New Pinterest Layout?

Pinterest has been busy as of late with promoted pins, privacy updates, and custom search options.

• Get A Little News With Your Notifications
• Some Ways We'll Be Making Promoted Pins More Relevant
• Pinterest Is Testing a News Section in iOS
• Promoted Pins and Pinterest's New Privacy Policy
• Pinterest Search Users Thoughts on Guided Directions

A recent 'redesign' adjusted the general layout significantly as well.

• Pinterest Redesign Moves Everything Around
• Pinterest Got a Makeover (Sort of)

Earlier today while updating the #IRCshelfies board on Pinterest, I was surprised by another layout update.  This time the profile had been updated to oddly resemble Tumblr.

After making a few adjustments to the display (the word 'library' was no longer visible), I logged out to check my personal site.  Why? Often Pinterest changes and updates are done on a trial basis and only one site reflects a pending update.  My personal site reflected the same layout update.  However, when moving back to the IRC site it returned to the previous profile display.

In the time it took me to log in to @ircaulibrary to grab a link for my pin description and upload the #IRCshelfie pin ...

My instructional technology classes recently completed their Pinterest assignment. Yesterday, I finished project evaluation for both sections. I am oddly relieved by the timing of this site redesign. Changes are to be expected and students are made aware of how using free resources can impact lessons, but it would have been somewhat stressful.

Even more so as the update has once again reverted back to the 'old' design layout.

Weekly Reader: Pinterest

Two Frequently Asked Pinterest Questions
"It’s easy to see why businesses love Pinterest. In addition to being one of the fastest growing social networks, Pinterest allows you to use rich visual content to drive traffic to your website, blog, or other social media properties. This is great news if you’re looking for a new way to reach your audience and promote your business, but also comes with certain challenges." -- Azure Collie, Business2Community, 6/9/14

Pinterest Beta Tests Do-It-Yourself Promoted Pins for Business
"Following the lead of other social networks like Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest is ramping up its marketing features. Back in September 2013, Pinterest announced it was beginning to experiment with sponsored pins. Now the company says it is rolling out a do-it-yourself promoted pin feature in beta too." -- Shawn Hessinger, Small Business Trends, 6/10/14

Pinterest Snags Longtime Apple Alums To Head Up Engineering And Design
"Social pinboarding site Pinterest today announced that it has picked up two notable new hires, both longtime Apple alums, to head up its Engineering and Design departments. All that funding is not going to waste, it seems. Michael Lopp, who was previously a director of engineering at Palantir, will head Engineering; Bob Baxley, the former Director of Design for the Apple Online Store, will become the Head of Product Design and Research." -- Sarah Perez, TechCrunch, 6/10/14

Why Pinterest is Driving Social Engagement (and How You Can Take Advantage
"Pinterest is leading the way for social growth. In a recent Forbes article, tool ShareThis said “Pinners,” or Pinterest users, had more share activity than Facebook or Twitter users in 2013." -- Adam Toren, Entrepreneur, 3/13/14

Meanwhile, on Pinterest

With the notable exception of the Library Memes and Library Book Fun boards, when curating pins for the IRC Pinterest site I commonly upload my own content or pin directly from a site that features 'pin it' buttons for content. If re-pinning, I try to go back to the original site and check before opting to pin. Hence, it was a bit startling to receive an email from Pinterest with the subject line, "Sorry we had to delete one of your pins on Pinterest."

We're getting in touch to let you know we received a copyright complaint and have removed one (or more) of your Pins. The complaint wasn't directed against you or your Pin; it was directed against another user's Pin of the same content.

While many copyright owners are happy to have their content on Pinterest, we recognize that some do not want their content to appear on Pinterest, or did not receive attribution for the content. When a copyright owner sends us a complete notice per the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), it’s our policy to remove the Pin(s).

Again, this complaint was not directed at you, or anything you did: we just thought you'd like to know why we removed your Pin.

Happy Pinning and thanks again for using Pinterest.

Wait. What?

After the initial shock (and dismay), I admit being pleased to learn Pinterest is taking these steps when images and items pinned are problematic and/or violate copyright. While I do not know particulars such as how long it took for the image to be removed, how long or how often the copyright owner had to complain, or how many sites had pinned the image (it was cute), the end result works.  I will be keeping the email and sharing it with students in my online class during our Pinterest module.

Pinterest, CMCIG workshop & Tellagami

I continue to curate - and create - information for my CMCIG Pinterest presentation on Friday; the session board is starting to take shape. Pinstamatic continues to be one of my 'go-to' resources for pinning unwieldy sites without requisite size pinnable images and for creating calendar reminders and simple maps for the workshop time and location.

Follow Diane Schrecker's board ALAO: CMCIG Workshop on Pinterest.

The IRC Pinterest site is updated weekly and will be ready for discussion. New additions include photos highlighting new IRC floor moves (collection reorganization) complete with links to blog posts, new materials kits, and ... probably one or two new Gami's. They will work nicely with the current Voki board to highlight various IRC collections.

Visit IRC @ Ashland University Library's profile on Pinterest.

The 30 second thirty-second time limit for Gami audio makes creating a script challenging, but it also makes the final result on-topic and to the point. When the thirty seconds recording time is over, the Gami recorder automatically stops and processes the audio. It took several revisions and edits to add pertinent information about the session to the second version without simply speaking faster. Here's the second (longer) version for the CMCIG workshop.

 

All of the completed session Gami's are available on my YouTube  CMCIG playlist.

Pinterest: 2014 CMCIG Spring Workshop

The ALAO CMCIG Spring Workshop is scheduled for Friday, April 4th. I'm excited to have been asked to participate in one of the scheduled sessions: Marketing CMC’s and Library Resources Using Pinterest. During the session I plan to discuss a variety of board types currently featured on the IRC Pinterest site that may be developed, such as:

• Curriculum Resources: Ellison dies, materials kits,  and activity books
• Assignment Support:  Cumulative tales, alphabet books, and counting books
• IRC Activities:  Mock Caldecott Panels
• Rotating Holiday Boards:  Spring, National Library Week, Poetry Month
• IRC Course Support:  LibGuides, IRC QR Codes, and Voki Tours
• Teacher Resources: Classrooms, Common Core, Infographics
• AU Library & IRC: Digital Sign, AU Library, and The IRC
• Just for Fun: Book Trailers and Library Memes

Pinterest is easily personalized, curriculum materials centers - and libraries - are able to quickly create content specific to the intended audience. What works for my IRC Pinterest site, may not be suited for another library.  Of particular interest is the availability of widgets allowing me to incorporate Pinterest boards into existing resources such as web sites, blogs, twitter, and LibGuides.

Pinterest's recent inclusion of animated gifs to their pinnable resources has helped to move the site beyond simple images and video. I have not yet created an gifs, but continue to explore ways to develop video resources such as Animoto and recently the app Tellagami.

I am really looking forward to learning about what other CMCs are doing with Pinterest.

Discover More Corps

I was not familiar with Discover More Corps until recently and caution this post includes shameless self-promotion.

"The ProQuest Discover More Corps is a new social network where you can connect with a global community of current and future librarians, have access to our popular Quantum2 professional development series, and explore a different complimentary resource each month." -- About Discover More Corps

The site came to my attention after receiving an email from Elizabeth McGough, MLIS, their Social Media Marketing Manager, inviting me to co-present a professional development webinar on the topic of Pinterest and Instagram. Several emails and conference calls later, I'm excited to be part of one of the upcoming October webinars presenting with Danielle Salomon, UCLA Powell Library.

Monday, October 14, 2013, 12:00pm EST/ 11:00 Central 
Using Pinterest and Instagram to Connect with Customers 

Danielle Salomon, Teaching and Learning Services Librarian and Social Media Manager at UCLA, will discuss how UCLA's Powell Library uses Instagram to connect with undergraduates and engage in teaching and learning. Topics covered include: why an academic library might have more success using Instagram instead of Facebook or Twitter; the user demographics of Instagram; tips for posting; and examples of teaching and learning opportunities.

Diane Schrecker, Curriculum Librarian and Instructional Resource Center Manager at Ashland University, will present an overview of Pinterest, the popular online ‘pinboard.’ Topics explored will include how to: integrate existing library information resources to the Pinterest platform, develop original content using Pinstamatic, utilize web tools for creating audio and video content, cultivate boards that may be easily refreshed throughout the year, and present ideas for supporting education course work from a librarian and adjunct instructor’s perspective.

Learn More, here.
Register for the free webinar.

Pinterest: Number of pins (short)

While updating IRC Pinterest boards this morning I noticed a new feature; the number of pins an individual  board contains is now available.  I initially thought it was limited to site owners (quick visual), but signed out of Pinterest and the number remained view-able.  It is interesting and made it glaringly obvious I should develop more Voki tours.

I am not so sure I like it added to my board cover real estate.

Pinterest Widgets

One of my new favorite Pinterest tools is the Button and Widget Builder. Available (located) with the Pinterest for Business resources, I have found it useful for promoting specific IRC Pinterest boards on the IRC News Blog (see IRC Pinterest Book Trailers, National Poetry Month, and New Ellison Dies); with one click, users access the full board from the blog.

I began pinning infographics, blog posts, and other items of interest about Pinterest on my ACRL 2013 Resources board for my workshop and have continued the practice on my Pinterest News & Info board. Here are examples of the embedded boards.




Update: Well, that was certainly embarrassing (don't forget to load the java). The boards should both be visible now.

Pinterest: notifications & analytics

Pinterest has been rolling out layout 'tweaks' over the last few weeks; Improvements to the New Look highlighted updates and the return of some favorite features. (An aside: I really need to get my Google Reader feeds moved and organized.) I did not opt-in immediately, so the arrival of the new 'Notifications' drop down menu on the IRC blog this morning was a surprise.  Instead of notifications - pin activity - being displayed with pins from people I follow, it is now a drop down menu feature with the account navigation menu (see below).

I liked the notifications panel in its previous location, it helped provide immediate visual feedback for the area.  However, since I get email updates for IRC Pinterest activities changing the location of notifications information is not problematic. That said the menu area is getting a bit crowded at the top of the page, especially since I verified the IRC blog to view analytics.

About those analytics ...

It has been three weeks since I verified the IRC Blog to use the analytics function.  I have seen interesting site metrics for reach (people seeing pins), impressions (my pins in main feed), clicks (from Pinterest), and visitors.  Analytics for most recent show pins from prior to ACRL; most repinned and most clicked only display "we don't have any data for this date" regardless of the date range selected. Email notifications tell me pins are being liked and repinned, so it is odd this has yet to translate to analytics presented.

It may be that I need to exercise patience since these same metrics are not yet visible on my personal Pinterest site either. Time will tell; keep calm and Pinterest on.

Pinterest Web Analytics

Pinterest introduced Web Analytics in March and offered it to users with several caveats in place.

Why don’t I have the option to use Pinterest Web Analytics?

You’ll only have access to Pinterest Web Analytics if you've verified your website and are using Pinterest's new look.

If you just verified your website, you won't see your data for a few days.

If you’re unable to verify your website, then you won’t be able to use Pinterest Web Analytics at this time.

I switched to Pinterest's new look prior to ACRL and explored ways to verify the IRC web site and/or IRC blog. For the IRC blog (Blogger platform), meta tags placed in the header <head> seemed to be the best option and I placed the tag in the IRC blog header without success. This morning, a blinding flash of the obvious; place the meta tag in the blog template source code.  I removed the IRC web site, added the IRC blog URL, selected the meta tag option, placed the meta tag into the blog header (edit html), saved, continued the verification process ... and ... now I have a verified web site/blog for the IRC Pinterest site and can access the analytics menu.

There is little available, after all I only verified this morning, but I'm looking forward to seeing additional information regarding the traffic flow and usage statistics for the IRC Pinterest page. I'm considering the same process for my personal Pinterest site and this blog (and should have done so prior to ACRL!).  Regardless, since I am not ready to commit the IRC Pinterest as a business site this is a nice option for using Pinterest web analytics.

Pinterest "News" section

	I have been actively collecting and 'curating' Pinterest internet resources for my ACRL workshop and recently read an article on Business 2 Community about a "News" section being tested by a few users. In her blog post, Pinterest Testing New News Section, author Sue Reynolds notes "the test began January 16 and Pinterest is asking for feedback from users via an online form" (Reynolds). As these test are generally conducted with high traffic sites, I was surprised morning to see the "News" feature on the IRC Pinterest site after login earlier this afternoon.
	The news feature appears in upper left portion of the followers area (top image, highlighted in blue), where a list of activity and suggestions of pinners to follow usually reside.  In its place actual boards where the images were re-pinned are presented. At this point, only two boards are listed and pins from boards followed surround them.  A red "see all news"  button is located below the bottom board helping to indicate where boards stop and pins start. I found the news display area, a mixture of pin boards and individual pins, visually confusing. That said, there are two other ways to view news that are definitely more appealing.
	If you select the "see all news" button, it links to a new tab in the profile area (middle image); if users return to their Pinterest home page, the same news tab is visible next to followers (bottom image) and it links to the news area as well. While I do not particularly care for the news in the feed area, I do like the opportunity to view a collection of boards from other followers indicating where my image was pinned.  It provides an interesting look at similar pins and collections making it simpler for me to find more resources.

More information is available on Pinterest's Help Center using the What is News? link: "We're currently testing a new feature with a small group of pinners called News. If the Recent Activity on your home feed and the Activity tab on your profile are missing, you are part of this test." Included was a link to a Google form asking how often I use Pinterest (1-2 times per week), if I liked the news feature better than the recent activity feature (not really), and if I found the news feature useful (yes, but not located on the recent activity area). It will be interesting to see when this feature becomes available to all Pinterest accounts.

Pinterest: New Home Page

I noticed a new Pinterest start page this morning while updating boards on the IRC Pinterest site. Selecting "or preview the site" links to the previous Pinterest start page providing users, or potential users, opportunity to peruse resources before signing up for an account.  Choosing "Join Pinterest" leads to the account registration page that now features a link specifically for businesses. I generally login directly via the page I'm working with, so this may not be new, per say. Regardless, I like the new look. It's very clean and inviting.



As the IRC Pinterest page gains popularity and followers, there has been an increase in requests to join boards and work collaboratively with other Pinterest accounts. Unfortunately, I have also had to use the option to block followers more frequently as well. There are pages that should not be associated with a library and Instructional Resource Center page created for education students. It is becoming rather Twitter-spam-esque with quick creation of strange pages seemingly with the simple goal of increasing followers. As Pinterest continues to gain popularity, maintenance of followers for the IRC may need to be monitored with more regularity.

ACRL 2013: Workshop

I'm thrilled to be presenting a workshop at ACRL 2013 this spring titled, A Picture is Worth ... Innovative Uses for Pinterest, on Thursday, April 23rd, 8:30 am to 11:30 am. While the IRC @ Ashland University Library Pinterest site will be featured, I have been preparing my personal Pinterest site with resources to support the session.  The first two boards highlight Academic and Public Libraries using Pinterest. Here's a sneak peak at the work in progress. 

ACRL 2013: Academic

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Diane on Pinterest

 

ACRL 2013: Public

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Diane on Pinterest

If I included your library Pinterest site and you would like to have me remove it, please feel free to contact me via library.cloud at gmail.com. If you have suggestions for inclusion, I would be happy to hear them as well. Add your library Pinterest site to blog comments.

Are you setting board covers on Pinterest?

When first working with Pinterest, I liked the idea of the most recent pin being the default board cover.  It was rather 'blog-esque;' but I admit being guilty of re-pinning to items to move them into a more prominent area. A few months later, Pinterest added the option of choosing your board cover (it can be easily changes). I was able to pick a favorite image to draw interest to any given board.  I've featured three boards for expanded interest, to encourage input from students; What we're reading will include additions by IRC student workers; Mock Caldecott Panels will be introduced this fall with invitations to participate in the conversation planned as part of the session; and Cumulative Tales will be used during a scavenger hunt and is already linked to a LibGuide.

Source: Uploaded by user via IRC @ on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via IRC @ on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via IRC @ on Pinterest

I want the boards to be immediately recognizable, so I've been experimenting with creating and setting permanent "covers" for three boards. Using a combination of personal photographs of the IRC and library second floor, clip art students (signed releases are required for actual students), and word art, I developed a simple conversational board cover using PowerPoint and saved the slide as an image.  I'm satisfied with the results - and the combination of set covers verses newest image displayed covers. Time will tell if the students feel the same.  Is anyone else manipulating their board covers on Pinterest?

more with Pinterest

One of my newer LibGuides supports a freshman level phonics class. The professor developed an introductory scavenger hunt, highlighted with an embedded Glog in the LibGuide, which requires her students to visit the library, become familiar with the IRC physical space and collections as well as online resources.  During the term, an assignment activity requires students to locate pattern books, also known as cumulative tales, in the juvenile collection. Subsequently, the LibGuide includes a Pattern Book tab providing additional information (reference resources, catalog links, and samples). While revising the guide, I decided to develop a Cumulative Tales board on Pinterest; the board presents examples of cumulative tales currently in the juvenile collection.

I work primarily with Amazon and Barnes and Noble for pinning book covers as Pinterest does not recognize book cover images (size)in our library catalog. After pinning the image, I provide a catalog link in pin descriptions with the call number and book location. However, when electing to pin larger images, they were often watermarked with a copyright statement. Discussions with our campus copyright advisor helped me refine use of these resources with attribution. Changes to Pinterest over the last few months, including updated guidelines and a code snippet that protects images (users see "This site doesn't allow pinning to Pinterest. Please contact the owner with any questions. Thanks for visiting!").

An increasing number of sites are providing 'pin it' buttons with their share buttons (like LibGuides). Today when working with the Cumulative Tales board I noticed both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have added Pinterest to their share options for books.

Amazon's share button details book title and a persistent link in the pin description. If electing to not use their text, attribution is noted on the pin and the link directs users to the title. In my opinion, the best reason to use their pin button is the image promoted is NOT the 'click to look inside' image.

Barnes and Noble's share button works in a similar manner, I did note some of the older titles pinned smaller images with an abundance of white space around the image. There was not an option to select a different image on the page when using their 'pin it' button. In both instances, if using the Pinterest book-marklet, a number of book image options display. Pinterest continues to refine their product and it seems more sites are facilitating it as a 'share' choice along with Facebook and Twitter.

LibGuides & Pinterest

When revisiting Pinterest a few weeks ago, I noted an academic library - Valencia College West - pinning selected LibGuides to their boards. Yesterday I spent a bit of time tweaking images pinned to the IRC & LibGuides board, in some cases adding QR codes to pages with limited pin-able images, to better reflect the content. What I did not notice until editing a guide this morning was that Springshare has added Pinterest  to the Bookmark & Share menu (see below).

When selected, the Pinterest icon provides users with images from the guide that are available to pin; even better, it's possible to pin the main LibGuide page and/or individual tabs/pages within guides. Yes, it is still possible to use an installed Pin it button, but if students are using a lab or classroom computer (sans Pinterest) they may not be able to install to their browser. LibGuides facilitates Pinterest use immediately; students can pin after instruction sessions, directly from LMS embedded course guides, and while perusing the library's LibGuide collection.

Kudos to Springshare, they consistently keep LibGuides up-to-date for librarians and users.

Weekly Reader

On Creating Joy at Work
"When was the last time you were overjoyed by an inspired act or outcome at work? For too many managers, the very thought of joy at work is laughable. For employees? It’s not only laughable, but a notion left for dreamers — certainly no place for it in the cubicle nation." -- Shawn Murphy, Smart Blog on Leadership, 7/5-12

Where Wal-Mart Departs, A Library Succeeds
"A vast building in McAllen, Texas, was once home to a Wal-Mart -- but no longer. When the discount superstore moved to a larger location, it left behind a vast empty building. The community took advantage of the space and converted the warehouse-like building into a public library." -- Carolyn Kellogg, Jacket Copy, 7/3/12

Copyright for Librarians and Teachers in a Nutshell
"You may have wondered whether you hold the copyright to work you’ve put many hours into creating on the job. Who holds the copyright to works created by teachers or librarians? Short answer: In general, when employees create works as a condition of employment, the copyright holder is the employer." -- Carrie Russell, American Libraries Magazine, 7/2/12

QR Codes, Don't Believe the Hype
"Growing up it was Pokemon cards, in my early teens it was the constant use of MySpace and now, the latest trend to be hyped into oblivion, is QR codes. QR codes or quick response codes are the square barcodes that can be read by QR code scanners and smart phone cameras. They have been plastered on everything from billboards and magazines to business cards and t-shirts." -- Matt Thomas, Social Media Today, 7/5/12

Pinterest Provides Attribution for Pinned Sites
"Did you recently view an online Pinterest that really caught your attention? Well now, you don’t have to hunt through the web to find out more information about the product. Pinterest is now giving users access to online information about their product, by adding permanent links on pins from sites like Flickr, YouTube, Behance, and Vimeo. And in doing so, they are giving credit to companies that were blindsided by their products being mass-promoted on its site." -- Jessica Passman,  Daily Deal Media, 7/2/12

Revisiting Pinterest

The IRC Pinterest page has been active for three months; our follower total is growing steadily, though it seems to be generated more by other libraries than students or library patrons.  I have a few thoughts regarding that, specifically a collaborative board or two with IRC student workers as content collaborators. Something to ponder during the summer.

The library community is active on Pinterest, I've seen (and follow) a number of great library pages and ideas for new resources are abundant. For instance, the Valencia College West Library has a pinboard featuring their LibGuides. Great idea! Yes, I now have an IRC & LibGuides board.

Attribution continues to be key to all things Pinterest.  Pins now detail the web site source on the original pin and the new re-pinner's board as well. This is a definite improvement, especially when pinners do not remember to attribute pin source.

There are a few attribution oddities. I've noticed on one board where I included hyperlinks in the pin description, the hyperlinks are now being attributed as the source of the image.  The IRC Pinterest board QR Codes & the IRC has a collection of QR codes I created and subsequently uploaded to Pinterest.  I inserted a hyperlink in each QR code pin description enabling the user to access the connected web site; pins on those boards are now being attributed to the hyperlink. 

The twitter QR code for @IRCaulibrary was created and uploaded by the user (me), the pin description included a hyperlink.  Pinterest now attributes the image to Twitter (incorrect) and the image links to the IRC Twitter page. Since that's where I wanted the user to be be directed, it's not necessarily a bad thing. 

In cases where a simple image has been uploaded (sans hyperlink in the pin description), attribution remains "uploaded by user."  On boards where a library catalog link is included in a pin description of a book cover pinned from outside the catalog, the image is properly attributed to the source and the hyperlink remains. It's an oddity.

Pinterest has begun sending a "Pinterest Weekly" email to users.  It details people who have chosen to follow you, shows six popular boards, and recommends 'Pins You'll Love." As with other email notifications affiliated with the account, it is possible to opt out of the weekly message.

New blog posts about Pinterest consistently appear in my feed reader.  Here are a few from this week:

• Pinteresting Videos are Coming Your Way from YouTube
• With Looming Privacy Concerns, Pinterest Extends Attribution to a new Set of Sites
• More than Just a Pretty Picture? How Sociologists (and other Social Scientists) Can Use Pinterest

Retail sites are also joining the Pinterest parade! Thanks to Ellison Education for adding 'pin it' icons to their dies catalog/collection.  It definitely streamlined the process of adding the Ellison Alphabet board to the IRC Pinterest page this afternoon.

Live, on Pinterest

I started using Pinterest for the IRC about six weeks ago. While the login invitation never arrived from Pinterest, friends - and a couple of very nice people DM'd me on Twitter - took care of the necessities.  From that point, I 'invited' the IRC to join. After creating my account, it was a simple matter to start 'pinning' resources for the IRC. I announced our Pinterest page on the IRC Twitter account, the IRC Blog (and here), and requested a Pinterest icon added to the IRC web site.  Interest in individual pins and boards was immediate; other users liked pins, followed boards, and I started exploring boards for the IRC to follow; Scholastic and CBC Books were two of my first Pinterest follows.

One of the most prevalent uses of Pinterest with libraries is the ability to create virtual bulletin boards for books. Any books ... new books, children's books, topical book lists ... all visually interesting with book covers and catalog links. I had immediate issues pinning book covers from our library catalog; the images are not large enough for the 'Pin It' bookmarklet to recognize. Like many users, I linked to a retail site for images. Completing the pin, I customized my entry with a persistent catalog link for users in the Pin description adjacent to the book title, call number and location.

And, I started to wonder.

There has been considerable discussion on blogs and Twitter about Pinterest. Users questioned the terms of use, the potential for copyright violation, and a need for updated terms of service.  Several prominent users quickly deleted their Pinterest accounts.

• A One Word Fix to Pinterest's Legal Problems
• A Flaw in Pinterest's Potential Fair Use Problem
• Are You Breaking Copyright Law Using Pinterest?
• The Reason I Just Deleted My Pinterest Account

I hesitated to upload images as their terms seemed to say anything uploaded became their property to sell and monetize.  While I did not particularly care if they used my uploaded QR codes, personal photographs of the IRC were another matter. Before moving forward, I discussed Pinterest with our campus copyright expert and we determined a few internal guidelines to follow.

A lot has happened in the Pinterest-sphere over the two weeks.  

Pinterest has updated it's layout for home pages, included a Facebook "like" buttons on individual boards, and more importantly, updated their terms of service and acceptable use policy.  The University now has a Pinterest account.  Their use of images is brilliant, instead of uploading they are pinning from the University's Flickr photostream. I've re-pinned several library pictures and will be working with them to add IRC photos to Flickr. The number of followers on Pinterest is twice that of Twitter and interest continues to grow.  Last week a student told me one of her peers introduced Pinterest in class and invited everyone to join.

• How Do You Use Pinterest
• Pinterest Plays to Different Audiences in the US and UK [Infographic]
• How Powerhouse Pinterest Can Boost Your Female Audience
• The Pinterest Craze: Amplify Your Company's Inbound Marketing
• Pinterest for Educators
• 37 Ways Teachers Should Use Pinterest

I will not be abandoning the IRC blog or Twitter accounts for Pinterest; but envision Pinterest as another resource supporting collections and garnering interest in the IRC while providing information to users.

Waiting to Explore Pintrest

"Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes." About Pinterest

Ever since the ALAO conference in November, I've been considering ways to use Pinterest. During our session, Web Tools: The More Things Change, co-presenter (and Library Cloud Blogger) Sara Klink highlighted Pinterest and featured ideas on library use.

Intrigued by the possibility of catalog book links being a more visual entity, easier and quicker than finding and uploading images to the IRC news blog book features, I started to explore. The idea is simple, after locating a desired image, use the 'pin it' button (easily installed) to add an existing image or video to a board designated by the users.  Once there, the social element emerges and other users can 'repin' an item to their board.  When using an image from a web site, it's effectively linked back to the source.  Users are instructed to locate original source for pinning;  "Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry" (Pinterest Etiquette).

When searching for information on Pinterest and libraries, I found the following:

• Pinterest Becomes Number 1 Traffic Driver for Retailers
• Pinterest for Librarians
• Pinterest: Online Curation Pinboard With Major Promise
• Five Ways to Use Pinterest in Your Libraries
• Pinterest: Library Love
• Pinterest: Libraries
• Baylor Libraries on Pinterest
• Ohio University Libraries

I'm currently waiting for my Pinterest invitation, I requested one via the web site a short time ago. Once it arrives - or I ask friends to send me an invite from their account - I'll post again.