Pinterest Hurting Design Businesses

LINK TO THE FULL STORY

I HATE Pinterest. It has literally killed my organizing business of 8 years. Since that stupid site has emerged, slowly the phone has virtually stopped ringing. Where I once had 3-5 inquiries a day, and 3-4 on-site consultations a week, not to mention projects out the wazoo, everything has come to s screeching halt this year. Pinterest has become the go to for organizing ideas, and let me tell you, talk about REDUNDANT! EVERY single organizing idea seems to be pinned on pages. And it gets worse – those who aren't even professionals are now learning their new found 'career' by studying these photos, and are starting businesses undercutting those of us who have been in the industry for years.

The last two consultations I did, both clients asked if I was on Pinterest because they wanted to show me their 'dream ideas'. So I humored them and look, and think to myself, "Huh, if you see it, why hire me?" And that is exactly what has happened. They did it themselves, and used their appt with me for validation. WHAT THE HE**? Where organizers were called upon to solve problems and introduce ideas to their prospective clients, all I hear about is Pinterest… UGH!

No, Pinterest isn't just affecting bloggers (and I was one many years ago when I had the time to blog) it's also HURTING the design business overall since photos are being lifted off sites and 'pinned', ideas are now appearing on Pinterest that belong to those designers that created them without their permission, the list goes on. For the bored stay-at-home housewife, Pinterest is a goldmine. For those of us who work in the design industry, it's slowly taking the business away… I am considering retiring after all these years because there just isn't enough interest in my services any longer…