Recently Pinterest has become an internet sensation. In terms of visits it's ranked as the #7 social networking site on the web. This puts it ahead of MySpace and Google+. But does this mean that journalists should hop on the pin boards? Recently PBS NewsHour joined Pinterest and used it to present pictures and stories of children with cancer. For a website that has rapidly gained popularity, especially among women, for recipes, wedding planning tips and fashion photos, I'm not sure it would really be helpful in advancing and promoting the news. What do you guys think? Should a modern multi-platform journalist start pinning?
Here's a link to an article about Journalists and Pinterest: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/media-lab/social-media/159887/is-it-time-for-journalists-to-pay-attention-to-pinterest/
Every time that the question emerges on whether a journalist should experiment with social media, my answer is: why not? As long as we adhere to sound ethical principles and to being factual, I think that social media can only do good in expanding a journalist's reporting process. I say, go for it, but we careful about what you post.
ReplyDeleteOk...I'm going to have to admit that while I joined Pinterest about 5 months ago, I still don't get it. Reading this article actually helped me understand its purpose a bit more and I, like Andy, don't think there's any harm in journalists giving Pinterest a try. Like any social networking website, journalists have to be aware of what their posting, or in this case pinning, but otherwise it could be a useful tool to keep your thoughts and ideas organized and also a way to successfully express certain ideas visually to your readers.
ReplyDeleteThis article also made me want to start pinning more and see if I can personally use this social networking website to its full potential!
I agree with Andy. At this point sales of advertisement spaces on web pages still aren't nearly enough as the sales of actual newspapers. So yes, let's experiment with pinterest to try to increase readership as well.
ReplyDeleteI don't have pinterest myself yet, although many of my friends have urged me to start pinning. I haven't had the time to really look at pinterest just yet, but I feel like as a future journalist I need to be aware of all developments of social media and I actually am a bit embarrassed that I haven't attempted to try this yet. I'm sure that one day we are going to have to use it and I can't be lagging behind on that part of technology. I have seen many news websites that have a button to "pin" something. By being able to share this way and the ability of other people to "repin" you can definitely increase readership by a lot. It's just another way to make something go viral - so I would say it's great!
I am addicting to pinning. I don't know how this new social medium could work for a journalist, I think that we should assume the answer is no. I think with users having so many options journalism as to be able to evolve and feed the beast how ever necessary. As long as journalists keep their credibility and their wits, then let them pin away.
ReplyDeleteI think that journalists could definitely use pinning in the future. It could be especially helpful for photojournalists in drawing the attentions of readers to inside stories. I think that many readers scan newspapers for photos, and if they could go directly to a new's organization's pinterest and see these photos, it may make them more likely to read the stories that accompany it. Furthermore, the ability to "repin" will get the news organization's name out on the pinosphere, thus increasing its readership.
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