Are You Pinning Your Own Stuff to Pinterest? Shameless Promotion Allowed!
This is the age of self-promotion, self-marketing and braggadocio. Whether this began with the ME Generation or the X or Y Generation, what matters is only those with a ready platform are able to afford the luxury of fine PR machines. For the average social media user, shameless self-aggrandizement is the only way to get out there and "show what you've got." But with the flurry and fantasy of picture pinning on Pinterest, their advice was not to post your own stuff.
Well, what then could we post?
Pinterest had to do an about face, especially as more and more techies and legal eagles began to read the fine print of its service use agreements and policies. They discovered that Pinterest, itself, was protected from litigation via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, its users could be sued if they pinned photos without a license.
Out goes the old and welcome to the new Pinterest.
On his blog last week, founder Ben Silberman announced the revised terms of service and the tweaked acceptable use and privacy policies. There has been much discussion about individual artists having their material and content taken without being given attribution. Now, on the one hand, this is flattering. On the other, it's infringement and Pinterest made it sooooo tempting. And since few read the fine print, folks were pinning like mad not know the blame for their theft was knocking on their door alone.
So far artists who are a savvy and potentially easy going and easily flattered lot were happy that their material was gaining a following, though in a number of instances some were annoyed that their work was not attributed. If this continued past a year, they might have gone after the licentious user who indiscriminately, wantonly and arrogantly passed work off as his or her own. But for the hapless user who wanted to self-promote and then couldn't and used others stuff and then shouldn't have because it was stolen...what the XXXk? On top of that, poor starving artist. He couldn't go after Pinterest, who was protected and making a bundle. What was he going to do? Go after the 20-year-old college kid who had student loans up to his or her armpits and was working in the financial aide program?
Well, the Palo Alto, California based company is young enough and has faced no litigation to date. Hoping there will be no issues in the future, the legal eagles have flown down with the dictum from on high. Now users can be as shameless and "in your face" as they like with their own stuff. But they must stay away from anyone else's, especially if they do not have a license or permission to use the content.
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