Pintastic: Why I Like Pinterest

When I first looked at Pinterest I did not get it at all. What's the point of sharing pretty pictures on the web? It really feels disorganized, pointless, a waste of time and something that girly-Barbie-girls would do. However, the latest media buzz around the service compelled me to try it out for myself.

I have been using Pinterest for about two weeks and I have to admit I really like it. I have never before used similar visual applications because they are generally not my cup of tea. What I liked about Pinterest is that it is what you make it to be: it's not restricted to women's fashion or obscure designs.

You can pin whatever you are passionate about and that really shows in my friends' boards: each one has a unique approach. Some are creating boards to find inspiration for their wedding cake or new home, others to spread motivational posters, still others share beautiful infographics of social media use.

Granted, my pinboards are basic and partially empty. But I can definitely see myself using the app regularly in the future. Though I do think certain improvements are needed in stream filtering, social features, privacy settings and pin button functionalities.

I also agree with Kate Bevan from The Guardian who nicely summarized why Pinterest is not just for girls.

Doing PR vs Marketing & Advertising

There is a perceived blurry line between PR, advertising, marketing or any kinds of lobbying. This is mostly because they all work on conveying some kind of messages from A to B. However, there are important differences between PR and marketing or advertising in how they are practiced and what goals they strive to achieve.

This popular article by Inc explains the differences quite well. The main taking from the read is: marketing and advertising put the sender of the message in complete control of what gets said, when and how. This is a great thing when you want to create awareness and initiate conversations.

In PR, on the other hand, sender of the message present their news, facts and figures to the independent press who choose if they want to create a message, what kind of message they want to create, when and how. This lack of control is frustrating at times but it pays off with objectivity and credibility for the sender of the messege.

In my opinion, companies should work on all three fronts (advertising, marketing and PR) but understand the differences between them and act accordingly.