WITH more than 901 million users, Facebook is the unquestionable king of the social networking world.
It is going public soon, and has an estimated value of some $100 billion! Some think Facebook has won the social networking wars and is going to dominate for some time to come.
But Pinterest is making some noise, to the tune of 12 million users and growing with a bullet.
Personally I don't really get Pinterest yet, actually it is not so much that I don't "get" it I just don't "use" it.
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard, where you post things that interest you, or you want, or ideas.
In my mind it is our fridge door, where photos and memos and coupons are stuck. See the thing is, if it were me doing the sticking on the fridge door, it would remain static for all time. And thus Pinterest, for me, has been a non starter.
I am not alone in the Y chromosome enhanced world. It turns out that nearly 70 per cent of Pinterest users are female. Facebook boasts 60 per cent male users, not quite as stark a discrepancy.
Pinterest is also for more mature users, apparently, while youngins between the ages of 18 and 25 make up 30 per cent of Facebook users, only six per cent of
Pinterest users are that young, The delta between the two widens as the age group increases with more Pinterest users and fewer Facebook users the older you get.
What does this say about Pinterest, the users or me? For me I think it quite rightly points out how hip, cool and connected I am. It also speaks to the nature of the content being shared.
Overall, I believe Pinterest is more about ideas and resources, and Facebook is more about thoughts and feelings. I know that flies in the face of the fact that Facebook is male dominated, and thoughts and feelings are for the most part something to be ignored. But anyone browsing Pinterest will see how useful it is for clustering ideas together, providing a sense of order that is missing from Facebook.
One thing that does interest me is how Pinterest seems to be becoming a bit of a marketplace, where some people are making real money; I like that idea! So I have decided to take the plunge and join the old fogies on Pinterest, but I had better figure out a way to line my pocketbook, or it may be a short sojourn.
Don Power of Sprout Social has written a pretty nice overview on how to get started on Pinterest, should you be so inclined: http: // sproutsocial.com.
Be forewarned however, you have to join a waiting list to join Pinterest, enrolment is not automatic. It does not take too long to receive your invite once you apply, but it is also not instantaneous as it is with most other sites. Overall, Pinterest is going to be a factor, at only around 10 per cent of the size of Facebook it does give one pause, when considering the future of social networking.
Facebook is king today, but tomorrow is another day, and Pinterest's time may come.
Steve Dotto is host of Dotto Tech, 6 p.m. Wednesdays on AM650. E-mail your questions and comments to questions@dottotech.com. Visit him online at www.dottotech.com.
THE content sharing service called Pinterest is a virtual pinboard that allows user to collect ideas and resources.
