Ethics...
I stumbled upon a little discovery about a month ago that has led to quite the ethical dilemma.
I stumbled upon a little discovery about a month ago that has led to quite the ethical dilemma.
Let's discuss:
So...
Pinterest.
If you don't know what it is, it's this site that lets you 'pin' anything you find interesting to a board and share it with others.
You can find lots of cool ideas and snarky sayings and things that make you crazy and so on.
It's a smorgasbord really.
About a month ago I inadvertently noticed that Pinterest can bring a lot of traffic to your website.
I mean A LOT of traffic.
See, I pinned some pictures from my Montana blog posts to Pinterest and I got a crazy amount of hits.
So, then I went nuts and began pinning all the pictures I could thing of from my blog that would be good for Pinterest on to my boards.
See, I pinned some pictures from my Montana blog posts to Pinterest and I got a crazy amount of hits.
So, then I went nuts and began pinning all the pictures I could thing of from my blog that would be good for Pinterest on to my boards.
But...
It only brings you traffic to your blog if you pin things directly off of your blog.
It only brings you traffic to your blog if you pin things directly off of your blog.
So...
Then the greedy side of me begins to get...well, ugly.
For instance:
I saw this funny quote on Pinterest today.
My first impulse is to 'repin' it.
But...
If I use it on my blog like this:
"So look at this funny thing I saw on Pinterest"
and then I pin it off my blog I will get a lot of hits to my blog.
And I'm a total sucker for the hits.
But...
Whoever I pinned it from won't get the hits.
I mean...
I effectively just stole it.
So, it's a bit of a dilemma.
Stealing = Bad
Hits to Blog = Good
Following 10 Commandments = Good
Hits to Blog = Not worth breaking 10 Commandments
SO...
No more stealing.
Although, dang it, there are grey areas...
I typed in 'ethics' and 'pinterest' to Google a few minutes and found this:
It's a page on Pinterest called 'Pinterest Etiquette'
In case you can't read it here is a translation:
1) Be Nice
Check. I have so far avoided snarky comments on people's pins no matter how ridiculous I think they are.
2) Credit your sources
Ding, ding, ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
3) Avoid self promotion
Whoops...
But....
My blog...
It needs the hits.
It needs the hits bad.
4) Report the naked
People are not afraid of putting all kinds of nakedness on Pinterest.
So, now we have some guidelines.
That's good.
Rules=good.
Usually.
Sometimes.
But the hits...
Oh, quit complaining, me. Come up with your own material.
I LOVE Pinterest! It's quite addicting! I like to see all the cool things people think of.
ReplyDeleteOther than the normal person's desire to be famous and influential I don't understand the great concern over hits. You aren't being paid and you aren't writing to cause great shifts in behavior - you are blogging the story of a bright and funny young woman and her long-suffering husband (at least as a character on the blog is concerned) and three beautiful kids. Most of the posts are normal, some are inspired, some are funny and I always enjoy the read. That's why I subscribe.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the very kind and undeserved words and subscription!
DeleteI don't know why the hits matter to me. It's probably an immaturity thing. Part of me thinks that if I write a good post more people will read it and that is like getting an A on a paper instead of an F.
Outside linking brings us half our web traffic. It's all those pesky tags we use. And if I weren't an immature glory-seeker, I probably wouldn't get much kick out of the hits either:)
ReplyDelete