8 Surprising Facts About Pinterest You Really Need to Know
We all like to share our opinions and “likes” all over the internet, so the geniuses at Pinterest created a way for us to just clip, collect and post the things we see and love, and then share those seemingly interesting things with anyone who’s…well, interested.
Seems simple, right? But do we really know all there is to know about Pinterest? Unless you get really excited about reading end user license agreements (like Richard Dreyfuss), there’s probably a lot you don’t know about Pinterest. We like facts and we like lists, so we dug around and found out what you really should know about the “pin it and share it” service.
There’s an Age minimum
Even though there’s nothing a teenage girl loves more than making collages of stuff that looks cool, according to the site’s policy, there shouldn’t be anyone under the age of 13 pinning anything. Hopefully that means you won’t be subjected to tons of Elmo or Disney Princess collections. Here’s what it says:
The Site Application and Services are intended solely for persons who are 13 or older. Any access to or use of the Site, Application or Services by anyone under 13 is expressly prohibited. By accessing or using the Site, Application or Services, you represent and warrant that you are 13 or older.
Keep Your Information Up to Date…Or Else
When you sign up for a Pinterest account, you promise them that you used accurate and current information to register. You also promise that you will keep that information current and if you don’t, they can suspend your account. The terms make it so:
You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information during the registration process and to update such information to keep it accurate, current and complete. Cold Brew Labs reserves the right to suspend or terminate your Account if any information provided during the registration process or thereafter proves to be inaccurate, not current or incomplete.
You Need to Have a License for Posted Content
Pinterest’s terms dictate that users of the service have permission to post the content they share on the site. The EULA specifically states that when posting content like photos, videos, music, etc:
you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms.
If You Post It, Pinterest Owns It
Of course, as with many websites where you can share the things you make and post, once it’s on the service, you give the owners of Pinterest the right to do what they want with it. You don’t have rights to their content, but they have rights to yours. If you post, you agree to this:
By making available any Member Content through the Site, Application or Services, you hereby grant to Cold Brew Labs a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty-free license, with the right to sublicense, to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast, access, view, and otherwise exploit such Member Content only on, through or by means of the Site, Application or Services.
Be Careful What you Link To
You can’t control what people put on their websites, but when you post a link on Pinterest, they are going to hold you accountable for where it leads and what happens when you get there. When you use the site:
You acknowledge sole responsibility for and assume all risk arising from your use of any such websites or resources.
Pin Up Your Stuff, But Don’t Self-Promote
It’s okay to pin things you’ve created in your Pinterest collection. In fact, it’s one of the few ways you can guarantee you have a license to share it (see earlier fact), but Pinterest etiquette states that you should not use the site to self-promote. This is probably a very fine line for a lot of artists and companies who use social media to connect with current and potential customers. The Pinterest police say:
Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.
Watch Out! Use Pinterest At Your Own Risk
We aren’t sure what kinds of scary things can happen when you use Pinterest, other than having to pay their damages and legal fees (we’ll get to that next), but if you do use the site, meaning you’ve agreed to their terms, you’re using it completely at your own risk. And, based on this clause, they think you could be in for a world of trouble:
You acknowledge and agree that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the entire risk arising out of your access to and use of the Site, Application, Services and Site Content remains with you. Neither Cold Brew Lbs nor any other party involved in creating, producing, or delivering the Site, Application, Services or Content will be liable for any incidental, special, exemplary or consequential damages, including lost profits, loss of data or loss of goodwill, service interruption, computer damage or system failure or the cost of substitute products or services, or for any damages for personal or bodily injury or emotional distress arising out of or in connections with these terms or from the use of or inability to use the Site, Application, Services, Site Content, or from any communications, interactions or meetings with other users of the Site, Application, or services or other persons with whom you communicate or interact as a result of your use of the Site, Application or Services, whether based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), product liability or any other legal theory, and whether or not Cold Brew Labs has been informed of the possibility of such damage, even if a limited remedy set forth herein is found to have failed of its essential purpose.
You Promise to Have Pinterest’s Back
Watch out for this one, because you may end up buried in legal fees. Not only do you agree to hold Cold Brew Labs (the owners of Pinterest) harmless in the case of a claim, but by using the service, you agree to defend them and compensate them for any damages they suffer because of a claim. Get out your legalese-to-English dictionary and read this clause from their terms of use:
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold Cold Brew Labs, its officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to or use of the Site, Application, Services or Site Content, (ii) your Member Content, or (iii) your violation of these Terms.
Pinterest Fast Facts
The Company
Pinterest wast started in 2010 by a guy from West Des Moines, IA and operated out of a small apartment until the summer of 2011.
The Traffic
Pinterest just exceeded 10 million unique monthly views, and was the fastest site to ever reach that number.
It has 10.4 million registered users and gets 1.36 million visitors a day.
The Demographic
The most common Pinterest users are in the 25 to 34 year-old demographic. The second most common demographic is ages 35 to 44. The lowest lowest demographic of users are those aged 12 to 17.
Women make up 68.2 percent of Pinterest’s user pool, while men are just 31.8 percent.
50 percent of Pinterest users have kids.
The average annual household income of Pinterest users is $100,000 and over.
The average user will spend 15.8 minutes at a time “pinning,” which is three more minutes than the average user will spend on Facebook at a time.
The Uses
Some of the top pinning interests include crafts, home décor, fashion, cooking, wedding, home entertaining, beauty and vacation planning.
Etsy is the most popular source for pins, but even it only represents about three percent of all pins.
Pinterest users are clearly big on sharing. More than 80 percent of Pinterest pins are “repins” of items others have already pinned.