Pinterest Commandment #2: Honor thy source

The 10 commandments of Pinterest part 2/10 

 Over the next few weeks we will be posting a series on the 10 commandments of Pinterest. As we have mentioned in previous posts, Pinterest is a powerful social tool that can help you find a community of friends and followers who share your interests. Since Pinterest is still a fairly new social network, we’ve decided to educate our readers on the rules of Pinterest and how to become a Pinterest rock star!

 Thou shalt be copyright savvy 

 How is sharing and repining things on Pinterest any different than sharing on other social media sites? Other popular social media platforms like twitter and Facebook urge their users to share their own personal content, thoughts, and photos; whereas Pinterest is largely focused on sharing content created by others. Facebook asks the user if they have permission to share a photo so the burden lies with the original poster of the picture rather than all of the others who share it. Pinterest does not ask their users if they have permission before they pin from an original source. This is mostly because Pinterest has tried to make their sharing process as easy as possible. While the creators of the original content may benefit from increasing popularity, they may be missing out on getting paid for their work or even receiving credit. To be a responsible Pinterest user you need to give credit where credit is due and take the time to read Pinterest’s copyright policy.

Thou shalt check the source of thy pins

Before you click the “repin” button, try clicking on the pin to see where it leads you, are you directed to the original source? If you notice that the pin has a bad link or is not linked directly to the source that it came from there are a few things you can do that are considered “Pin etiquette”.  First try commenting on the pin and ask the original pinner to link to the proper source, secondly if that doesn’t work, you can try hunting down the source yourself. If the pin is linked back to a blog but not to a specific post, try poking around a bit to see if you can find the post that matches the pin. Other options include checking search engines, or even trying Pinterest’s own internal search to see if another pinner correctly linked the pin. Remember that pins are most effective when linked back to the original source, make sure you aren’t the one creating broken or misleading links with your pins (especially when it comes to your business).

We hope you will give credit to your sources after reading this post and be sure to link you pins correctly. Pinterest is a powerful resource for ideas, creativity, sharing, and building relationships with those whom you share interests with. To remember this commandment, think of the golden rule (Pinterest style) pin unto others, as you would pin yourself.  You would want credit for work that you produced, so make sure you are returning the favor when you pin the work of others!