Pinterest is one of those wildly popular websites we find ourselves explaining to people. Most people think it’s for women only so we thought we’d have our token male, John, look at the site and report back. For the next few weeks, John will delve deeper and deeper into Pinterest in an attempt to explain it to everyone but in particular a certain half of the population. Starting this week, Breaking Even Communications takes a look at social media through a guy’s perspective in this blog series.
Manterest: Part 1
“I’m the Dude. So that’s what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.” — The Dude, The Big Lebowski
I’m a pretty standard-issue guy. I like a lot of guy things, including fried meat, the outdoors, Quentin Tarantino, and violent hockey games. I’ve used a nail gun once. But I don’t change my own oil, and I’ve never had to kill a water buffalo with my bare hands in order to shelter in its body cavity.
So on the scale of manliness, with Teddy Roosevelt as most manly and Ryan Seacrest being the least, I’m somewhere in the middle. Maybe I’m Toby McGuire.
I’m sure I’m not the only man who doesn’t get Pinterest, the wildly popular virtual pinboard that I assume is run by a midwestern HR manager named Karen whose other interests include inspirational posters, sweatshirts embroidered with teddy bears, and that God-awful Greek yogurt (seriously, what is up with Greek yogurt—it’s like a mildly flavored kindergarten paste you can eat, but probably shouldn’t).
I understand Pinterest as much as I understand scrapbooking, which is to say, not at all.
However, a lot of people, unlike me, do seem to get it. And I mean, a lot.
According to Pew Research Center, a whopping 28 percent of adult internet users are whiling away the hour re-pinning organic pomegranate smoothie recipes, how-to guides on how to bedazzle your kitten, and photos of places they’ll visit if Karen from HR ever gets back to them with their vacation request.
Take a look at Pinterest’s demographics, and maybe this explains why I feel the same way looking at a Pinterest page as I do when I’m trapped in a Hobby Lobby or a Payless.
Pew tells us that in 2014, 42 percent of Pinterest users were female, compared to 13 percent that are men (and that’s a substantial jump from just 8 percent a year before). Other stats:
- 32 percent are white, non-Hispanic
- 34 percent are aged 18-29
- 30 percent live in rural area
What was most surprising to me, though was this stat: The largest percentile, 34 percent, reported an annual income of more than $75,000.
So if you’re a rich, white, female millennial, you’ve found your online neighborhood. Welcome to Pinterest. But guess what? I’m crashing your party.
To truly understand Pinterest, you must become Pinterest. Or rather, you have to sign up, which is rather easy. You just need an email address or a Facebook account. Pinterest asks for your first and last name and your age. I gave them my first name, and let them know that I’m way too old to be doing this.
Then I got this screen:
Fair enough. I dig creative ideas.
Next, I get a screen to help me generate “ideas,” and I was a bit surprised by Pinterest’s bot’s suggestions, because Pinterest went full-on Teddy Roosevelt. Woodworking, fishing, Harleys, industrial design, survival skills and … beards? Well, they can’t all be winners.
So, I picked four out of five suggestions:
- Pranks (I have a childish sense of humor, derp);
- Parenting (because I am one);
- Astronomy, (because space is the amaz-o-craz);
- Photography (because that’s a thing I used to do).
I also saw a lot of suggestions which confused me and made me feel a little uneasy, like when you bite into a slice of pizza that you didn’t know had onion on it. Pokemon, Beyonce, and something called “Adriana Lima.” None of these things interest me. (Well, maybe Beyonce does a little.)
I picked a couple for myself: Electric and custom guitars (guitars are plain awesome; everyone like guitars).
I also chose Ford Mustang. I’ve owned two Mustangs, and I have a soft spot for my first one. (I called her Ol’ Blue, and may she be riding upon Heaven’s open road as I write this. God, I miss her.)
I set up my first pin board, and my first pinned image—a beautiful Fender Telecaster with a charcoal transparent finish, Maple Fretboard, and a somewhat unusual selection of pickups (humbuckers on the bridge! a strat middle pickup!).
And then I promptly forgot I had a Pinterest account for two weeks.
(Next week, will John remember he has a Pinterest account? Spoiler: Yes and no.)