Ever wonder what people
really like? Well you can see the things that interest me just by looking on my
Pinterest boards. The one media example that best illustrates lifestyle/ niche
media is in fact Pinterest. On the Pinterest page for Careers it says, “We put
pinner first. We start by asking, ‘Will this product make pinners’ lives
better?’ We know that if our products don’t work for pinners, they don’t work
for us” (Pinterest). Pinterest is all about your lifestyle, your interests and
your hobbies. You can choose what or who you want to follow and what you want
to like or pin onto your different boards. This is a great way to share pins
with a group of people with similar interests. Pinterest also has their own blog
directly on their page, where a member of the team can post an interview or the
latest trend. Is there anything Pinterest does not have?
Pinterest combines girl power and flavor,
which can be illustrated through all the different artistic ways. Pinterest’s
audience is geared towards white high-income women between the ages of 18 and
34. Social Media has become less gender oriented over the years, but I think
Pinterest put us back a few steps at the moment. “These two categories- race as
a ‘flava’ and girl power- function together in the current media environment to
produce categories of identity that are defined by ambiguity rather than
specificity, ambivalence rather than political certainty. These mediated forms
of race and gender are produced within the specific context of late industrial
capitalism in the US, a moment that has been characterized in racial terms as a
multicultural or post-race society and in gendered terms as a post-feminist
culture” (Banet-Weiser, 2). Not only do
girls conquer Pinterest, but they can get all of their creative capabilities
out there. Pinterest is a post-feminist culture at this exact moment. Yes, the
site is great for females, but what about the males. The team is made up of 70
males and 30 females. I was surprised when I saw this because the majority of
people working behind the scene are males, but the people on the other end are
all females. Just look at the title that is written in cursives. This is not
very masculine or appealing to men. Secondly, look at your home page, where
there is fashion, cooking and home décor everywhere. Men do not want to look at
this. Pinterest is doing a poor job at drawing in men for their site, but as
time goes by they could build up their male audience. They can easily do this
by putting cars and sports on the page, but who knows maybe the creator’s main
intention is to only appeal to women.
The savvy thing about Pinterest is that it can connect you to any form of website or other social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, and email. Many magazine publishers are jumping on the bandwagon and getting their magazines out their by utilizing Pinterest. It is so simple that you can click directly on the link and the magazine article relating to your search will be right there in front of you. “Ben Bloom, senior digital strategist at Wunderman, said that the browsing behavior on Pinterest resembles and "digitally replaces" the way people look through a magazine” (Dello). If Pinterest is replacing people’s interest in magazines then it is the smartest decision for magazines to sneakily get back the interest of the public through using its biggest competition. The decision of magazines to go onto Pinterest is not only smart, but also strategic. Some of the magazines that have caught onto the trend are Real Simple, Better Homes and Gardens, Glamour, and Self. Brands such as General Electric, known as GE have put their products on Pinterest, which are popular among home décor boards. According to GE, Pinterest has even led to more followers on Twitter because people want to know about their products and also give the company feedback. Whole Foods and Panera are also uses the site to promote their healthy foods.
ReplyDeleteThere is always room for improvement with any form of social media. I think that television shows could also utilize this site. A TV show can have their own board for the characters on the show. A Network could even do connect with their fans this way and have a different board for every show. They could even incorporate a buy it button directly on the site. Everyone could utilize Pinterest to boost their sales and increase their audience. Although Pinterest has come so far they have a wide range of ways in which they could expand. There are other markets out there that are not even being touched…..or better yet pinned!
Works Cited
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
DELO, COTTON. "Pinterest." Advertising Age 83.9 (2012): 32. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
Emerson, Melinda F. "Learning Social Media Tricks From the Big Boys." The New York Times. 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
http://about.pinterest.com/careers/
"Pew Research Points Out Different (Social) Strokes For Different Folks." Advertising Age 84.7 (2013): 5. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 28 Feb. 2013.
I was extremely interested to read this blog regarding Pinterest. This social media website has definitely taken over a good portion of my day. The style and format of the site draws in attention for their demographic in the “girly” arrangement. I think that it is this organization of the site which is why Pinterest’s demographic is women ages 18-34. As stated in Magazine Media Readers are Social, “For the most part, those 18–34 personally own a digital device and access multiple social platforms. They have a healthy appetite for media and believe that technology has improved the experience of accessing media” (The Association of Magazine Media). This quote and statistics can be very dangerous for magazine publications. The media convergence of social media and magazines need to happen quickly or else magazines may start their decline of existence. My generation appears to be the one in which we started that integration of social media and magazines. We still want to hold that magazine in our hand, all the while tweeting about it. However, the generation who is younger right now may not feel that way when they reach the age of the Pinterest demographic. When they reach 18 years old, they may not care about holding a magazine in their hand. While many magazines and newspapers have created apps and online editions, should they be taking a stronger measure to keep up with technology and social media? The information presented in Magazine Media Readers are Social clearly states that avid magazine readers are not only reading a particular magazine, but also follow that magazine on social media. For example, 69% of avid magazine readers follow a magazine on Twitter. 65% of avid magazine readers follow a magazine on Pinterest or re-pin content from a magazine (The Association of Magazine Media). I think that magazines are definitely adapting well to social media, however as aforementioned, should they take stronger measures to make sure they will not be overpowered by technology?
ReplyDeleteSomething I was shocked to read was that the Pinterest team is made up of 70 males and 30 females. As Sallyanne mentions, you would think by the appearance and reaction of society, that women behind the scenes would heavily dominate Pinterest. Sallyanne makes a very valid point by stating, “Just look at the title that is written in cursives. This is not very masculine or appealing to men. Secondly, look at your home page, where there is fashion, cooking and home décor everywhere. Men do not want to look at this. Pinterest is doing a poor job at drawing in men for their site, but as time goes by they could build up their male audience. They can easily do this by putting cars and sports on the page, but who knows maybe the creator’s main intention is to only appeal to women” (Allegretti). I think something that can be done to improve the magazine industry as well as appeal to more men would be for men’s magazines such as GQ or Esquire to be more prevalent on Pinterest and maybe getting more male followers.
I do not think that Pinterest will be going away any time soon as it encapsulates the “post-feminism” that Sarah Banet-Weiser discusses in her article “What’s Your Flava?” she states, “The consumer culture that Klein characterizes as ‘ironic consumption’ seems to evacuate politics from the landscape in one sense because of the intense focus on personal identity.” Pinterest is all about one’s personal identity and I think that is more medium’s start to take advantage of it, that it could be extremely beneficial.
Works Cited
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
"Magazine Readers are Social"
Pinterest is something that i do not have. I am a girl but i understand fully why many guys do not use it. Yes i enjoy a good meal or a nice recipe but i find that i have no time to cook it. I stay away from pinterest because although some girls have the time for crafts or wedding ideas I have never really had time to sit down and look at all those things. I always thought that face book and twitter were enough to describe your personality. There are so many new things that keep coming along that everyone needs to have. I gave into Face book but I still haven’t given into twitter. I get that I am a media studies student and that I will probably have to give into that sooner than later but for now I am staying away from it. Media is such a huge influence on peoples lives that they use it for everything. So I know if I am watching a show I better not go on face book and from what I hear twitter because my show will be ruined. I am not a fan but i can understand why so many girls like it. They like to show everyone what they like and what they are looking at. Like it says in "magazine readers are social" "i believe technology has improved the experience of accessing various media." This technology has allowed people to find all kinds of things that they love. This way they can use that for themselves and for other people. No matter what it is girls like to show off things they can do. I was also shocked to see that the males are the ones behind this. Who would have thought they would find something that girls like. What is more strange to see is that the males are the ones who created it but the females are the ones who are dominating it. In Sarah Banet-Weiser discusses in her article “What’s Your Flava?” she states, “The consumer culture that Klein characterizes as ‘ironic consumption’ seems to evacuate politics from the landscape in one sense because of the intense focus on personal identity.” This just goes to show you that pinterest is not going anywhere. Girls love to show off who they are and this is a great way to help them do so. Personalities come alive and girls love this.
ReplyDeleteBanet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
"Magazine Readers are Social"
Pinterest allows users to virtually pin images and videos to a bulletin board that shares their interest with their followers. Users can repin or like from others boards. Pinterest allows users to browse for inspiration. Users can get ideas for home décor, nails, hair, recipes, fashion, exercise, DIY crafts, etc. Retailers even have boards to promote their products. The pinners can click on the image and be redirected to the site where the product can be purchased. Also, retailers are starting to install Pinterest buttons on their sites, so that the products can be pinned and shared.
ReplyDeleteI intern for a pop culture news website called global grind. I do the social media for the site and Pinterest is one of my responsibilities. Global Grind’s Pinterest reflects our website, which mostly relates to celebrities. We create pins that would interest our followers and drive traffic to our site. For example, one of the boards is called “Clothes to Love” and this board has pins of products that our site has written about. The pin includes a description of the article so that users will click on the image and read the article. Pinterest is very convenient compared to Tumblr. When using Tumblr I have to upload an image and post the title, but on Pinterest I paste the link and Pinterest finds the image that I need.
Pinterest is a rapidly growing site of over 104 millions visits. The majority of the visitors are young women. I feel as if Pinterest tries to cater to both genders, but the women users have taken over. The article 4 Reasons Pinterest Wins with Women (And Facebook Loses) states “Women are almost completely responsible for Pinterest’s success—according to Inside Network’s AppData. In fact, 97 percent of the site’s users are women.” The layout is simple, yet the title is in a “girly” script, which is probably unwelcoming to men. What’s your Flava? discusses Robert Goldman’s idea of commodity feminism and I feel that’s how Pinterest is so popular. Women are a commodity and Pinterest caters to the interest of women. Women are known to be impressionable and are likely to buy something through Pinterest.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
Pitts, Melissa. “4 Reasons Pinterest Wins with Women (And Facebook Loses)”. Forbes. 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 3 Mar. 2013.
Sallyanne has brought up a great point of how the social media website Pinterest is starting to shape our lifestyle. As talked about in class, it seems that there is a general interest for this site that started only three years ago. This is a creative way for people to post their interests, find the latest cocktail recipe, or learn a way to re-do a bedroom. Although I am not personally ‘addicted’ to this way of social networking yet, I do occasionally view posts from friends that are submitted through other social media sites. There seems to be an option for posts of all sorts to get tagged to our own media pages and Pinterest is following in the footsteps of its ‘older siblings’ like Facebook and Twitter. Sallyanne even brings this point up when she says, “The savvy thing about Pinterest is that it can connect you to any form of website or other social media platform, such as Facebook, Twitter, and email.” (Allegretti)
ReplyDeleteOne of the main discussions and issues this new site is dealing with is the fact that, “Pinterest has more than twice as many female users as male users.”(The Association of Magazine Media, 10) But, we have seen changes throughout the years with other social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Facebook used to be geared more towards college-aged students when it first started, and now almost anyone can create a page. While Pinterest is focusing on its female users, Facebook was focusing on its age appropriate demographic. We have seen the changes that have been made, and I will agree with Sallyanne that Pinterest needs to generalize its homepage to draw the men into becoming a avid user.
In a media cultured workplace, it is evident that every company has an unbiased staff selection when it comes to gender-role. Although as of today, many women are the prime users for Pinterest, this is not to say that all women are the center of media websites and there is room for the male population to ‘pin’ their likes. “There is, however, no lack of the image of diversity and gender within media culture; images of savvy; urban individuals and empowered girls function as lucrative commodities in the media marketplace.” (Banet-Weiser, 387) This quote is defying the odds of how people feel that it is unnecessary for men to be a part of this social media website. Just because women are the main users, does not mean that men will soon let Pinterest intrude on their every lifestyles because sooner or later they will be seeing advertisements and posts from this site almost everywhere, as we do with Facebook and Twitter.
I feel that Sallyanne brings up a great point when she states, “Pinterest is doing a poor job at drawing in men for their site, but as time goes by they could build up their male audience.” (Allegretti) This social networking site only launched three years ago in March 2010, which means that they have not had much time to expand their brand to get more users from both gender sides. As we have witnessed with the example of Facebook, it will take the creativity of the Pinterest employees to work together to make men adapt to this type of social media so that it can take over someday.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
"Magazine Media Readers Are Social." Magazine.org/socialresearch. The Association of Magazine Media, n.d. Web.
Over the past few years Pinterest has slowly become one the most talked about and popular social media sites on the internet and smart phone. Aside from Twitter and Facebook, Pinterest is a site for people to post pictures of things that interest them; food, clothes, cars, quotes, etc. Although Pinterest isn't quite as main stream as Twitter and Facebook, it has surely made an impression on the female mindsets. I was really interested to see what Sallyanne had to write with regards to Pinterest and gender because in one of my other communication classes this semester we had a huge discussion about why Pinterest was more targeted towards females and what the creators might be able to do in order to change that audience perception.
ReplyDelete“The 18-34 year old segment clearly represents highly connected users of social media. They heavily use social media to enhance their media experience and particularly place an importance on sharing magazine content.” (Magazine Media Readers are Social). This quote and statistic show how social media has become a huge part of not just television and movie entertainment but magazines as well. People now have the ability, especially through Pinterest, to post pictures and clips from magazines on a social media outlet. By giving people the ability to connect a picture from a magazine to a social media site, it allows for the magazine to begin to reach a wider audience and target market. For example, someone who is interested in food can post a link from Women’s Health or Healthy Living magazines and viewers of the picture can have a direct connection to the magazine’s website.
Following along with what Taylor and Sallyanne had referenced, I also was shocked to find out that the Pintrest team is made up of 70 males and 30 females. Just from this statistic, “Pinterest has more than twice the number of female users (31%) as male users (12%)” (Magazine Media Readers are Social), many would assume that the people behind this social site were all females. The categories that are on Pinterest tend to be what some users would call more “feminine”. These categories include home decorating, weddings, clothing, nails and jewelry, food, etc. However what most people who are not familiar with the site might not know that there are more “masculine” categories such as sports, cars, architecture, fitness, films, and more. Most men generally don’t use Pinterest because of the “stereotype” the website upholds. Many men that I have talked to are either embarrassed or afraid to go on Pinterest because they don’t know what their friends are going to say about them. Pinterest needs to try to definitely shy away from the femininity aspect.
I do think that with the ever changing themes of social media, eventually Pinterest will go away from the whole “feminine” theme and men will be more willing to join the site. From the article “What’s you Flava?”, Sarah Banet-Weiser stated, “Angela McRobbie, writing about how this works within post-feminism, argues that contemporary popular culture is effective in the ‘undoing of feminism’ precisely by appearing to participate in an inclusion of feminist ideologies”. Banet-Weiser tries to show that although there are still many feminist movements in our country, contemporary popular culture is beginning to move away from those “old-time” thoughts and beliefs. Maybe with time, the creators and behind the scenes team of Pinterest will be able to expand their market to a more gender equal media site.
Work Cited
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
"Magazine Media Readers Are Social."
I’ll make a confession – when Pinterest first became popular, I just didn’t get it! I couldn’t figure out how or why it was popular, or what I was supposed to use it for. Today, however, after learning the ropes, I can’t imagine what I would do without it. It’s a wealth of information about literally everything under the sun! In a way, someone can get a gage on all your goals and interests simply by looking at your pinboard – are you looking to lose weight? Get creative in the kitchen? Are you crafty? Are you wedding crazy? Pinterest has something for everyone, but in the Pinterest world, “everyone” really means women.
ReplyDeleteSallyanne talks about Pinterest doing a poor job in drawing men to their website, and while I mostly agree, I also have some disagreements. Yes, the home page is currently filled with weddings and sugary sweets and crafts, but the site is also user generated. If more men signed up, that home page would have some masculine things. I actually have a friend, who is male and loves to cook, who made a secret Pinterest account so that he could find some new recipes. He follows no one and uses a secret Gmail so that no one can follow him, and just pins recipes all day. But if he wasn’t being secret, and if he and other men made their boards public, maybe the homepage would have more male generated images.
That being said, right now Pinterest is a haven for many women. In “What’s Your Flava? Race and Posteminism in Media Culture”, author Banet – Weiser discusses a “female identity”. She write that “Part of young female identity in this contemporary context means to engage this media narrative about new gender norms not in a traditional, politically engaged way but rather in what McRobbie calls a "ritualistic denunciation." This denunciation occurs when feminism is acknowledged but in a trivialized fashion, shelved as something that may have been useful in the past but is clearly out of date in today's world” (382). Pinterest takes things that used to be stereotypes for women, and makes them fun, edgy, and independent. Their recipes are all about letting your creativity shine through and having fun in the kitchen! Headlines constantly read “Perfect for a Girls Night” or “Get the Ladies Together” – never “Meals to Cook Your Husband After a Long Day”. They have made cooking a gender norm once again, but have completely changed the reasons behind it. The same goes for the crafts and clothing – all things women have liked in the past, but now are cool and edgy.
In addition, Pinterest has been able to make magazines that normally appear to an older audience become young. “Magazine Readers are Social” did a survey about social media usage in regards to magazines, and 56% of respondents said that they follow a magazine on Pinterest or repin content from a magazine (16). Magazines like “Real Simple” and “Better Homes and Gardens”, that used to be for an audience that was a bit older than Pinterest’s demographic (women between 18 and 34), have found a niche audience in Pinterest users. All of a sudden, 20 something are repining DIY tips that are Moms have been using our whole lives – tips that without Pinterest, we would not have stumbled upon until we were in our late 30s and changed our tastes! Pinterest is allowing women to be proud of their interests, regardless of age or existing stereotype, and I, for one, am really enjoying it!s
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
"Magazine Media Readers Are Social." Magazine.org/socialresearch. The Association of Magazine Media, n.d. Web.
Pinterest is a fairly new social media website that seems to be skyrocketing in popularity. Pinterest is making its original magazine style format into a simpler, internet friendly format. The way Pinterest is set up makes it so simple for its users to track the items that they enjoy and look for more similar to that. If you enjoy cooking in particular, there is a section for that. Or fashion? There is a section for that as well.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Pinterest is a great new website that exemplifies new ideas the audience has been focused on females and white high income women between the ages of 18 and 34 years of age. Girls seem to rule Pinterest and use it for so many daily life influences. “These two categories- race as a ‘flava’ and girl power- function together in the current media environment to produce categories of identity that are defined by ambiguity rather than specificity, ambivalence rather than political certainty. These mediated forms of race and gender are produced within the specific context of late industrial capitalism in the US, a moment that has been characterized in racial terms as a multicultural or post-race society and in gendered terms as a post-feminist culture” (Banet-Weiser, 2). Pinterest is controlled by girls and is an outlet for women to get their good ideas out there. It is a bunch of creative women influencing one another on a grand social media outlet. Pinterest’s design is very feminine. The typefaces used are wispy and curvy and the colors are lights and delicate. All of these characteristics are clearly focused towards women.
Although Pinterest has a large audience for such a specific niche group they can also expand their marketing. There can be more magazines involved with Pinterest. A lot of companies can have their own Pinterest boards and create networking through this website. It will draw more people to Pinterest and create and even larger market. Pinterest is already helping companies market their products but there can be so much more done. Pinterest is an exciting and interesting new way to get people “in the know” about a lot of cool products. Pinterest is growing on the social media scale and will hopefully grow to an even more powerful website.
Banet-Weiser, Sarah. "What's Your Flava: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture." Interrogating Postfeminism: Gender and the Politics of Popular Culture. By Yvonne Tasker and Diane Negra. Durham [N.C.: Duke UP, 2007. 379-93. Print.
Prior to this semester I had no idea what Pinterest was, and was neither familiar with the purpose or concept behind it. At first mention I thought that it was the typical replica trying to compete with Facebook. After briefly browsing around the site for the first time I can see how it is primarily more attractive for women than men, but that does not mean that men can not use the website to their advantage. Women post their interests, likes and hobbies on their Pinterest page; as a result they are literally building a bulletin board for men. Whether it be clothing, food or art pintrest is almost comparable to speed shopping in a way. Anything a woman may want or feel she needs is going to be recommended on her pintrest page, where she can then browse for hours if she wishes to do so. This is beneficial for men because when it comes to getting gifts for women Pinterest is the perfect place for men to find out what women like, and enjoy doing. It is the perfect place to locate and pinpoint the interests of a mother, sister, girlfriend, wife etc... Maybe Pinterest was creatively designed just for men to have a clue on what women like. This type of perspective of Pintrest saves men the time, looking for a gift, a restaurant, and ideas for interior design of an apartment or a house. It even saves friends time, because they’re sharing their interests with each other, “Avid magazine readers and multiple platform social users are in the vanguard for sharing content with friends and they do it to a high degree using social devices” (Key Research Findings). Think about all the fake enjoyment displayed from getting a gift you don’t like, that no longer has to be a fake smile it can be a real one. No longer do men and women have to spend unnecessary amounts of time deciding on what to make for dinner or what restaurant to choose. Finally for men who get brought into the mix when it comes to decorating a house, he can simply surprise his wife by picking out what he already knows she is going to like.
ReplyDeleteThe way women use pintrest may never appeal to men, but that is okay. Pintrest was not made for everyone whether it be man, woman or child. The concept behind it is intriguing to those who do utilize the website. Instead of opening, tab after tab, everything is on one, page and collectively, it cuts out all the “stuff” that people do not want to scroll through. In my point of view each “pin” is an advertisement that people enjoying watching or looking at. It has revolutionized they way in which things are advertised. The people have the power to choose the advertisement instead of being feeling like they are being attacked with unwanted information. Pintrest is a perfect example of why major corporations don’t need to frantically come up with new tactics on how to reach their audiences, “the plethora of images of urban and cool people of color in advertising, television programs, and music videos (among other popular culture artifacts) implies that representational visibility no longer has the same urgency” (391 Weiser). Pintrest has a lot of underlining uses that may have yet to be discovered or revealed yet, which is exciting and slightly intimidating.
Works Cited
"Magazine Readers Are Social." Magazine Readers of America, n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2013.
NAKASHIMA, RYAN. "Newsweek Going Digital, Ending 80 Years in Print."
Sarah Banet-Weiser, “What’s Your Flava?: Race and Postfeminism in Media Culture” in The Media Studies Reader, Laurie Ouelette, ed. (New York: Routledge, 2012), 379 - 393.