what people are talking about: pinterest & copyright

update: pinterest has updated it's terms. read on for more info!

as you may have already guessed, i LOVE pinterest. it has been a huge source of traffic to build a little biz, i find so much ‘pinspiration’ over there, and i love having a place to bookmark all of the stuff i love. (i even have a ‘vision board’ for 2012 going, and have found that it really keeps me focused on what i want out of life/biz this year. i am totally on the ‘vision board’ bandwagon!)

the post i wrote about using pinterest for biz has been read, shared, tweeted, and pinned (yay!) many times, and i have been asked by other champions of women in biz to jump in and help out with pinterest tips. it’s very cool and i plan to keep talking about pinterest, even in light of copyright concerns.

because there are definitely some questions coming in to play about the use of pinterest by anyone, for any reason, let alone the effect of pinterest on businesses that are image based (eg photographers, artists, etc.) or that sell their unique designs (eg handmade businesses, artisans, etc.)

so here is a bit of explanation as to the concerns being raised about pinterest, as well as my take on this issue. please note: i am definitely not a lawyer, also definitely not an expert. and i am totally going to simplify and talk in layman’s terms here – so do read the posts i have linked to because smarter people than me are talking about this in much more detail.

you should read these too: pinterest etiquette & terms.

these are the primary concerns i have seen raised:

#1

in its etiquette, pinterests asks users to NOT self-promote. ie they want you to pin other people’s images more often than you post your own

yet in its terms, pinterest states that you cannot pin things unless you are the exclusive owner of those images, or you have consent from the owner.

this is a very good explanation of this issue. basically, we are in a catch 22. by the very nature of pinterest – we pin and repin images from anywhere (they have even made a pin it button for your toolbar to make it easy to pin anyone’s image) – we are all in violation.

UPDATE - pinterest removed this statement from the etiquette and the focus in the terms is on you sharing your content (or that which you have permission to share.)

i still don't think businesses should use it solely to promote themselves/their biz ALL OF THE TIME (you know, that yucky spam-ish behaviour that no one likes) and pinterest does remind you to 'be authentic' (ie not a walking advertisement or sales pitch?)

#2

in its etiquette, pinterest asks users to properly attribute pins, pinning from the permalink of the source site (not from sites like tumblr, google images, etc. and not from saving images from facebook and then uploading them to pinterest yourself.)

yet at this time pinterest is not taking down pins that aren’t properly attributed, and so the problem of images being shared without crediting the author is perpetuated.

this site talks about this issue and is on a mission to remind people to ‘link with love’

update: the ettiquette clearly reminds people to credit sources and link properly, encouraging you to go find the source if you see the pin is not sourced. the onus seems to be on the user, it doesn't seem like pinterest is taking down pins that aren't linked or sourced properly.

#3

in its terms, pinterest states that when you share content on its site you grant them the license to use, copy, adapt, modify, distribute, sell, transfer, etc.… that content.

facebook, google etc. have similar language, but the problem with pinterest is the use of the word SELL in particular. 

read more about this issue here and here too.

update: pinterest remove this from the terms. read what they have to say about it here on the pinterest blog.

#4

when you upload an image to pinterest, it is not saved as a ‘thumbnail’ image (which is what google images does), it is a full copy of the image (in the same resolution & size as the original). so there really isn’t incentive for pinners to go to the original site and there is question as to whether this violates copyright as it is a full copy of someone else’s work.

read more about this issue (and the others as well) here and also here.

update: as far as i know pinterest hasn't said anything about this issue. but i thought this post was interesting: pinterest is getting flack but is certainly not the only site with these concerns...

#5

the embed code allows bloggers/website owners to very easily add images found on pinterest to their own sites. yes, the embed code names the source and if you click on the image you can eventually get to the source, but really the embed code leads you to pinterest. this means that pinterest gets the traffic and pinterest gets the link (SEO), not the authour or original source.

it also means that people are easily using images found on pinterest without getting the consent of the authour. so again, even though pinterest says they want you to only use images with the consent of the authour they make it really easy to embed images without that consent.

update: again the onus is on the user. you should only pin/share/embedd images that you have permission to do so. if you are not sure, then you should not pin or share it.

#6

in its terms, pinterest states that you take on the sole risk of using the site and not violating any one’s copyright. so even though pinterest is set up to easily pin stuff, you as the pinner are the one that will be held accountable if something you pin violates copyright.

this post explains the legal/copyright concerns very well.

ok. so here’s my take:

pinterest is still relatively new. and there is no way they are oblivious to these concerns. they have already responded to some of the copyright concerns in this blog post here, so i think they will continue to address them and improve the user experience.

i hope they do something about the terms that they can sell our images. i don’t see actually how that would ever fly, the backlash would be huge. i am guessing that because pinterest hasn’t actually got a plan yet for how to make money off of their idea, they have included this so that they could use pinned images in ads perhaps?

and i hope they adjust their terms, etiquette, and user experience to ensure that authors are credited and sources are properly linked – perhaps asking that all original pins come from the owners themselves or from the pin it buttons the owner provides (thereby giving permission to repin)? perhaps removing the embed code so that people cannot easily embed images to their own sites without author permission? 

as far as concerns i have about my own work being copied? i am a photographer, i am a designer, and i am an author, so you would think this would worry me. it doesn’t.

i share my work online all over the place. pinterest is no bigger issue than facebook, my blog, google image searches, right off my website, whatever… if someone is going to copy my stuff, they will copy it whether pinterest exists or not. i believe the benefits of sharing my work online far outweigh the risk of it being copied.

i want people to pin my stuff. i ask them to pin it and give them the button to do so. so i see that as giving my permission. most people social share for the love of what you do (not because they intend to copy.)

what can you do?

• add pin it buttons to images you would love your fans to pin and share. include your own name & website in the description to improve the chances of staying linked to your image.
• watermark your images with your name and/or website to reduce the chances people taking credit for your image and maintain your authorship. include your logo too as a way to increase brand recognition! 
• consider adding a statment to your site and below each of your images stating your terms for use of your image or idea (like this blogger suggests) 
• if you do not want images pinned from your site – add the no pin code
• when pinning from other sites look for ‘pin it’ buttons, or a note about permission to pin/share with credit to the author and links to the source
• if you want to use an image in a blog post, newsletter etc, ask the author for permission. and do not use the embed code, link to the source directly so the author gets the SEO benefit & traffic
• create your own images for use on your blog/site/news etc. rather than risking violating copyright (use photoshop, GIMP, picassa, picnic, etc. to make your own graphics)
• if you notice that a pin is not linked to the source, don’t repin it. if you do a look around you will probably find a pin that is correctly sourced, or try a reverse image search on google
• let pinterest know about your concerns over their terms/etiquette/user experience. their contact email is in the terms. if enough people raise these questions we can hope they are addressed.
• if you are aware of copyright infringement (of your work or someone else’s) report it to pinterest
• leave pinterest now. if you feel you cannot use pinterest based on these concerns, delete your boards 

me? i am going to stay, and see how this plays out. i will make every effort to stick to the spirit of pinterest and respect the copyright of authors/designers/creators.

update: i will just re-iterate that you should only pin things if you are sure the author as made it clear on their site that they allow it and if you want your stuff to be pinned then you should make it obvious on your site that you allow it. 

a final note about copyright & social sharing:

i do think the way we deal with the sharing of content & images is going to change, with the rise of social media and the internet. we cannot use these tools (social media, blogging, google search, image search) to promote our businesses (our content, our images, our products, and our expertise) yet complain that our work is being copied due to those tools in the same breath.

yes, there is risk. but if the benefits outweighs the risk, then i think online sharing is worth it. if not, then perhaps you should not be using online tools to promote your biz.

by the way, let’s be clear. i am NOT saying it is ok for people to copy anyone else’s work. it freaking sucks when it happens, and i hope the assholes that do that get it back in karma tenfold. but copying does happen, even if you don’t have a biz online. (people are probably eyeing up your stuff at your market stall and on the store shelves to get ideas.)

what i am saying is that perhaps with the popularity of social media as a tool for both businesses and individuals, we need get clear about what is considered copyright violation and what is considered to be well-intentioned social sharing.

i don’t know, what do you think? i would love to hear from you.

also: i would love for you to share this on pinterest, twitter, facebook, your newsletter, your blog... the more we talk about issues like this the better it is for little bizzes online!

Pin It

quick reference of all links in this post:

http://pinterest.com/about/terms/

http://pinterest.com/about/etiquette/

http://pinterest.com/about/copyright/

http://blog.pinterest.com/post/17949261591/growing-up

http://news.yahoo.com/pinterest-blowing-copyright-infringement-allegations-224008298.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/pinterest-illegal-faq-2012-2?op=1

http://llsocial.com/2012/02/is-pinterest-the-new-napster/

http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-media-strategy/pinterests-copyright-problem-and-how-it-may-hurt-brands/

http://ddkportraits.com/2012/02/why-i-tearfully-deleted-my-pinterest-inspiration-boards/

http://linkwithlove.typepad.com/

http://www.slashgear.com/pinterest-adds-nopin-code-to-avoid-copyright-concerns-21214577/

http://www.livinglocurto.com/2012/02/letter-bloggers-pinterest/

http://greekgeek.hubpages.com/hub/Is-Pinterest-a-Haven-for-Copyright-Violations

15 tips for using pinterest as a way to build your little biz

love it? pin it! Pin It

WARNING: proceed at your own risk. pinterest is highly addictive. if you are like most of its users, you will find hours have slipped away just clicking ‘see more pins’ over and over. it just might be the best fun you have ever had online!

pinterest is the new kid on the social media block. it’s the fastest growing social sharing site, growing from 40,000 users to 3.2 million in just 1 year (source). for buildalittlebiz.com it has become the number one source of traffic, and i know i am not the only site experiencing this.

for those of you who haven’t checked it out yet, pinterest is a ‘virtual pin board’ for images (and video too) that people can organize in their own themed pin boards. it is only available by invite (you can request an invite from pinterest or email me and i can invite you if you want to skip the waiting list.) with pinterest you can pin any image from any website, or you can just hang out on pinterest ‘repinning’ the stuff you love.

and there is a lot to love.

one of the reasons i think pinterest is so fun is because it’s visual – with all the information we get from ebooks, blogs, newsletters, websites, facebook posts, tweets and more online, pinterest feels so peaceful! it’s easy to scan without information overload. it’s easy to share what you love without feeling spam-ish. it’s easy to stay organized. it is simple. it’s pretty. it’s fun.

pinterest is mostly comprised of female users (70 %) but it is appealing to men too (my hubby is as addicted as i am, pinning all of the funny stuff he finds there. but don’t tell him i told you he likes pinterest. he does think it’s girly!)

because it is visual, pinterest lends itself well to sharing excellent images, inspirational quotes, how to instructions, tips & ideas, local places, humour, infographics, and videos. i bet that any little biz can find applicable things to share on pinterest!

at this stage it is for people (not businesses) so when you sign up you sign up as yourself. your pins & boards are public, so keep in mind that what you share is a representation of you (and your business if you are using it that way!) like with all social media, i always say if you wouldn’t want it displayed up on a billboard it is probably best not to post it (or pin it in this case)!

you can link to your personal facebook profile (not your business page) and to your twitter account as well. these links will automatically be added then to your pinterest profile, plus you can link to your website and include your business information in your profile. and do link your social media profiles, sharing your pins across other platforms will allow you to expand your following. which is the point afterall!

once you sign up you can start pinning right away. when you see pins that you love you can follow the pinner or just follow individual boards. find people/boards to follow that fit with your brand, products/services, niche, passion, interests, target audience etc. the more you pin the more likely you are to get repins and people following you and your boards.

it’s quite simple really. you pin stuff you love, you repin stuff other people love, you follow people/boards who pin stuff you love. that’s pinterest!

tip #1 – do what you love.

yes, this is one more platform in a world where it already feels like there is too much to do and not enough time. have a look at it, if you think pinterest is a good fit for your own interests and the interests of your ‘right people’ then it can be a great tool to add to your business. but, like all social media marketing tools, pinterest takes time and requires you to be present and to engage. if pinterest is not your thing, that’s ok. only do what you love!

but if it is your thing, i bet it won’t even feel like working when you use pinterest for your biz. like i said, it can be very addictive! you can spend hours just looking and pinning and looking some more. if you do that with your biz/brand/people in mind then you are building your brand, spreading your message, and interacting with your right people at the same time. working plus having fun at the same time. what could be better?

tip #2 – don’t be spam-ish

pinterest is NOT a place to sell sell sell your thing. in fact pinterest specifically asks you NOT pin your own things over and over on the ‘etiquette’ page. pinterest IS a place to curate and share the things that you are interested in.

your job on pinterest is not to promote your business, but to share the things you love and that you think your right people will love. let the people who love you share your stuff for you.

tip #3 – be ‘pintastic’ with your biz

the key to getting traffic back to your site from pinterest is to have something worth pinning. people seem to love to pin stuff that is:

• pretty – so be sure include excellent images in your blog posts/website
• helpful – share how to’s, step-by-step instructions, tutorials, infographics, recipes, patterns, videos
• inspiring – share great quotes, phrases, lyrics, poems
• funny – comics/graphics, humour, snark & sarcasm, commentary on the world today

so if you want your stuff to get pinned then your stuff needs to be pintastic. (i thought i just invented that word but apparently it has been around for awhile. sigh.) keep it in mind when you write a blog post, share something on facebook, send out a newsletter, update your product images. are they pintastic?

in particular, be sure that the images you share (of your products, yourself, your workspace, the result of your services etc.) are pintastic. you might right a super helpful blog post with a super crappy image attached. people will pin your post & that super crappy image will be pinned and repinned over and over. it is better to have great images associated with your brand, no?

tip #4 – ask your 'right people' to join you

having a pintastic business is just one half of the equation. you also need your customers and fans to be into pinterest, in order to get them pinning your stuff. so ask your fans & customers & followers to join you at pinterest – share a basic getting started guide like this one or write your own.

tell your fans why it is a great place to hang out. share examples on your facebook page or blog of the stuff you are finding over there. offer to send them invites. link your pinterest community with your facebook & twitter community. once your fans are on pinterest they will be more likely to pin your things and word will spread!

include ‘follow me on pinterest’ buttons on your website, emails, newsletter, etc. pinterest has the code for a follow me button in its ‘goodies’ page.

tip #5 – make it easy to ‘pin it’

include a ‘pin it’ button on your blog posts, website and newsletter – pinterest has the code for a pin it button in its ‘goodies’ page and there is also a wordpress  ‘pin it’ plugin.  you need to include the code for each post/image you want people to pin, but it is worth the minute it will take you to add it. the benefit is that you get to choose which image in a post gets pinned, be sure the permalink is the exact post you want linked, and write a description that will entice interest and repins.

and don’t forget: ask people to pin your stuff if they love it! a clear call to action will help your images get pinned.

tip #6 – watermark & name your images

when an image is pinned from your website it is linked back to your website so that people can click and see/read more. that is what makes it great for driving traffic to your website!

but sometimes images get posted on other blogs, sites like tumblr or flickr, newsletters and or facebook pages and unfortunately there are people who will use your images without maintaining your link or crediting you. (click here to read about one blogger’s experience with this problem.)

the best thing to do with any image on your site/newsletter/facebook page etc. is to watermark it with your business website. even better, include your logo in your watermark to increase brand recognition! this way, even if your image gets reposted, repinned, and loses the link to your site you will still be credited and people will still have a way to find you for more information.

if you have photoshop or photoshop elements, MCP actions has a free action for watermarking your images with the click of a button. or try GIMP, picasa or picnik for free photo editing software that will allow you to watermark your images.

better yet, use that software to edit your photos , add inspirational/informative text, create quality images, and create something pintastic for your fans! do a YouTube search for tutorials on using any of those programs, you will find heaps of help!

tip #7 – check in regularly on your biz pins

you can easily see what people have pinned from your site. pop this in your browser bar: http://pinterest.com/source/enteryoursitehere.com/ and bookmark it so you can check it regularly.

see what types of images/posts get pinned most often. see what comments you get. see how people ‘name’ the pins to get an idea of how they categorize your stuff. you can learn a lot about what works for your right people (and get ideas for what else you can offer!)

tip #8 – pin stuff your people would love

as mentioned, the point of pinterest is not to promote your business. it is to curate the fantastic stuff you find online. so create boards and fill them with things that you know your customers, readers, and fans will love. again, people seem to love pins that are helpful, inspiring, funny, interesting, snarky, controversial, local, and  pretty! share the great pins you find on facebook and twitter as a way of growing and linking your communities.

you can add a 'pin it' button to your browser bar to make it easy to pin great stuff you find on websites & blogs (find the pin it button for your browser on the goodies page.) when you come across something that you would like to pin, do it from the original source of the image. use the permalink of the exact page/blog post you find the image, that way followers can visit the right spot to find more information (vs just pinning from the home page of a site or from a source that is not the author of the image). read more about frustration with this here & here.

give your boards interesting, inviting names. make people want to look through them & follow them. you can have as many boards as you want plus boards, pins, and descriptions  are easily editable so if you decide to re-organize/re-name things, no problem!

place your board under an appropriate pinterest category to make your pins come up in searches, and give your pins good descriptions for the same reason. if an item is for sale, add a $ to your description, pinterest will put a price banner on it and add it to the gifts category (this is a great way to support the little businesses that you pin images from).

tip #9 – share your brand message

in the blueprints i write about business i suggest creating a ‘vision board’ or ‘inspiration board’ for your business and brand. pinterest is the perfect place to share that vision. create a board that shouts your brand message ‘loud & clear’. share your passion & your personality. come up with something catchy and interesting you would like to be associated with you and your biz – eg a color, an image or icon, a word or phrase – before you know it people will be sending you pin ideas that just scream ‘you’!

encourage your right people to start their own vision board for their goals, their family, 2012… whatever. give them something inspiring to pin as a starting point. become a part of their vision for their own lives!

tip #10 – find inspiration

pinterest is a fantastic place to find inspiration for your own blog, newsletter, or facebook page. use something you see there as a starting point for an article or a conversation. match a quote, DIY instructions, or activity idea with something you sell. compile a number of helpful tips or fabulous ideas into a ‘round up post’ that you can share with others.

but, and this is hugely important, before you use any image or info you find on pinterest for your own business, get permission from the author of the pin, credit the author and link back to their site. you will find that most people would love to get a link back to their site from yours (it is great for SEO!) and will gladly permit you to share their image.

never never just use the image and cite/link to ‘pinterest’ as your source. at the very least the author deserves the link back (rather than pinterest) and it is really bad form. (click here to read more about how to credit images.)

tip #11 – get ideas for new products

use pinterest to do some market research and to watch trends in the marketplace. people tend to pin a lot of great instructions, ideas, tips, tricks and information but they might not have the time to DIY it all. this can be a great opportunity for your biz!

the things that are popular with your right people can give you ideas for products, services and information that you can provide. look at what your customers love, what they struggle with, their dreams & frustrations. what solutions can you offer?

tip #12 – get your fans to contribute

one great component of pinterest is the ability to create a board and invite collaborators. one way to grow your business community is to start a board related to the needs and interests of your customers/fans and ask them to contribute. you need to invite collaborators by email and you need to have followed at least one of their boards, so it does require a fairly close connection to them (you can’t just tell people to jump in!).

alternatively you can let people know you are looking for contributions to a specific board and ask them to tag you with an @mention when they see a pin that would fit. you can then pin it to the board and share the board often with your fans. be sure to thank the pinner that contributed to encourage further sharing & participation.

tip #13 – get creative

pinterest is still new enough that nothing has really been overdone and the possibilities are endless. make the most of a new platform and enthusiastic users to have some fun with your fans & followers.

encourage fans to post images of themselves using your product/the result of your service and tag you. create a board of these reader contributions and give them a shout out for sharing.

have a ‘pin it to win it’ contest where fans create a wish list board for an upcoming occasion and have them email you the link. or pin a fabulous image related to your business or brand message and tag you. offer a random prize or a prize to the most creative entry.

come up with fun weekly or monthly themes for slogans, images, colours, products etc. related to your brand or to the kinds of things your fans are into. share the best entries on facebook & twitter, your blog or newsletter.

tip #14 – share some little biz pin love

pinterest is not really designed to be a place to promote your biz, but if you have things on offer that people love then your business can fit in well on this platform. for instance, it is a huge source of traffic for etsy! as you grow your presence on pinterest support other little businesses in the same endevour. start a board for ‘mum run businesses i love’ or ‘the best blogs run by women’ or ‘my favorite handmade bizzes’. use it like a public bookmarking tool to sprea some little biz love!

do not just use pinterest to build a community with your readers, use it to build a community with other little businesses. especially if you have complementary products & services, or a similar target market, or a similar brand message & passion, you can work together to spread that message. karma is a pretty fantastic thing; the more you pin other people’s fabulous stuff the more likely you are to get your own stuff pinned in return.

tip #15 – keep to the spirit of pinterest

my final tip is really a summation of what i have already said. pinterest is about community. it is about spreading the love. it is a place to curate awesomeness. it is a place to explore and discover new things.

the value in pinterest is that is different from all the other social platforms that seem to be more and more about having information thrown at us from all directions. people love pinterest because it is a breath of fresh air. let’s keep it that way! let’s not ruin it by being spam-ish, competitive, marketing machines.

when you use pinterest for your business strive to be: 

fresh. pretty. interesting. fun. funny. helpful. inspiring. genuine. awesome.

(click here to tweet that. help me spred the word!)

help me spread the word! pin it! Pin It

what are you waiting for? hop on and try it out. it just might be the most fun you have ever had spreading the word about what you are passionate about. that should really be what all of your marketing is! just sayin…