Pinterest ... or Pi-no-interest ?

Social is everywhere, anytime. Social is between people and people, between people and brands, between brands and people, across the networks and through the networks... Social is just that, social ;-)

Social media has fueled the birth of dozen of business initiatives, some turning rapidly into skyrocketing business stars - Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, ... -, others sunk for ever into the dark sea of unachieved promises - do you still remember Google's wave ? - and the last ones rising quickly into the social media space yet without a clear landing field (read "success or failure") - Google+ ? -. Among those ones, the last kid in town : Pinterest.

 In January 2012, comScore reported the site had 11.7 million unique users,
making it the fastest site in history to break through the 10 million unique visitor mark.

Waow, such impressive figures:

• joined in December 2011 the Top 10 most successful social networks with 11 millions visits/week
• more retailers referrals than Linkedin, Youtube or Google+ during the same period...
• highest female rate audience (82%) among social networks...

Started in December 2009, the Palo Alto's based start-up has quickly grown into a drawing point of interest for digital adventurers, investors, so-called digital experts... And of course, for Brands marketers. And today's version is still a Beta / on invitation only version...

Pinterest is said to be a genuinely innovative platform: it allows people to "pin" interesting stuff they come across (pictures, posts, boards), to rank them into categories and to share this across their social network.

In that way, Pinterest allow people to share stuff according to personal centers of interest and not only by binding them to a community of fiends, fans or followers, as common practice in many other social networks

But is that really new and innovative ? Let's have a look...

I have tried to learn a little bit more about it and have opened a few weeks ago my own Pinterest account, have surfed across the boards, select stuff I have then published, followed some fellows, got followed by other ones including unknown ones... (you remember that feeling in the early stages of Facebook, when unknown people was popping from nowhere just asking you to be their 'friend'?).
And actually, after some weeks of (yes, unregular) usage, I'm already bored...

Why ? Just because Pinterest doesn't bring me any added value in an already overcrowded social landscape, doesn't make me happier, more informed or curious... It's just that : yet another way to look at infographics, beautiful pics and, more annoying, brand messages in disguise... Does this bring any value to the people ? Maybe from the point of view of a tricky financial investors in track of new potential uplifts for his investments and trying to find the new 'Facebook' of the decade...

Garther - Technology hype cycle

Something social guru's often forget to mention is that in our growing digitally connected world, people have to make choices according to one criteria that will for sure never change : a day is just 24 hours, and you should allow you time to eat, sleep, have fun with friends and take a beer... Add on top tweeting a bit, upgrading your personal branding on Linkedin, snuffing around for last friends stories on Facebook and trying to add a new Circle on your Google+ backyard... Oh, yes, I was forgetting those average 75 emails a day you have still remaining in your inbox... ;-)

No, really, Pinterest shows not a clear value and interest for the common people with a common agenda and a common way to look at things... And when I say common, is not minimizing people's merits... Is just because the web is, in a huge majority, composed of common people like you, and me ;-)... not only of early-adopters and geeks centered on the last so-called innovation in town...

In that way, we are with Pinterest now in the early stages of a cycle phase that Gartner known as  the 'technology hype - trigger area', where geeks and guru's are looking at innovation from the only angle of 'is this new ?' and make a lot of noise (called buzz) around it.... But, as stated by Seth Godin (yes, another Guru...) : "Only when an innovation is dead can the real work begin".

Here is a list of potential reasons for people just to skip the Pinterest current craziness, if they want to search for any excuse...
- If I want to share photos, I have Facebook, or more stylish I have Instagram, or Flickr available. I could even Google it. And actually, my personal stuff I would like to share is most probably already stored on those platforms...
- If I want to follow people according to their center of interest, I can manage my way through Facebook (joining groups) or Twitter (making lists)... Or on Linkedin if it is more professionally related. Actually, the stuff I'm interested to follow in Pinterest are already my center of interest on other places (wine, traveling, art, digital stuff, technology, ...)

AND YOU? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT PINTEREST ? Pro / Con's ? Fan / Not fan ?
What do you think ? Give us your opinion...