Pinterest Idea

Pinterest site can feel like social media and then it works like a drug. It seems like something you need, but it can backfire because you get stuck in an endless cycle of scrolling through countless images. Many links lead to sites that want to sell you something or make money off the images. Still, it’s full of shiny, eye-catching pictures. Some of them inspire me, but occasionally I come across something disturbing. People usually don’t interact or chat there, which I prefer because I’m socially anxious. Over the years, I’ve saved hundreds of others' images into Pinterest boards. I have four followers I respect, and I follow them back. I didn't post my own images because I’m mainly a follower on the platform. I follow ten people for every one who follows me. I think it should be a balanced ratio before I start sharing my work.

This writer enjoys gathering beautiful images, even if many aren’t really beautiful but are interesting or strange, and I often feel inspiration thanks to the artists behind them. I do have some of my own doodles saved on Pinterest, but I don’t share them publicly. I like that you don’t have to interact or socialize if you don’t want to, which is a big plus for me. We mainly just "like" other people’s links or posts, and we can also save their images to our own collections on the site.

A lot of what I’ve read about Pinterest criticizes it as being harmful to original artists because their work can be easily copied or buried, which makes me sad. Even some successful artists I know no longer post there. But as a place to enjoy an endless maze of images, it’s worthwhile. You can also find links to new products like crochet bags or vintage jewelry. It can be a little frustrating when you see an interesting image but find out it there's no crediting information to the image. There’s probably another site that’s more popular for showcasing original work, but I don’t usually publish on major social media platforms. I find Pinterest to be better than browsing listings on Etsy, at least from my experience, because you often see more unusual content on Pinterest. The AI recommendations on Pinterest are okay, but I usually don’t save what they suggest for me, and there’s no way to filter out AI-generated work if you don’t want to see it.

The best way I’ve found to use Pinterest is for collecting ideas and inspiration for Zentangle doodles, which help me get creative. If someone is good at doodling in an organic or mechanical way, they can even train the Pinterest AI to generate those types of patterns based on their links they choose. I’m still thinking about whether I want to share my doodles publicly. Right now, I think it might be a good idea because my images are well-made and already published on a free website called scri.ch, which offers some a copy-left license. Since my work has a certain style, it might be interesting for others to see. I’m curious what will happen if I decide to make my collection accessible on Pinterest.

Overall, Pinterest isn’t very useful for taking a break from endless image consumption, but it’s a bountiful source of ideas. I can start with a doodle pattern I find there, then draw on paper or on the scri.ch site. Then I can pulblish the links to my doodles on Pinterest.. It’s like a hall of mirrors — a never-ending loop of images and ideas.

This author posted this piece on Write.as