With the rise of new social media that seems to occur almost every day, I find it difficult to find the time stay current on all the rules and regulations that are set for each. I recently began integrating Pinterest with my other social media because of how easy it allows me to share the image-based content we are all interested in. After using it for a while though, I have noticed some definite do's and don'ts when pinning images to one of my boards.
The main issue I see happening is failure to credit the original website/author/photographer. If 10,000 pinners "repin" something of mine, and I'm linked to the original site where I found the image, all it will do is increase traffic to that site which should make the owner very happy. However, if I pin or repin an image from a location other the owner's site, then the original author will not get credit whenever other people view and/or repin.
This has other repercussions as well. If I (the image seeker) like the image and there is more relevant content on the original site I may be interest in, I may never see it because I don't have the appropriate source linked to the image I like. It will also eventually frustrate some of my board followers. Even though they may love the images I'm placing on my boards, they will have to click through a few times searching for the original image. For instance, I repin something from another board I saw, and that person repinned it from someone who didn't site the original source as well, but pinned it from someone who did. Going through 3 or 4 extra click-throughs to find the original source doesn't sound like a lot of time to waste, but your follower may choose to simply unfollow you and follow the person who sited the source image... you lose followers and may even see yourself getting reported as Pinterest users become more savvy.
Another important guideline to follow while pinning to your own board is don’t post directly from other image databases. Google images for example, like Pinterest, has created a database of images that came from an outside source. While browsing through Google images, take the time to click through to the original site where google extracted the image before pinning it. It may take one or two extra clicks to follow the image to it's origins, but your followers will appreciate it and you can rest easy at night knowing you are pinning ethically.
I haven't heard of any copyright issues with this, although I think there may be some potential. Social media like Pinterest improves convenience for the user, but because it's so new, the legal system hasn't really caught up to some of the possibilities that can occur with it. Responsible sites have suggestions on etiquette that should steer users clear of potential copyright or plagiarism issues. For those and other useful guidelines, you should be able to find them rather easily for each respective social media site. Click here to see Pinterest's guide to etiquette.
As suggested by the Pinterest etiquette guide, if you know someone is pinning improperly without siting the original source, feel free to leave a comment letting them know. You don’t need to be rude, but you could say something like “I wish I knew where the original site was for this image.”
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