Janet Giampietro :: Gblog

A word, or two, of caution before joining Pinterest, the social networking platform-of-the-moment.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.”

‘Pinning’ includes items that you pin from a website, repin from another person’s Pinterest board, or upload yourself. The theory: If you pin fantastic art, design, crafts or images, then people will see you as an influencer, and will follow you.

Pinterest’s copyright and terms of service issues

Back in February, lawyer and photographer, Kirsten Kowalski, drew attention to some of Pinterest’s potential legal problems. She stated publicly that she was deleting her pinboards after reading Pinterest’s terms of service, which, in part stated, that by posting content to Pinterest, users grant Pinterest the right to sell their content. Sell whose content?

Questions have also arisen from the source material for content. When I joined Pinterest, the Pin Etiquette specifically asked that we limit self-promotion. If that’s the case, then where does the content come from? The “copyright free” web? Except, of course, the web is not entirely copyright free.

Pinterest appears to have created an interesting conundrum for themselves. Here are a few excellent posts which explain the finer terms of service with more detailed information.

• Pinterest and Copyright: Lessons in Life and Law from Marketing Profs
• Two terrific blogs from Scientific American: Pinterest’s Terms of Service, Word by Terrifying Word and The Perils and Promises of Pinterest
  

Once these articles circulated the web, an an uproar ensued. Pinterest’s legal department took another look and released new terms of use which go into effect on 6 april 2012. Just a suggestion: Read them carefully and know the source and copyrights of what you pin… post, share, reprint. You are what you pin.

How will this affect your Pinterest use? If you don’t have a Pinterest account yet, will you consider opening one?

Note: to protect your content, if you don’t want anything from your site being pinned, Pinterest provides a line of code you can add to the head of any page on your site.

<meta name=”pinterest” content=”nopin” />

When a user tries to pin from your site, they will see this message:

“This site doesn’t allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!”

Social media sharing and connection has extended to holiday reboots. The it’s-not-about-me-it’s-about-you mentality has finally crept into these somewhat solipsistic holidays. About time, I say. But how to rewire traditional thinking to create a change?

We’ve been seeing it with Halloween for the past few years – play down the sweets, but still have fun with dress up, giving and receiving. Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF has shown to be a powerful way to make a difference in the lives of the world’s children. The program has also spurred many other ways of living Halloween. Mind shift.

So now we turn to Valentine’s Day. Generosity Day has emerged as the new new. According to its Facebook page:

“The goal is to spend Valentine’s Day cultivating your practice of generosity… For Generosity Day, all acts small and big alike, count. But you have to say YES to every genuine request for help all day long! It’s about creating more generosity, and becoming a more open person along the way.”

Rethinking and rewiring purpose is critical to any rebranding. In enveloping Generosity Day for good, using social media to launch is a perfect platform to share the thinking and spread the word. Random acts of generosity can transform. It’s a great mind shift without losing the holiday’s aspect of love. It’s demonstrating love in a broader sense and distributing it more widely.

Whether you give or receive, tweet a #generosityday act, share it on Facebook or on your blog. Use your creativity – say yes to more than flowers and chocolate.

What commercial holidays would like a crack at rebranding?

Today, 18 january 2012, is a day that we’ll live in ignorance. Many Internet sites have begun 24- and 12-hour blackouts in protest of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) in the Senate.

Internet companies (including Google, Wikipedia, Firefox, Wordpress, Reddit and Creative Commons, among others) are concerned that SOPA and PIPA, if passed, could be used to target legitimate sites where users share content.

Read on »

Designer and writer Nancy Duarte looks at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech to determine what makes the speech iconic.

Ms Duarte visuallizes the speech – mapping phrases, phrasing, patterns and content to illustrate why the speech has remained so iconic and powerful – and ultimately influential for change.

Which part(s) do you remember most or find most effective?

The happiest of holidays to all! They say the US economy is stronger – the numbers look more positive, and people seem more optimistic. This year’s message reflects the renaissance of joy.

What’s your message for 2012?