Pinterest Backlash Continues With Accusations of Spammy Facebook Behavior
Pinterest is like, all over the place lately, and by “the place,” largely, we mean your Facebook feed.
If people aren’t pinning and sharing (or pinning and not realizing they are sharing), people are asking what the hell Pinterest is, and can they have an invite, please? The other topic, of course, is the site’s meteoric rise to prominence- going from virtually unknown to everywhere every second of every day- and The Next Web suggests that the site’s growth may not be entirely organic.
It can’t be disputed that Pinterest has certainly captured the attention of a certain underserved demographic on the web, and a large amount of its success can be contributed to its slick interface, sticky concept and general user appeal. But TNW highlights another possibly shady practice in which Pinterest may be engaging- insinuating activity to lure your friends. The site recounts…
…Google’s Don Dodge started tweeting that Pinterest was sending him a mass amount of emails saying that he had been followed on the site, and then asking him to follow that person back. Rightly suspicious by the volume of emails that were being sent, Dodge connected directly to one of the people to ask whether the request was made… In short, no, Dodge didn’t connect to them manually, nor did he state that he’s authorized Pinterest to do so via his Facebook account. It would seem, then, that Pinterest is mass spamming all of your Facebook friends who are connected on the service, then requesting of them to follow you in return.
Part of the problem is a lot of the automatic-notification business that is inherent with a lot of the new Facebook apps, and in that regard, Pinterest isn’t the only culprit if the allegations are accurate. Still, as TNW says, “what Pinterest is doing falls way outside of the lines of best practices,” and it would be nice to see this thing fall to the wayside altogether, as it obviously relies on user ignorance of the practice.
Have you noticed spammy behavior on the part of Pinterest to lure your uninitiated friends?
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About the Author
Kim LaCapria Kim LaCapria is a writer and editor based in New York. A longtime information junkie, she began blogging full-time at the Inquisitr in 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a marketing assistant in the cosmetics and skincare industry. In addition to her writing for fortytwotimes, she also writes for Medacity and The Inquisitr. Kim is also a contributor for SocialNewsDaily, Indyposted, and TotallyMoney. In the past, she contributed to Lipstick and Luxury and managed social media accounts and blogs for several small and mid-sized businesses.
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