Thursday, August 2, 2012

A Whole Different World On Pinterest. Advice?

Last night's fundraiser/booksigning was so much fun and I even got to meet one of my bloggy family.  Thanks so much to everyone who came!

I bet you can guess from the title why I'm late posting today.  I've joined Pinterest!  And boy is it easy to get lost there.

I've been pinning my favorite music, fave TV shows, places I've been and loved, my books, and crafts I'd like to learn someday.  It's been sort of fun to browse around and see what's out there.  Although being a newbie makes me feel just a tiny bit overwhelmed.  I hope I don't do anything wrong right up front.

Any of you on Pinterest?  Have any advice for me as a new member?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pinterest is AWESOME for writing! I have an entire boards devoted to inspiration for current and future projects. I am a visual writer, and I need pictures to refer to while writing, so pinterest is awesome for that!

Debra Erfert said...

I have an Pinterest account, but I went back and deleted everything. I don't know if this link will work, but I read a post where the author was sued because she posted a picture on her blog she took off Google, I think, that corresponded with her post, but it was done without the photographers permission. She had a disclaimer at the end of her post saying it wasn't hers, etc., and if anyone wanted her to take the picture down, then contact her. The photographer did just that and she deleted it. But the photographer wanted to be paid for the time it was posted--a lot more than what she thought it was worth. She had to get a lawyer. In then end, the lawyer got paid, the photographer got paid, and she learned a hard lesson. Never post pictures unless you have permission from the photographer or you took them yourself.

This is why I deleted my Pinterest boards. I took them off the Google images, assuming they were free domain. I'm wrong. I know pictures from my Facebook albums show up on google, and if someone "pins it" to their boards, they are doing it without my permission. In the very off chance I pin something I shouldn't, I don't want to get sued in this sue-happy world. I opted out of my Pinterest fun for a while until I can take more pictures myself.

I'm sorry if I slammed the oven door.

http://www.roniloren.com/blog/2012/7/20/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-for-using-pics-on-your-blog.html

Debra Erfert said...

The link didn't work. The post is at www.roniloren.com her Friday, July 20th story called Bloggers Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Pics on Your Blog-My Story.

Janice Sperry said...

I love Pinterest. Most of the things I pin are from blogs where they were meant to be shared. Pinterest is just a public bookmark list. Bloggers can block their site from being pinned. It's different from a blogger that posts pictures that aren't theirs.

Before you pin anything, check the link first. It's annoying to pin something yummy, go to make it, and then realize it's just a picture of something yummy. No recipe. Same goes for crafts and DIY.

Don't click the load more pins button unless you want to spend more time. I'll go through one screen and then be done.

When you first start, browse through your friend's boards. See how they have it set up. You'll also see a lot of cool stuff to pin.

Gina said...

I use the categories to find what I need. I homeschool and I create my own curriculum, so I rely very heavily on the "education" category for new ideas and tips.

Also, click through and verify recipes, tips and hints before pinning. Too often the pin leads to a spammer's site, or doesn't match the info. You can prevent bad pins! :)

I am Gina Murphy Denny, if you want to follow me, I am always looking for new pinning friends.

Jon Spell said...

Technically, we've met before, but it's been a while. =) Nice to see you again.

I'd share my Pinterest experience except that it seems very female-centric so I probably wouldn't fit in. Maybe I should found Menterest.com. (Someone has parked that site, dang!) I wonder if I could start a cheezburger site with that name... hmmm.

Julie Coulter Bellon said...

Lindzee, there is a ton of fun stuff for writers!

Debra, I'd heard of that person's problems. I thought pinterest was in a different category, though. :(

Janice, thanks for the tips!

Gina, I'll definitely look for you!

Jon, I don't count our first meeting because I was in a pregnancy haze and can't really remember it. LOL

KaseyQ said...

It can be tempting to "follow" anyone who follows you- I try to only follow people I know who have the same taste as me. Some of my friends don't exactly share the same values as I do and they might pin things that I don't necessarily want to see whenever I go to Pinterest. Personally, I find it odd when someone I don't know starts following me. It doesn't bug me or anything, it's just not something I'd do.

Also, as others have said, definitely click through pins to find out if the link is good. Another thing I do is I try to pay attention to whether the recipe or project originated on that site- sometimes people will post the results of a DIY project they got from another site. If that's the case then I try to go to the original site and pin from there, especially if I want a recipe or tutorial. I don't want to go back to it and have to click through multiple sites to find what i need.

Have fun! Don't waste too much time, LOL! ;-)

C. Michelle Jefferies said...

I love pinterest. It's a huge tool in my writing from characters to scene and setting ideas. It's easy to get sucked in and I have to place a limit on myself or I'd be there all day.

I'm cmjefferies on there.