Pinterest, as defined on their help page, is a visual discovery engine used for finding ideas like recipes, home and style, inspiration and more. The social media app and website now allows users to earn money for the content they post, based on their following.
Pinterest officially became available to the public in 2012. Earlier versions were created in 2009. The first pin was a cardboard cutout of a couple kissing on a bicycle made by creator Benjamin Silbermann.
By 2016, Pinterest had around 160 million monthly active users, gradually increasing every year. In 2020’s final quarter, Pinterest has around 459 million monthly users, 98 million of them are located in the United States.
Stella Yap, a senior sociology and Chinese double major at the University of Maryland, used Pinterest a lot in high school, mainly for finding dresses and wallpapers. She said that in college she uses it in classes when finding memes.
“People like to go to Pinterest to find photo reviews [for classes],” Yap said.
I remember Pinterest being the place in middle school to plan your future wedding, unrealistically of course. That is what the YouTubers and other people around me were doing, so I had to fit in somehow. I also saw the influence of Tumblr on Pinterest, the blurred pictures of Starbucks drinks, or skater skirts with converse. They balanced eachother out, Pinterest being the tame and influential social platform, and Tumblr being the edgy more risky platform.
Pinterest’s formatting has remained roughly the same throughout the years, while making minor changes to keep up with trends. However, other forms of social media have fueled Pinterest recently. TikTok trends have shown Pinterest-inspired outfits and photo ideas, to “spice up your instagram.” Pinterest has started to focus on creator-sponsored content and branding due to its increasing relations with TikTok and Instagram.
Social media platforms replicating their features is not a new concept. Instagram previously copied Snapchat’s story feature. Similarly, Pinterest is adopting a new way to connect to more users and reward users with an audience.
In 2021, Pinterest announced a beta version of a creator fund used to help underrepresented creators. This includes people of color, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In order to join the creator fund, users must be 18 and older and located in the United States with at least 250 followers. Users must be creating original content. They also should have created three idea pins within the last 30 days and have 150 saves on your published pins. Users will be able to access the creator fund application once all requirements are met.
I still use Pinterest to organize ideas yet now it is more geared towards layering outfit ideas for the winter and decoration ideas for my apartment. I have definitely grown from the wedding side of Pinterest, creating my own style and identity through what I find inspiring.