Pinterest is a photo sharing and social media website that allows users to save or "pin" images and follow other users with similar interests. It was founded in 2009 by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp and is headquartered in San Francisco. The site grew rapidly after its launch, reaching millions of users by 2011. While Pinterest provides a unique way for users to explore visual interests, it also faces challenges around spam and legal issues regarding the use of pinned photos.

1. Pinterest
By: Deanna Harris

2. What is Pinterest?
 It’s a web and mobile application company that operates a photo sharing
website. Registration is required for use
 It allows users to save images and follow other users boards if they have
similar tastes
 Founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp
 Managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of
entrepreneurs and investors
 headquarters in San Francisco, California

3. Timeline
 Development of Pinterest began in December 2009
 Site launched as a close beta in March 2010, later on became an open
beta
 Site grew from 1.2 million users in August 2011 to 4.5 million in
November
 An IPhone app was created on August 16th 2011
 In 2012 the site had 11.7 million users (most of the sites users were
female) and became the third largest social media network in the US
 In 2013 Pinterest won a $225 million round of equity funding that valued
the website at 3.8 billion
 In 2015, Pinterest unveiled “buyable pins”. This allows users to purchase
things directly from partners its working for

4. Strengths
 Strong social media tool for companies/ brand
 Easy and simple to use, especially with the “pin it” button that allows you
to pin an item on any website without having to open Pinterest
 It has one focused function
 You can immerse yourself into an enormous visual community
 Its personal and interactive
 There is a quality among all users (whether it is a brand or a person) in
that both have access to the same features
 A pin can take you back to the original website if you want to learn more
about the item that was pinned
 It’s a simple grid layout, the items appearing in a never-ending manner as
you scroll down a page, giving a user no reason to stop

5. Weaknesses
 Users feel a lack of personal touch in their boards since pins are usually
already been pinned by others
 Links of pins are followed by Google, creating spam
 Debate whether photos taken from websites are compliant legal rights of
the original owner of that photo
 Its too good to stay solo, any company such as Facebook, Google or
Groupon can buy Pinterest because most are already link on from spam

6. News and Pinterest
 Pinterest has a separate category for News and Press under Pinterest for
Business
 Links that talk about Pinterest are placed under this topic.

7. Comments
 I think Pinterest is an adequate and valuable social media app that can
be used to connect people that have similar taste
 The simple grid layout allows the user to scroll endlessly down the page
giving the user a copious amount of pictures to chose from
 Most importantly its personal and interactive. You can create a platform
for yourself that includes all of your favorite interests

8. Critiques
 Because anyone can pin anything. It can be filled with spam, which may
be deceiving or tough to filter through
 Its considered a site for women, where as other sites are more popular
with both genders