So I never post on Saturdays but I felt like I needed to clarify a few things because of an uproar I accidentally created on Instagram.
For any of you that aren’t on Insta, this morning I posted this picture of my entry foyer…………
with this comment……That moment when someone asks you, “Did you get this idea from Pinterest?” #ummmm #notsomuch
And there are lots of comments from people………..lots. It’s become quite controversial in a very short period of time. Like, wow!
So first off – I never said I was offended by that question.
I’m sorry if the hashtags make it sound like I’m offended. I’m sarcastic and it often gets me into trouble. Ask my mom. The hashtags are meant to be read the way they sound in my head……………with a slight question in your tone.
I love Pinterest! I really do. From a personal standpoint, I’ve found a great many new blogs and have been able to better organize the ideas I’ve found online that are inspiring to me. From a blogging business standpoint, Pinterest is my #2 referrer. I know there are lots of people here that found my little blog because of Pinterest, and for that I’m really grateful.
I guess what’s slightly bothersome is that at the end of the day, in real life what you hear people say all the time is ………I got this recipe from Pinterest, I found this tutorial or craft or ideaonPinterest……..I got all these party ideas for my kid’s birthday from Pinterest………….when in actuality the idea or the recipe was pinned from some place on the Internet that almost forever goes unnoticed and is rarely acknowledged.
Pinterest doesn’t actually create anything………it doesn’t have any ideas………..it has never written a tutorial, photographed and edited photos……..it never picked up a paint brush or a hammer………..it doesn’t do anything……..it doesn’t plan anything or write anything. It’s basically an online 3-ring binder made to gather up and organize the ideas you find on the Internet. And it’s awesome and that’s why it’s become a household name……….but it’s also a little bit sad that the names of those creators, bakers, crafters, artists, photographers, builders, stylists from where the ideas came from are never remembered.
So, when someone asks me if I got the idea from Pinterest……..it’s not offensive, but it’s slightly bothersome……….not because they think I copied something………I’ve copied a great number of ideas I’ve found via blogs………….that is what ideas and blogging is all about……….sharing ideas……..so that they can be recreated and enjoyed.
It’s bothersome because the ideas don’t come from Pinterest…….because Pinterest doesn’t have any ideas to give.
We all say it – it’s just become part of our every day vernacular now – “I got this from Pinterest”……but none of us actually get anything from it.
I’m not a confrontational person. I don’t do controversy. I’m just sarcastic………..because sarcasm is funny to me, and I’m sorry if you don’t get me…….and it’s totally okay if you don’t…….sarcasm doesn’t work for everyone.
Yesterday when my hub texted me to tell me it was 85 degrees where he was, I texted him “i hate you”……because that’s who I am…..and because it was 40 degrees here.
This morning that question…..did you get this idea from Pinterest?………..just struck me as funny…….especially because it was asked about one of my own projects. And it is very flattering …………but it’s also kind of sad and funny too………isn’t it?
When I posted that pic and comment I was just making a joke about how Pinterest gets all the credit for everything these days…………which is exactly why those t-shirts pictured above are selling like hot cakes. And no- this isn’t a sponsored post- I won’t be getting any credit for t-shirt sales. 😉
Let’s discuss……….there are no right or wrong opinions……..we’re all entitled to our own.
*Update – I’ve since deleted the instagram photo that sparked this controversy because it’s way more drama than anyone needs in their life.
I'm a follower from Finland (ALL the way from Finland!) and here a major problem is crediting, when people and bloggers use Pinterest. They borrow pictures and source link is Pinterest. That's really not the proper way… But yeah, also here it's so common for people to say that Pinterest gave them this-or-that idea. Personally, I don't like it all. You should always give credit to the original source.
I'm a blogger with blogging commitment issues. I LOVE Pinterest and I love reading blogs, for inspiration, knowledge and entertainment. Sometimes I totally copy something someone else did, because I liked it so much. Sometimes I improve something I saw that someone else did. However, if anyone is going to promote pinning stuff on their blog then one has to accept that some people will never check out the source of what was pinned. It is what it is. I see the "pin it" on SOOOO many blogs, nearly all of them. And then there's the giveaways that ask you to follow 20-30 people for "extra entries" (which I never do because I don't want to clog up my Pinterest with stuff I don't want to see). As long as bloggers are participating, even promoting Pinterest, they can't really gripe about it. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. 😉 Have a great weekend!
I love Pinterest and I pin ALL the time.. I love to pin from the direct source. I get frustrated when I can not click through to the source. I hate when I am reading a blog with photos from other blogs that have no link back to the original source. I won't pin from them.
What about water marking all photos with: Created by…..your blog name. At least then users of Pinterest can google your blog if they want to see what you are all about…
Oh Carmel, I am sorry that all of those nasty people hurt your feelings. Keep being your beautiful self! I can totally see where you are coming from. I am a Pinterest addict, and I hate it when I can't find the original source. Don't let all of that get you down, Have a great weekend!
I love Pinterest and I totally understand your problem. I love to be able to see where stuff originally came from. If I put something on my blog I always try to link it back to the original source. I think that is mostly because I see stuff so much that I want to do my research on it and give credit where credit is do. Not saying that is what always happens but I do try. I am fairly new to all the blogging, instagram, pinterest, and twitter and totally don't understand alot of it. I still call my daughter, son or sister-in-law and ask them questions on how to do this stuff.
You keep being who you are and standing with your values. If people have issues with that then maybe those aren't the right people for you. I hope you have a great rest of the weekend.
Pinterest is the tool for sorting and finding the inspiration and shouldn't get all the credit for creating the content! I love Pinterest for the way it has compiled so much in easy to find ways but it sucks to see stuff not sourced correctly or giving the credit to the people who sparked the creativity in the first place. I get you 1005!
Thanks for all your comments here everyone! I think it's interesting how fast the notion that something came from Pinterest caught on…….when it's really just another vehicle to search for things – I see it as the google for creative ideas.
I 100% understand where you're coming from. As a blogger with things on pinterest, I'd like to get credit from what I put out there. But then again when I have a pinterest board with 250 recipes and I like to try them regularly, I can't always recall which website/blog I got them from so I default to "getting it from pinterest". A work in progress I say.
I have to laugh at this one Carmel. I have been doing many of the things seen on the up and coming, popular blogs, pinterest and the like for YEARS!!! I just didn't have instagram, pinterest, my blog, to document them. Now, when I post those said ideas, organizational tips, etc….I am seen as copying??? REALLY??? There is not a day that goes by that I don't come across a post or something on IG or pinterest that I couldn't say…hey, I did that years ago! However, like the old saying goes…copying is the best form of flattery. I just take it all in stride.
So true!
Great point Aileen with all the social media images we see in a day it's hard to remember where we saw them.
wow is this ever true.I see things that Carol Duval and some of the others of that era ie Aleene have done and is being recycled now and wonder what those grand ladies of craftdom are thinking about all of this.
So well said. As a blogger, it can definitely hurt my feelings when people enter my house and the first thing they say is 'oh you must be on pinterest'! It makes me feel like all my hard work and original ideas are worth nothing because I'm suddenly just a copycat. I work hard to come up with original projects and it's somewhat deflating when pinterest gets all the credit :/ Thank you for the well-thought out response to it 🙂
I'm seriously considering changing my blog name for this reason alone, lol. Not all of my ideas are inspired by what I see on Pinterest so maybe that's why I'm not as "popular" or people don't take me serious because they probably think everything I do is copied from Pinterest. Grrr..
Just found your blog- Hi! I think that some people just sit around waiting for stuff to get all up in arms over..I see it on facebook all the time. I like Pinterest, but when I pin a pin I always click over to it's origin. I find so much cool stuff out there by actually digging a little deeper than the "snapshot" of someone's work.
Hi Terri! You're so right – it does seem like that – I don't take social media all that seriously and like to just post funny, light hearted stuff. I think the whole thing got really misunderstood as I was simply poking fun at how everything under the sun seems to "come from Pinterest" these days.
Yes – there's so much that came before Pinterest even existed!
Thank you so much Nicki!
Well said Carmel! So very, very true, and such a great way of putting it all into context!
Don't let the turkeys get you down. 😉
Jenny
Hi Carmel. Been following you for quite awhile. Perhaps you will have to be like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory and announce your sarcasm? #sarcasm LOL!!!!
I saw the drama unfold this morning and I knew it was a ticking time bomb… So sorry that happened. I had to laugh because I recall getting a text from a church friend saying she found this great idea on pinterest and she clicked over and it was from me! Most of my friends mention discovering ideas through Pinterest, but don't credit the idea to Pinterest… They'll mention the website, blog, etc. They get it. As a blogger, Pinterest has been great for sending people to my little ole blog and I know I've discovered new blogs through Pinterest that I otherwise would not have ever seen. I think, as with any social media, you have to weigh the benefit versus the cost.
This reminds me of in the 80's over hearing a very un-crafty lady say about me "she just probably gets all her ideas from magazines." LOL
I love all your Instagram posts! I am with you though hate controversy and avoid drama. You handled this great. Be nice or leave right?
wow, I missed the drama. hang in there!
I've only recently begun following your blog and love it. I don't think you have to defend yourself at all. Sarcastic or not, it's true. Whenever I come up with something unique or a new decorating idea someone asks me the same thing "did you find that on Pinterest." I bet a lot of people don't even know that Pinterest is really just a search engine. I have found so many wonderful blogs through Pinterest but now it seems that it has evolved into a search engine for ecommerce. Who cares what people say, I can't even understand why they would even care. I say to them #getalife…lol!
Ha! Yes, I just may have to. 😉
Thanks Debbie! I use Pinterest all the time – it's a great place to search for inspiration – I just don't like to give it credit for the ideas I find through it. Although, I don't think anyone means any harm when they say – did you get this idea from Pinterest- though I do think it's interesting how fast that phrase became so commonplace.
I totally get you on the sarcasm. I'm the same way, and when I post something on social media that is meant to be sarcastic, I often wonder if people will get the joke, be offended, or think I'm a lame-o.
Regarding Pinterest, it's a double-edged sword, right? Bloggers get traffic from it and we get inspired, but we don't always get the credit for our own ideas that live out there. One of my biggest frustrations is bloggers who don't credit photo sources and/or credit them to Pinterest. Some of my posts take me hours because I have found an inspirational photo on a blog or on Pinterest but I can't figure out where it originally came from because someone along the way didn't bother to tag it. I will do a Google image search and try a million other things before I fall back to "source unknown." And I will NEVER list a source as Pinterest. Like you said, it's merely a search and organizing tool … not an originator of content.
Glad you posted about this. It's a topic that may make people uncomfortable, but it needs to be out there.
Before Pinterest, did people really say "Oh, I got that idea from "our fifth house" or did they say I saw it on the web"? If an idea is in a magazine, do people cite the true designer or the magazine? This doesn't strike me as a new problem. Pinterest is huge, many people have heard of and use it. I'd be glad my ideas are being seen by so many and for the people who do start following and crediting my ork.
Wow! That's kind of ridiculous that people would have gotten bent out of shape about your Instagram post to the point you felt like you had to remove it… It was a totally legitimate and real feeling which is you. I happen to totally get sarcasm, it's my friend too 😉 keep it real girl!
I'm absolutely thrilled that because of Pinterest my ideas from my little blog get more views than they ever would without Pinterest. I'm definitely not saying that Pinterest is a problem, it has enabled us to search for things and be inspired by stuff we probably never would have seen without it. As I said in the post – I love Pinterest and use it all the time to search for things and to catalog what inspires me. I was simply commenting on the phenomenon that it has become. Before it, I'm sure people didn't always know the exact source. But do people ever say I got this idea from google? I just find it funny that it's become so huge that even husbands will say stuff like – thanks to Pinterest I'm repainting my kid's bathroom this weekend – on Facebook and stuff like that – but before Pinterest, whatever it was that inspired a project in your home wasn't just one thing.
I've been asked that question about so many things since Pinterest became so huge; but never about something that was actually my own thing/project – so I guess it just struck me as funny when it came up yesterday.
I get a lot of cute ideas from your blog. This one, which I have not copied, is one of my favorites. It makes me smile everytime I see it. I did however use your idea about all of the houses you have lived in and loved the stark black and white against that awesome red wall. Mine is similar and hung in our living room, sans the red wall, where I get a ton of compliments on it and I always say, I got the idea from this amazing blogger. Her home is gorgeous! Instagram whatever you want. They are your pictures of your home. You should be proud of it.
I found my wife on Pinterest.
You have bravely raised on important point of discussion. All us creative sorts want to get credit for our work. It is an insult to me to assume that I got the idea from pinterest, It says to me (depending on who says it) that I couldn't have thought of it on my own. On the flip side, it is important to me to give credit to others, too.
Love pinterest (too much) but the credit thing is an issue. I do watermark my etsy shop photos to be of some help. And, I know that sometimes I might be too sensitive-I'm a work in progress-like most of us.
Love your blog, by the way!
Mary my username is Anna Starner
Carmel, this post was so well written! I hate it when I can't find the original source of a pin, and if I straight-up copy a project someone has done, or am heavily inspired by a project, you had better believe that I credit the original source (and I try to reach out to them as well to let them know they inspired me). As a blogger I know how hard it is to carve out your own space on the internet and create your own brand, so when credit isn't given when it's due, it stinks!
Great, thanks, I'll see you there! 🙂
I love Pinterest. But I find it frustrating when I cannot find the source. Because where do you go if you have questions or want to see more. That is why I usually print things out and write down the sources or sign up for the blogs because I want more than just the picture. I want to know where to buy it or how to make it which is not always there and there is no place for questions of the original creator or photographer or whatever.
Sucks you had to delete the pic..I wouldn't have thought the comment to be "controversial" at all! But I also don't agree that it's bothersome or sad when people to give the credit to "Pinterest". It's just where you "see" something so that's how I look at it. I "saw" it on Pinterest doesn't mean I think it was Pinterest's idea. Know what I mean?
You'll have to move over here to England, Carmel. Sarcasm is our speciality! While you're here, feel free to do my house up. I'll introduce you to the Queen as payment 😉
The very fact that you have to post an entire blog entry because some people just don't "get it" is ridiculous! Sarcasm might as well be the U.S.'s unofficial second "language." Don't worry with the haters, you keep doing you because there are plenty of us out there who can appreciate (and enjoy) the sarcasm!!
This is funny, because someone I work with recently became my Facebook friend, and she told me last week how glad she is that we became fb friends because she thinks my house is really cute. I appreciate that so much. She asked me 'are you really into Pinterest?' and, yes, I am on Pinterest and love seeing ideas…but I also have a lot of my own that don't come from there. One of my neighbors recently said that it's almost taking away some people's creativity. It's crazy that you had to take that picture down. For the record, I found it amusing. 😉
I saw this unfold and a specific comment I saw from you struck a nerve with me. It said something along the lines of "me and my friends are pinterest!" One problem with the internet and blog followers is that sarcasm is not portrayed via text and people don't know you personally (to know that you are a sarcastic person and meant it to be "funny"). That comment combined with a few others I saw from you came across as uppity more than anything else, and it sounded like you were saying "I invented Pinterest and everything on there is MY idea" rather than simply being annoyed about not getting credit.
Having said that, I can remember when I was a kid and I used to visit my grandma – she had a magnetic board in her foyer and would spell out cute messages with magnets for her entering guest. Same concept as what you came up with here except she was doing it 30 years ago. It's really hard to say that we "came up with something on our own" or that we are "owed" credit for an idea when inevitably, the same thing or something strikingly similar has been done before by someone else. I know it's being a bit pedantic but it's really hard to actually claim any idea as "ours" (even if we aren't copying something we've seen). That's why patents were invented, after all!
Having said all that (sorry for the novel), I do enjoy your blog and wouldn't stop reading over something so petty!
You are absolutely right – people don't know me personally, especially on social media outlets – and that's something I definitely need to remember going forward because anyone that does know me would know that the whole, thing including my commentary back, was all said jokingly – was all said with a sarcastic comical tone – because that's who I am. That specific comment you cited was directed back to someone that would know it was a joke, so I didn't feel I needed to clarify that to her – and those aren't even my words – it's a joke that came from some ecards that has been pinned like a million times…….http://www.someecards.com/usercards/nsviewcard/MjAxMy0xZTcxZDBkZGUyNTgwZTg2……no one takes those cards seriously because they're all sarcastic and hilarious – at least I think they are. Anyone that knows me knows I don't actually think that. Sorry it struck a nerve with you; it wasn't meant to be taken seriously.
And you are so right about our grandparents……and really all of those who came long before us……all ideas get recycled and reinvented in different ways…..truly nothing is new….which is why it's so comical to me that everything is now because of or from Pinterest……even the stuff your grandma was doing 50 years ago.
I'm not annoyed about getting credit……….I just find the Pinterest phenomenon interesting and funny. Even the other day when I finally had a professional stylist fix the bangs I randomly decided to cut myself, she literally said to me," Oh I see someone's been spending too much time scrolling through hair styles on Pinterest." ………Pinterest even gets the credit for our dumb-not-well-thought-out random ideas……to me that's funny…….maybe I should instagram that. 😉
I love you!
Personally… I don't pin anything if it doesn't link back to the source. I want to give credit where credit is due, but I also don't like going back to a pin, clicking it and being taken to just a picture, or some place completely different. People need to be thoughtful about pinning stuff… not just pinning for the sake of pinning.
But… I'm constantly reading blogs that require readers to follow them on Pinterest in order to enter a giveaway, or they are discussing their most popular pins, their analytics, or doing a weekly feature on what they've seen on Pinterest. My personal feeling is this: a blogger can't expect to promote Pinterest when it suits them, and then complain about it when something offends them. Either embrace the medium and accept it's shortcomings, or don't use it.
Whole-heartedly agree. I, like you, love and use Pinterest, but wish people would take a moment to remember the name of the website their inspiration came from. Thanks for being a voice to my thoughts.
I actually found your blog through an item on Pinterest… I think…??? Anyway, I love your blog, love your home & ideas, think you are awesome. I get you, I get the sarcasm…and I think it's funny. #keepitup
I think one of the problems with making it "big" in the blogging world is that, in a sense, you do become a bit of a celebrity. To an extent (unless you just truly don't care at all about offending people or having your comments taken the wrong way or causing a huge controversy), you do kind of have to tailor what you say. In public venues like Twitter or Instagram or whatever, you might be followed by several thousand people, so everything you say (even if it's an inside joke directed at one person who knows you personally) is seen by THOUSANDS of others (who can take it a variety of different ways). I'm pretty open-minded so even though a few comments made me cringe a little bit, I always try to give the person the benefit of the doubt and assume the best – which is why I'm still here reading! 🙂
I never thought about Pinterest that way. But yes, The original pin came from someone not pinterest. I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest. I love the ideas/suggestions it gives me just like magazines and TV shows do but sometimes I see something and I don't want to do it because everyone will recognize it as something from Pinterest.. not too original or I will see something and think totally got it from pinterest. I took your post as I came up with that! Original idea here not inspired from pinterest. I am usually late to see the drama in something and didn't think anything of it. I thought it was probably an awkward moment.
Since my blog isn't even a map dot in the world of blogging I figured everyone would know it wasn't said seriously. I never in a million years would have thought that anyone would think I was being serious. What kind of person would really say something like that?! I'll definitely be more mindful going forward. I'd never want to offend anyone or come across as some kind of jerky person – live and learn. Thanks for not assuming I'm an jerk. #imsarcastic #notjerky
I always read your posts, but rarely coment about them. Today I do because I totally understand you, because Im a sarcastic person too. So many times that lead me into trouble, because meaning is completelly get out of context. When I was reading your post, I was thinking: "I wish I was asking if my projects was ideas from pinterest, so I would answer: 'Yeah, that project come from pinterest after I get and idea, put my hand on it, put a post into my blog, and then pinning it and after that everybody saw it'". But that would't be polite. So… in the real life I use to smile after that awkward moments… sometimes, because thinking deeplly rght now Im a sarcastic… and jerky. 😉 Greetings from Mexico City.
Sarcasm is my other language (wingardium leviosa doesn't count) so I didn't interpret your IG any other way! But of course things in social media escalate quickly. I think you handled it with more grace than I could have. #sarcasmsoulsisters
Hi. New follower from the UK. I've recently set up a blog and also browse through Pinterest. Someone re-pinned a beautiful Spanish photo (that my husband took on holiday) the other day and he felt really proud that someone thought it good enough! And it will certainly make me think more about the source of the pin. I'm new to the blogging world so always looking for ideas and help to get it noticed but would never claim anything from Pinterest as my own unless it was! Loving your blog
I agree with Terri B that digging a little deeper on Pinterest is what drives me and I've found awesome things from digging. Thanks. Jill
I'm a follower from Finland (ALL the way from Finland!) and here a major problem is crediting, when people and bloggers use Pinterest. They borrow pictures and source link is Pinterest. That's really not the proper way… But yeah, also here it's so common for people to say that Pinterest gave them this-or-that idea. Personally, I don't like it all. You should always give credit to the original source.