There has been a lot of attention this past week on copyright issues and Pinterest. I’ve seen a wide range of opinions and posts on the subject. I think one of the most informative articles was from a fellow female techie, Greek Geek.
We’ve seen copyright issues explode since the dawn of the internet. While I agree that copyrighted material does need to be protected, I don’t want to see laws and enforcements such as SOPA to be passed either. It’s a fine line.
I believe that most of the pinning and not linking to the original source on Pinterest is innocent. It is easy to make mistakes when pinning. Just yesterday, Katie and I discovered the the pinlet I installed on my iPhone (follwing the directions in the Pinterest app) does not link to the original source. As far as I can tell, it has been happening since the last Pinterest app update. I have been carefully pinning from my iPhone for months, not knowing that the source wasn’t being linked. I’m unsure if this is just a problem with me and my phone or something others are having as well (and maybe not even know it).
I feel that most of the copyright issues found on Pinterest can be fixed with education. I decided to share some how-to tips for pinning that I’ve discovered during my time as a pinner. I believe, if each of us does our own part to watch our own pins, we can contribute to the overall health and vitality of the Pinterest ecosystem.
Not all site owners want their images pinned. How do you know if sites are okay with images being pinned? Pinterst now has some code in their help section that site owners can add if they don’t want to be pinned. If a pinner tries to pin on a site with the code, they will see a message about the site owner not wanting images to be pinned. Until people start installing the code though, the only way to know for sure is to ask. I’m going to use my own rule of thumb that if a site has a “pin it” button to make it easy to pin, they they are okay with things being pinned. As for The Daily Digi, we are okay with things being pinned, especially when pinned correctly!
There is a “proper” way to pin. Navigating to the exact page URL or source that includes the image and pinning from there, is the right way. Let me share an example:
Let’s pretend that this past Friday, I wanted to pin the main image on the homepage, here at The Daily Digi. On Friday, if you came to TheDailyDigi.com, Here’s what you saw:
Notice the URL in the address bar:
![ScreenClip(162)[5]](http://thedailydigi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ScreenClip1625.png "ScreenClip(162)[5]")
If I were to pin the main image from that Retail Therapy post, with the URL as it is now, (thedailydigi.com) then anytime anyone clicks my pinned image, it will direct them to thedailydigi.com and whatever is on the homepage at that time is what they will see. They will not know how to find the original post the image was pinned from.
The proper thing to do, would be to click on the title of that post:
When you click that post title, it will put a direct URL to that specific post in the address bar:
Now, if you pin the image from there, when people click on the image you pinned, they will be directed back to the original post.
Feel free to practice with the image from today’s post 
Before you repin, check to be sure the pin links to the original source. As much as possible, pin and repin directly from the owner. Sometimes, people will grab an image from Pinterest, put it on their site and link back to the source. Just go to the original source and pin from their. Try to give credit where credit is due.
If an image has a copyright symbol and/or “All Rights Reserved” it probably shouldn’t be pinned. This is often seen on Flickr. I know that many people upload to our Flickr group to share their layouts with others. I know that there are designers that require team members to upload layouts to our Flickr group with their product. I also know that most of those people would delighted if I pin their layouts.
If in doubt, ask. If you are in doubt about site, person, or images being Pinterest friendly, ask.
If you would like something to add to your own blog or site to let people know that you are a Pinterest friendly site and you are okay with pinning, I made this image to share:
The numbers in this post and the alpha in the feature image can be found in Vicki Stegall’s store.
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What a well stated article on Pinterest and success.
Thank you. Yes even Men use Pinterest.
We and our clients have found it to be very rewarding, especially in the opportunity to MEET new, Like-minded people.
I also posted an idea to be more effective. Would love to hear your ideas also.
http://bestbusinesssocialmedia.com/using-pinterst-effectively/
I have your Site booked and will reference it in future articles
Thanks for the info for Pinterest…I have started pinning ideas for my new craft rooms and usually pin only where there is a button assuming it is permitted and the button is there because they want it to be repinned. The only sites I hesitate are the sites where there are no pinterest button or because it was pre-pinterest days. I pinned a recipe recently only to find out later when I returned, it didn’t go to the site but to the person that pinned it! I am also compiling a things to do for Easter and I find people are following so they don’t have to do all the work! I make sure that it goes to the proper site…which I just remembered that I didn’t check today’s pinned things. Thanks again for the explanation that was lacking.
Thank you for this I shared this link on my FB page that helps local business owners with social media
SweetPea&Co.
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I just started using Pinterest and I went back and properly linked the few things that I had pined , so glad I found this tutorial when I did. I even pined it and have a repin already.
Thank you for this, Steph! I love the whole concept of “Link with love” but have been so frustrated that their site doesn’t really “teach” people how to pin correctly, and I agree, most people want to do the right thing if they know how.
For people with a visual memory like me, Pinterest is the great thing the web has ever offered (thank you Katie for introducing so many of us to it!). So I care that it stick around, and that depends on two things—teaching people pin etiquette and the site commiting itself to copyright. That issue is huge. I believe they released their app without the link ability as I see SO many pins with no source that have used their smartphone app.
I often grab an image from Pinterest for my blog. Grabbing some code takes a second vs. my saving the image and adding the link. It does require readers to click twice instead of once to get to the source, but I *want* to believe this isn’t poor pinning. I do always ensure that the pin is linked to the true source.
I know I’ll be linking to this post when I send an invite to Pinterest now. I’d like it if you added a 6th point about NOT including the content in your comment, eg: the whole recipe or how to. Elsie Flannigan (oy, I can’t remember her new last name) says something on her site about pinning only the completed DIY image, not any of the steps images. The whole point of pinterest is to direct traffic to the original source, not just give away others’ ideas.
Also, #3 need to be reinforced or fully explained because repinning is so dang easy, and unfortunately is where most of the problems lie. It only takes a few seconds to open the source before you repin. You have to do this before repinning to make sure it was pinned correctly the first time (I find myself “unfollowing” people who don’t pin correctly—too much time lost). It’s easy to see if a pin has “google.com” as the source, with people pinning right off the google page, but often people make the homepage mistake you point out or link directly to the image page without the content too.
Thanks again for writing it out so clearly!
Hmmmmm – i’ve been hearing about pinterest for awhile now, but the posts i’ve seen about it seemed to indicate the purpose was to show things the user was interested in. Now it appears to me that it is basically free advertising. It also seems to me it could become a real time waster. i guess i would have to see someone’s pinterest page to know whether it is something i’d want to spend time messing with. i do see the “pin it” tab on many sites, but it always seemed to me that it just gave that site free advertising so why would they not want it? Is the ‘non-pinner”afraid their designs could be downloaded without payment?
Thank.You. It’s about time. It’s not that difficult people! I never re-pin I almost always go the the orig post so I’m sure I have the right place (and often the comments explaining how). Now that there is so much talk about this being the ‘right’ way, I care more. (Originally I wanted to know the hows and whys–not just what it looked like.)
Thanks for this great explanation of using Pinterest. I have only recently learned about this site and I suspect I will be using it a lot. I have to agree with Nonnie and Heidi, though, about not asking permission before pinning. The whole point of Pinterest is it’s meant to be fast and easy, or else what is the point? Besides, I would think that most bloggers and website owners would appreciate their stuff being pinned because it can bring in more traffic to their site. But we should all be sure to properly credit the site for the images we pin.
I run a fashion blog that has a tie in to a polyvore account. My blog isn’t the best out there (I only recently started it and am still learning the ropes), so I use sets I create on polyvore to pin on pinterest…with the idea that maybe someone will click on the pin, check out that set and others, and maybe make their way to my blog that I have linked on polyvore. It’s my way to connect all the “media” together. It has worked in some cases. However, earlier today I noticed several pinners had pinned a particular set as though they originally pinned it. Ok, not a big deal in and of itself. It had been a relatively popular pin when I first pinned the set, receiving about 550 repins, and I know there are people out there who see popular pins and want to try and get the same kind of momentum for themselves. The problem is that each of those pinners who I saw do this had removed the link to my original source, and each had claimed to have created the set themselves. I was frustrated, to say the least. I realize that creating sets on polyvore is not some life or death thing. But I took the time to create it, and I don’t like people swooping in and taking credit for what I did…especially when I’m using it as a way to “self promote” my blog. Fashion blogging is not simply a hobby…I am working towards a future in fashion merchandising. So this area is important to me. Experiencing this first hand made me realize just how important it is to give credit where credit is due. I do my best to make sure I always link to the original source. If, for some reason, I cannot find it, I make sure I do NOT imply that the work was done by me in any way. As a result, I posted my own blog post about this earlier today… http://thefieryfashionista.onsugar.com/Fancy—Give-Credit-21842640
I agree with pinning correctly and giving credit where credit is due. I often repin and go later to find out the pin was linked incorrectly and it’s frustrating.
Another thing that I don’t like about people’s pinning is when they put the whole recipe in the description line. That feels a bit like stealing, too. I would suggest pinning the photo with a title and then letting people click on the photo to go to the recipe (or tutorial, or whatever.)
Thanks for the article.
LOVE your site – LOVE your show – I am not a pirate, I do not steal – I honor copyright – I absolutely disagree with some of this post – I can tell you that I will most likely NEVER ask a site if I can have permission to repin – Defeats one main component that makes Pinterest so appealing – speed – I can sit at work and not have to search 100 blogs – Someone has already done that for me and I am looking at the highlight reel – In a 5 min break I can repin 20 cool things to look at later when I have time. I usually make sure at that time the links are correct, but that is it –
I have to say that I don’t pin for everyone else – I pin for me and to me its just a giant bookmark, a way to cloud my favorite things – I absolutely LOVE the site, and I can say that I buy more kits than ever before from people and stores I never even heard of –
For people not wanting their images “repined” Why are you posting them on the internet in a PUBLIC forum? Delete them – Common sense people -
As a person who is selling items on the internet… I WANT people to pin my items… it would be counter-productive NOT to want items you are selling on the internet to be pinned.
Many blogger make their money off people coming to their blog… so I would think they also would want their tuts, articles, post to be pinned.
I check most of my pins to make sure they are linked to the article in which they came from… because if I’m pinning something I want the tut to go along with that pin. If I ever find a pin that is not linked and wanted that information for later – I will actually go looking on the net to try to find the page that image came from… I want the information that comes along with that image.
Many people don’t understand pinterest yet so they are assuming that people are stealing their images… most times that is not the case. If you are worried about your images being stolen… just watermark them or there is a code you can include in the html that will disallow the copy of your image.
I want more traffic to my store… I think it’s lovely. I PRAY for pins and repins.
I personally do not pin or look at pinterest, seems interesting but I am working on keeping my time down on the internet. I have seen a few threads at two scrapbooking stores forums with people concerned about privacy and not wanting their layouts pinned. Good advice to ask people first and even check comments to see if people are not wanting things pinned.
Thanks for the “Pinterest friendly site” image! I have already added it to my blog!
It always makes me sad when I find something I’d love to pin, but the link goes to the site, rather than the exact post. It makes it so hard to find a recipe, tutorial, etc. when the link isn’t specific.
Thanks for writing this up!!
I’ve recently found a serge in improper pins. I’ve stopped “repinning” completely and “like” things instead and go back later if I don’t have time right then to follow up on it. I recently spend a few days looking for some party ideas for my daughters’ birthdays in may, and I swear every image I clicked on was improperly pinned. What’s worse, I couldn’t even find the source articles on the blogs they were linked to! Its been so frustrating! thanks for this article!
I thought I had the same problem as you when pinning things from my iPhone or iPad — they were not being linked properly in Pinterest. Luckily, before I started the large task of editing all of these posts for the correct links, I discovered that if you click on the photo, it will take you to the correct place!
Thank you for pointing out how to correctly pin something from a blog! I have had endless frustration trying to find the actual post from a blog that someone has pinned incorrectly.
When I click on my images pinned from my phone, they don’t go anywhere, as if they weren’t linked at all.
I’m having the same problem.
LOVE this, especially about repinning to the exact page. That’s been one of my pet peeves for a long time.
I kind of disagree about asking permission to pin, though. Women pin hundreds of images a day, and taking time to ask about every single one would be impossible, and probably prevent many, many people who’d LOVE to have their images pinned from getting them pinned. (After all, really, if it comes down to ask or don’t pin, I’m just not going to pin.) I think the script Pinterest has created is a good compromise. If a person doesn’t want their stuff pinned, they can easily let Pinners know. Otherwise, it’s legal and it’s appropriately attributed and linked, so I think it’s fine.
I see both sides. I appreciate knowing if they are pin friendly, via pin it buttons. However, it would be very difficult to ask every single person if you can pin their stuff. Maybe have a “not pinterest friendly” image too, or something in their gallery profile image if they don’t want their stuff pinned.