Having only emerged in 2010, Pinterest has gradually garnered plenty of attention, most notably in the past 6 months. It did not take long for it to capture the publics' eye, as it introduced an abundance of innovative and creative ideas to make social networking more appealing. The site allows its users to create online catalogues showcasing their respective inner vocations regarding travel, shopping and styles, ultimately abiding to Pinterest's motto, "organizing and sharing things they love." As much as people may love all of Pinterest's endless offerings, however, they have agreed to disagree on just how Pinterest makes money. While Pinterest's affiliation with Skimlinks (a marketing company)has been known from the start, the fact that Pinterest profits off of the links it has appended to Ebay, Target, and Amazon, for instance, has only recently been publicly known. Whenever people click on a link and make a purchase at these stores, Pinterest receives payment. This allows for Pinterest to generate sufficient revenue to upkeep its servers, pay its workers, and most importantly, make Pinterest FREE to the public.
The problem does not revolve around the mere fact that Pinterest makes money off its users. Most people could not care less, since they are not affected in any way. The main issue that people have with Pinterest's actions is that they have failed to notify their loyal users of just what they are doing. It is my utmost belief that if Pinterest notified everyone of their intentions, and left no transparency for poor interpretation, then this issue would not be as widely exposed to criticism as it is now.
Nevertheless, the news of Pinterest's money making scheme should not be completely blown out of proportion. We all live in a world where any moderately skilled hacker has access to our most precious private information, and could easily attempt to steal our identities if he or she were to choose to do so. The point being, much of society is too sensitive towards such news and reacts too harshly to it as well. Instead of automatically scapegoating Pinterest as a Satanic figure of Social Networking, we should all stop and ask ourselves, "What would we do if we were in their place?" The most frequented answer would most likely coincide with exactly what Pinterest is doing. They have a fiduciary duty to accumulate revenue, and by linking with Skimlinks, they are doing just that in a manner that truly does not have a faulty affect on any of its users.
Irrevocably, everyone has the right to end their relationship with Pinterest whenever they want. There is no need for awkwardness, let alone even a relapse between users and their beloved social network. Rather, what Pinterest should do is care for its users before they actually do decide to leave. No likes to feel left out and underappreciated. By notifying users of exactly what is going on Pinterest may risk losing a few users here or there. However, in the long run, it would be preserving a pristine image in the eyes of the social networking world, leaving no room for any unreasonable accusations or inaccurate interpretations of just who Pinterest is, and exactly what they stand for. By exemplifying an ethical solution to a currently minute issue, Pinterest would help act as a role model to other social networks in the quest to maintain a perfect balance of consumer orientation and monetary goals.
Wow this is so interesting
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