Remember the good old days when you’d find a really cool website with really cool photos? You’d bookmark it and go back and visit it again. Maybe email your friends the link. If you were really fabulously geeky you’d add it to your web site’s links or *gasp* blog it. Today you might facebook it or tweet it.
Wow. Those were the wild and wooly days.
Now it’s a new world. Now when I see a blip in traffic here and look to see where it’s coming from I find a link to Pinterest and lo and behold links to a handful of my images. Pinned like stiff butterflies to someone’s board. I mean someone’s online pinboard.
Dear Pinterest folks. Folks with blogs and websites like to know that you visited, that you enjoyed what they wrote, their work. So if you’re visiting, would you please stop and say hello? and then how about sharing the URL rather than pinning me like some freaking bug?
Thank you.
Hello, Mary Beth. My name is Sharon, and I am probably the one that caused the blip in traffic, as I did pin two of your quilts over the weekend. I sincerely apologize for offending you. I just discovered you and your work over the weekend, via a post you made to the SAQA yahoo group. I absolutely loved and was completely inspired by your work. I didn’t leave a comment for two reasons – (1) I’m relatively new at art quilting and when I find someone whose work I greatly admire, I am a little intimidated and shy of coming off like a wacko groupie, or worse a stalker of some sort. I should have at least said hello.
Reason 2 – I’m not that familiar with WordPress, and just now, took several minutes to figure out where the “comments” were supposed to go – oh – the link is where it says “no comments!” But my stomach was churning and hands shaking to realize I’d offended someone who I’d greatly admired, and it probably was pretty obvious otherwise.
As far as I can tell, I only pinned two of your quilts. One referenced your first name, and only last name initial, as I was not comfortable putting up something that I might have learned on the private list, but was not public. Later I noted your full name is on your blog so I thought it best to give the full name, and credit on the other pin.
Unfortunately, I can’t control what other pinners do, and if someone repinned my pin, and removed the credit, or they found your website via my pin, and posted pins of their own.
As you say, Pinterest is the latest evolution of internet interaction – or lack of interaction. And it’s still evolving as is the etiquette surrounding it. They have changed the way it works now, so that the original source is usually referenced, not just the previous pinner. I’ve read some bloggers that hate it, and others that appreciate the exposure. I understand both points of view. I never knowingly pin from anyone who prefers not to be, and I always, if I know give credit to the artist. To the extent that if I re-pin something that ISN’T credited, I track back to the source and reference it, if I can find it.
At any rate my sincere apologies for upsetting or angering you, it was the last thing I intended.
This topic has come up in various lists I’m on, so I wasn’t unaware of the debate. It does bother me that people re-pin things and never see the original context.
You have three images of mine – one apparently picked up from a comment I made on Robert Genn’s website, one from a google link that eventually references back to my site and then the one of the seasonal palette quilt which is listed as by “Mary Beth F”.
Over the years I’ve been a big promoter of the idea that everything on the web is public and you shouldn’t put it out there if it’s not to be seen. I just don’t much like the idea of removing images from their source into a place where they can be shared outside the originating web site.
I’m am surprised at my reaction and will be pondering more about what to do going forward – perhaps inserting my images into a frame with name and title info or at the least watermarking them.
I’ve deleted the three items from Pinterest. Many things about the internet bring up complicated issues with no clear right or wrong, but I understand how you feel about it and want to respect your wishes. Again, I apologize for upsetting you.
Sharon, I was not offended or upset with you personally and welcome visitors to my pages. I’m always glad when people enjoy my quilts and posts here. This new development in web surfing will bear some watching I guess.