One of the most interesting facts to come out of the much-discussed Pew Research Center study on use of social media which was released last week is the sharp spike in Pinterest’s popularity. In fact it is now so popular that more Americans say they use it than Twitter, and it only just trails behind LinkedIn!
Yet when social media is discussed online and in the ‘mainstream media’, the ‘Big 4’ social media sites are always Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Pinterest is still somehow regarded as fringe.
Why?
The benign explanation is that this is a case of ‘lies, damn lies and statistics’.
Yes, more respondents in this survey – American adults who use social media – say they use Pinterest, and that is how it was widely reported. But the fact remains that there are more than 500 million registered users of Twitter worldwide, and “only” 70 million of Pinterest.
I think you can still argue, though, that at the very least, Pinterest is routinely downplayed, as is its rise and rise.
Partially this is because social media changes so fast, it’s hard to keep track. It’s also undeniably true that Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are far more likely to attract attention, because there’s more controversy. People, including lots of celebs, say/post silly things on them the whole time. Pinterest is just a load of pictures….
The key reason, though, in my opinion, is that Pinterest is dominated by women, and the men who still dominate writing about technology largely
a) aren’t on it;
b) don’t get it;
and c) don’t think it’s important, because lots of it is about fashion and food and is “for women”.
Of course, this is incredibly short-sighted, because a platform that holds such a strong appeal to women is a powerful tool for marketers who want to reach them – as increasing numbers of companies have been finding out.
(It’s also ironic because other than LinkedIn, women dominate every other major social channel. In addition, in the UK at least, nearly 40% of users are male).
What do you think? Is sexism a factor in the way people talk about Pinterest?
Miriam Shaviv is Director of Content at Brainstorm Digital.
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