Pinterest is a visual search engine for anything you are looking for, ranging from recipes to artwork, DIY to tips for vacation, from fashion to motivation, and more. Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra, and Evan Sharp in 2009 came together with the idea of helping people find what they need not through typing, but instead by showing them through pictures and ideas. They launched Pinterest in the year 2010 and soon saw 10,000 users active on their website.
By 2011, Pinterest had 11 million users per week visiting the website and made it to the Top 50 Best Websites of 2011 in an article by Time Magazine and also ranked under Top 10 largest social network services by Hitwise. The same year, Pinterest went on to win the Best Start-Up of 2011.
By 2012 Pinterest became the only website to break the record of crossing the 10 million users mark the fastest by topping 11.7 million unique users. Another feather was added to their cap when it won the People’s Choice award and the Best Social Media App.
The reason behind this immense success is that, unlike any other social media app, Pinterest is based on the simple concept of sharing ideas in the form of photos and videos related to anything and everything. This is in accordance with the Pinterest mission statement that talks about inspiring people through images to do simple things in a unique way
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Pinterest Mission Statement
The mission statement of Pinterest states, “Our mission is to bring everyone the inspiration to create a life they love.” Let us discuss the key ideas behind this statement.
Bring everyone together
Pinterest aims at bringing people from around the globe together on one platform, where they inspire each other to do better by sharing creative and amazing ideas and using them in their daily lives. Through its sharing feature, people can save the image ideas they like to their boards or even download them on their devices. They can follow various accounts they like. In 2016 Pinterest came with a new feature of Video Player allowing the user to record and upload videos of any length so that others can see the complete process.
Inspiring to do better
There are various content makers and brands that use the platform to showcase their ideas. These contents inspire people to come up with various ideas and many people have started to use the platform to even sell their products, helping men and women across the globe to earn an income and get the life they always wanted, making them independent.
Create Better world
Major content on Pinterest contributes to DIY from various items that can be recycled and used for making something useful. This contributes to less wastage and lowering carbon footprints on the planet and reduces pollution. People get ideas to make new dresses from old ones, using old plastic bottles to make planters or wall hanging decoration, etc. This inspires users to be more conscious of the waste created and how they can become responsible citizens of the world. The users are glad that they learn new things that give them a sense of confidence.
Pinterest Vision Statement
There is no specific Pinterest vision statement, but the company is aware that the future of the search is not search using keywords but images. Using this vision, the company established itself and succeeded with flying colors. The company’s CEO Ben Silbermann said in 2017, “Computer vision technology is going to be a big deal.”
Pinterest has been a platform that has always showcased content in the form of images and videos and allows users to look for various ideas without searching for them. Once a user clicks on a post, he is provided with more similar ideas and that’s how you one can move ahead finding the best for himself. It allows one to save the post or pin it to a board so that one can check it out later again. Based on the user’s history, Pinterest shows content that one may want to have a look at without even typing in the search bar.
This vision of Pinterest has seen tremendous growth in the number of users because of a simple reason, as it is easier to find what one is looking for without searching for it. With millions of users and millions of content, many users have reported Pinterest as a very positive social media platform that inspires people to try out different things and find motivational quotes, stories, etc.
It is interesting to mention that this platform is the 14th largest social network in the world as of Jan 2021. The company has 459 million monthly active users. Out of this, it gained 100 million monthly users in 2020 itself. Its revenue doubled in 2020. Interestingly, according to 85% of Pinterest users, they use the platform for planning their projects.
In June 2021 Pinterest has announced that it will ban all the ads that lead to any kind of body shaming like weight loss products. This has made Pinterest the only social media platform to take this major step for its users
Spreads Positivity: Pinterest is all about inspiring users about everything and anything from daily hacks to home decor ideas to garden landscaping projects, wedding planning, and lots more. Unlike other social media platforms where users post pictures of themselves, compare with others only to feel depressed by falling into the comparison trap, Pinterest spreads positivity and empowers people to plan things well by exploring new ideas.
Also, Pinterest does not allow objectionable language or posts that follow clickbait-style visuals or captions or any sort of negative content. Recently, the company banned weight-loss ads or weight-loss products as it degrades people with certain body types rather than focusing on healthy habits and lifestyle. Also, as per Pinterest’s guidelines, one cannot market products to those under 18 or have a certain medical condition or to any specific community based on their color or origin.
Inclusion & diversity: Pinterest core values are also about raising a community that is inclusive and inspiring. They achieved a significant milestone with 50% women employees in Q1 of 2021. Moving forward, by 2025, the company envisions increasing employees from minority races and ethnicities to 20%. Also, the company wants to see 20% women in leadership roles by 2025 that is not too far. The company wants to break gender boundaries, encourage diversity, and viewing through a global lens.
They even launched a program called “Community Rebuild” which focuses on giving equal opportunities to people from the LGBTQ+ community, people who are differently-abled, and people of color. This program helps these people make a strong foundation for their business by providing various training and workshops on how to approach the target audience.
Equity: Just having a diverse workforce is not enough. At Pinterest, they believe in inclusive culture i.e. treating everyone equally and providing equal growth opportunities and equal pay. The company also gives donations to support racial justice and equity, mental health awareness, reduce disparities in society, etc.
Pinterest also wants to play a key role by setting the path towards prosperity for its pinners and brands by helping them to promote their business or products to find more clients across the globe.
