    So I hope that we (as you’ve mentioned some steps here) and companies like Pinterest can come up with additional ways to make this easier/better for both sides. There has to be better way for everyone involved, that maybe someone hasn’t thought of yet!! Here’s to hoping for that idea to pop up so we can all continue to enjoy great blogs like yours and the awesomeness that makes Pinterest great!

    🙂

  96. After reading your post about it the other day, I went to my pinterest to make sure everything I’ve pinned links directly to the original. I’ve also started crediting where I can in the comments. I have loads of homeschool pins, and knowing personally how much work goes into creatively homeschooling kids, I’ve been determined since the beginning to give due credit on those pins.

  97. Wow… such good info, so much that I hadn’t even thought of. I have to say, I don’t know what I’m going to do with it all either!! I will start at least watermarking my photos. The rest… I need some time to digest and figure out, and I’m not even anywhere near the size of your. Amazing blog and following. Thanks for opening up and sharing what you’ve learned. 🙂

  98. Thank you for bring all these unknown details to our attention! Who knew! I agree that it seems impossible to go back to years of posting to watermark or copyright images…who has the time! How did you apply the “Terms Of Use” on the owl photo in your original post – photoshop?

  99. I’m feeling many of the same thoughts you are Amy.

    Featuring other bloggers on our sites used to be a great way to send another blogger (hopefully) new readers and traffic, but now Pinterest throws a new twist into that.

    I like the idea of making a graphic for readers to use to pin your posts when you are featuring others and encouraging readers to click over and pin from their sites.

  100. I always try to find the original blog or store to pin an picture….mostly because if I like one of their ideas, I’ll likely want to pin more of theirs! The creative person is who I want to look further into, typically not a “middleman” blogger.

  101. Lately, as I’m pinning, I try to go directly to the site to pin what I found. If it didn’t originate from there, I try to find where it started. I don’t always do it, but am trying! And I will be more purposeful in the text that is pinned.

  102. I have found pinterest to be very useful in my PERSONAL life, I am now more creative and organized thanks to all who have shared. I just want to do the right thing and will make sure the original blogger is credited. Bottom line: would it be better to not be pinning at all? I don’t want to upset anyone by my pinning.

  103. Whenever I feature someone, I always send an email asking if they’d like to be featured. I have never gotten a no. I then pin the feature (always from their site, not mine) to my Pinterest board. I do notice that other people will pin these features right from my site though. I usually only include a couple of pics so people will have more reason to go to the featured blog post. I also notice that bloggers actually posts a “pin it” button in their features or round ups – encouraging people to pin others work from their site – not the original bloggers which is so wrong.
    Kelly

  104. Amy, I feel the exact same way. It’s changed so much since we’ve started blogging. I’ve been very lazy about watermarking; i realize I am going to have to put it on every picture now.

  105. I do believe that the benefits of Pinterest do outweigh the positives. And maybe, the changes some of us are making will be good for us in the long run. I’ve started watermarking my pictures, but I may change my watermark to my url instead of my blog name. And, like you, I need to do a better job of contacting people before using their post on a roundup. I only do one roundup a week, and I think I’ll keep it at that!

    Have you considered getting a blanket permission from people that you find yourself sharing stuff from often? I know a couple of bloggers that do that and it seems like a really good idea.

    I love your blog Amy and I hope you don’t get too discouraged!

  106. As someone who just read blogs and looks for ideas to use in my everyday life I am sad to hear that this may change how and what people may share. I understand completely where you are coming from and your frustration. I would be upset also. It will make me think when I repin an item and make sure the original blogger is getting the credit.

  107. It does take extra work to be able to put watermarks on our images but I truly believe that it’s worth it in the end.
    I love pinterest because of the visual aspect of it. It’s so easy to browse and find exactly what we want unlike other social bookmarking sites out there that only have the links. Tweeting and +1 this post.
    Thanks for the heads up,
    Eren

  108. i don’t even go to pininterest!!! i’m really trying to “undo” a lot of the blogs that i have in my favorites – trying to have less time on computer. but i will always keep you in my favorites!! :^)

  109. When I first started blogging I did not know the proper etiquette OR to source back to the origianl post. I did ask permission to use people’s things though….however like you mentioned it is hard to contact everyone you want to feature…What I now do is make sure that I link back and give credit to anything I use that is not my own. If I can not find the original source I link back to the pin. I dont want to not share things I find that I enjoy…if anyone contacts me about it I simply aplogize and remove any items they do not want featured!

  110. This is eye opening. I am going to start by removing all pictures of my kids from my blog. I also will be watermarking all my pictures from now on, it is a shame that we even have to think twise about the way we post on our own blogs thanks to Pinterest.

  111. I am pinning some of my OWN posts to help people find my content easier! I also create boards of like posts so that when I want to do a blog post on a certain subject, I have everything in one place. It’s super handy!

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