Pinteresting Dilemma

Early last year I wrote four articles on Pinterest, because I had heard that women in particular gravitated to it and I was curious about what they liked about it.  I liked its pinboard concept, and wanted to get a grip on it, too.  This is the third.

March 3rd 2012

Anthony Wing Kosner recently wrote a very informative, thoughtful article on the copyright issues surrounding Pinterest - From the iPad3 to the Unpinning of Pinterest to the Son of SOPA, Without Delay.  The rumored higher-resolution iPad3 could either turbo-charge Pinterest’s pinboard concept or simply add fuel to a fire that could rage on that pinboard.

(image credit)

Let me see if I’ve understood this correctly:

• When you upload an image from the internet, Pinterest cuts it off from its web source. 
• Most images we find on the internet are low quality, and US law allows for their “fair use.” 
• However, Pinterest finds a bigger, higher resolution version of that image, and makes it available for quick, easy viewing, once you click on the thumbnail of that image you uploaded. 
• Moreover, Pinterest can do this without permission from the copyright holder of that image to begin with. 
• Apparently this is legal, under current US legislation. 

Here’s the iPad3 side:

• The advent of iPad3 may renew demand for professional photographers, who presumably have greater skill at shooting, and greater incentive to upload, higher quality images. 
• Apparently there is a line on the quality barometer, where “fair use” no longer applies. 
• People want to consume content differently, perhaps attested to by the great success of Pinterest (so far). 
• Presumably, too, people want higher quality content, and this apparently is where iPad3 will come into play. 

If my points above are correct, then I ask:

• How can the things that Pinterest is doing be legal? 
• If this is indeed so, will it be legal for long, given the controversy-laden climate on privacy? 
• I saw a bit of this on Google+, but how much and in what ways will copyright holders and content owners respond? 

I was close to jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon last week. But in recent days, I’ve changed from a little hesitant to more hesitant.

You see, the tagline ‘Content is my competitive advantage’ runs across many of my entrepreneurial concepts, plans, and projects. So, while I love Pinterest’s pinboard format, I will not allow it to separate me from any original content I might upload!

It doesn’t mean I will avoid Pinterest. Rather, it means I will take a wait-and-see approach.

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD