Latest
Pinterest focuses on discovery with new Guided Search
With over 750 million boards and 30 billion pins, Pinterest has seen nearly a 50 percent increase in new pins in just the last six months. Indeed, CEO Ben Silbermann even calls it the "world's largest human-curated collection of things." Therein, however, lies a problem. With so much information, it can be difficult to find what you really want, but even worse, it becomes really (really) hard to find or even discover new things that might be of interest to you. Today, in its San Francisco office packed full of journalists and guests, Pinterest announced a new feature that promises to fix that: Guided Search. Contrasting it to Google, Silbermann said that Pinterest's new Guided Search is "more about exploration than it is about an ordered list for every person in the world." So when you type a keyword into the search bar at the top, it'll offer narrower topics that you can focus in on. For example, if you were to search for "chair," it'll show subcategories like "accents" or "living room" or "patio." Silbermann also emphasized that these would be words used by real people, so if you were to search for "hairstyles", some of the suggestions would be "medium length hair" or "up do" or "bangs."
Pinterest's mobile site now matches the look of its apps
To some, looks are everything. To others, it's all about what's inside. To Pinterest, it's a mixture of both. As such, don't be surprised to see a different look from the social discovery network the next time you use your smartphone's browser. In an effort to bring a one-design-for-all of sorts to handsets, Pinterest has redesigned its mobile website with a layout similar to the one found on the iOS and Android applications. Thanks to these changes, the site now displays a more polished design and a layout that's meant to highlight your most useful pins. If you're looking for quick access, the native apps will still be the way to go, but this should be a fine option to the pin-loving people who prefer to use the mobile browser.
Pinterest now recommends pin-worthy things based on your interests
It hasn't been easy to browse Pinterest for pin-worthy things without the help of your friends -- not unless you've been willing to search entire categories, anyway. That hunt should be much easier now that the social network has rolled out its Interests tool on the web. The section recommends relevant items based on what you've pinned in the past. Look for tourist hotspots in a distant city, for example, and Interests will suggest places you might have missed. Pinterest's new advisor isn't yet available worldwide or on mobile devices, but it should reach every member in the near future.
Pinterest adds the ability to play GIFs, makes your boards much more interesting
You'll now be able to play GIFs on Pinterest, meaning your cooking, exercise-inspiration and arts-and-crafts boards are about to get a lot more lively. Sure, you've probably seen a GIF or two on the site already, but the new ability to view the graphics in their full, animated glory without clicking through is definitely welcome. And thanks to a play/pause button, you'll be able to start and stop them as you please. According to the Pinterest blog, GIFs will soon be available on the mobile apps -- for now, though, they're limited to the desktop. Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be porting our favorite animated photos from Tumblr (along with an Engadget classic or two) to a brand-new board.
Pinterest recipe search makes the joy of cooking easy to pin down
The next time you're searching for that perfect recipe to please your finicky friends' ever-evolving dietary needs (you know, the vegan today/paleo tomorrow types), you won't have to go further than Pinterest. The service is folding in a new search feature that can filter pins down to recipes-only, based on ingredients or even dietary choices. So, say you need to find a gluten-free way to make chocolate chip cookies; you'll be able to do exactly that and even save that recipe -- complete with cooking time, ingredients and servings size data -- to your own dedicated board. There's even an included Indulge Me filter option for those of you that just don't care how much lard you consume in one sitting. Recipe search is only rolling out to the desktop version for now, but it should be making an appearance on mobile sometime soon.
Pinterest outfits iPad app with retooled navigation for iOS 7
In order to fully flex its digital-collecting muscle on Apple slates, Pinterest has revamped its iPad app with new features for iOS 7. Redesigned navigation is said to gain a speed boost via a bottom-aligned menu and recent boards are kept handy for easy pinning. A press and hold on any board now will bring up a menu for viewing related repositories or sending its contents to your best mates. As you might expect, those extra secret boards that the outfit gifted users with last week will also be accessible, keeping those shopping ideas shrouded until December 25th.
Pinterest intros Place Pins so you can map out all the places you'll go
Pinterest doesn't want to just be the place you hoard random internet goodies, or aspirational items for hobby boards -- it wants to become a real social tool. And it's doing that today with Place Pins: private or collaborative travel maps highlighting local places of interest and recommendations. If it sounds like Foursquare without the obnoxious check-ins and "Mayor of..." notifications, that's because it is -- the company's API is powering these pins. Maps loaded up with recommendations for good eats and sights to see can be created in tandem with new boards or added to existing ones and feature all the necessary contact info, like address and phone number, you want when looking up where to go. Pinterest's even set up a feed dedicated to Place Pins(piration) and curated by notable travel outfits like Condé Nast Traveler, Airbnb, Fodor's and others, so you can get a sense of how it works. It's pretty simple, but useful stuff. Now, all you need is a good cluster of jet set friends to get the recommendations rolling and maybe some cash to actually get you out of Podunk and into those real-world, pinned places.
Pinterest's APIs let developers embed pins directly on their websites (updated)
A lot of people use Pinterest to keep track of stuff they'd like to buy, places they want to go and food they want to eat, but there's always been separation between Pinterest and the actual sources of those desires -- you only had the option to click a Pinterest button on a site to pin the content in question to your board of choice. No longer. Pinterest has taken another step to strengthen its partnerships with third-party websites with the release of its APIs today. The tools allow web developers to embed recent, trending and most-clicked pins (that update regularly according to what folks are pinning), and even implement a Pinterest search surface that surfaces pins of items from your domain surface custom search results on their pages, too. Folks will also now be able to pin stuff directly from websites, so as to not interrupt the retail experience with a detour to Pinterest proper. To illustrate these newly bestowed powers, Pinterest has partnered up with a slew of well-known sites, including Zappos, Target, Walmart, BuzzFeed, and Better Homes And Garden -- and if you'd like the full list and further description of how to use the new APIs, hit the source below. Update: Our earlier version of this story mistakenly indicated that the new APIs enabled searching Pinterest on third party sites. In fact, the APIs only allow devs to create a custom keyword search and embed those search results on a webpage.
Pinterest pairs up with Getty Images, tells you who shot your pinned photos (among other things)
Pinterest may be all about pictures (and some ads), but a deal sealed today with Getty Images will provide users with some very important words as well: photo metadata. Why should you care? It means that you'll now get a whole host of info along with any Getty pictures you pin. So, you'll be able to see things like the title, caption and the photographer's name from any of Getty's vast catalog of pictures. And, that info will make it easier for you to find similar and related photos to stick on Pinterest's digital boards. As for the deal itself, Pinterest is paying Getty an undisclosed sum for the data and will make sure all photos will be properly attributed. In return, Pinterest gets the aforementioned benefits for its users, and eliminates any copyright complications it might have faced from Getty. Two birds, one stone. Well played, Pinterest.
Facebook Home update brings Instagram, Tumblr and more to all Android lock screens
It's been available to Facebook's Android beta testers for a few weeks now, but as of today all Android users can get their hands on the latest update to the company's OS-overhauling app, Home. As you may recall, the big addition with this update is a number of new options that can now be integrated into your lock screen -- namely, Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr, and Pinterest. Once those are added and authenticated, you can start browsing posts from the respective services without actually opening the dedicated app. And... that's about it. You can get a quick look at how the new features work in the video after the break.
Pinterest launches an Android widget, but only for Telefonica customers
If you can't stop checking Pinterest while on the road, today's your lucky day... provided that you subscribe to the right cellular carrier, that is. Pinterest has just released an Android widget that's available exclusively to customers on Telefonica's networks, including O2, Movistar and Vivo. The portal shows both personal feeds and popular items, letting users pin their favorite things from the home screen. At present, the Pinterest widget is available only as a download for O2 UK customers. Telefonica will start preloading the software on O2 phones within a few weeks; rollouts to the brand's other carriers are coming "in due course."
Pinterest's promoted pins are just a preview, not paid-for promos... yet
Pinterest, like all social networking startups, needs to make money at some point. And if you've been following the company's progress lately, you should be aware that promoted pins -- a cuter way of saying "advertisements" -- were planned for the collage-making site as an experiment. Well, as of today, those pins are set to start cropping up in users' search and category results looking much like what you see above. But the company's sensitive to how its user base will respond and so it's seeking to be as transparent as possible about these promoted pins, labeling them as such and even providing a "more info" window to explain the move. Also, since Pinterest is still feeling this out, the actual promoted pins aren't even paid-for advertisements; they will be, but not right now. This is only a test, so you can go ahead and sublimate that rage with some ferociously exuberant pinning -- there'll be a time and place for it yet.
Facebook Home adds Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest to lock screen (video)
Starting today, Facebook Home is finally including non-Facebook content on the lock screen, though only a few users will be able to take advantage of the option at first. Facebook for Android Beta testers can now access content from Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram as well as standard Facebook fare by following a few easy steps. All you have to do is select which apps you want to sync up in Home's settings menu and punch in your account information. After all is said and done, you'll be able to browse and like posts right from Home with the option to view the content on the original site with a conveniently provided link. There's no word yet on when a wider audience will be able to access the feature, but we'll keep you posted as we learn more. To see the new Home in action, check out the video after the break.
Bing partners with Pinterest to add image collections to search results
It's no secret that Bing has been waging an uphill battle to stay relevant, and now, Microsoft is hoping that its partnership with Pinterest will be enough to win you over. The Bing team's latest effort combines its own search results with a new feature: image collections, a supplement that presents related Pinterest boards to the right of your main results. For example, an image search for "Pink cupcakes" will pull up a list of boards relevant to your interests. Clicking on one of them -- we opted for "Pretty in pink cupcakes" -- will take you to a new page that collects the user's pinned images along with a direct link to the board on Pinterest. The new feature is designed to introduce a social element to Bing by uniting collections curated by living, breathing humans with the search engine's algorithms. We don't know if it'll be enough to convince people to "Bing it" next time they're on the hunt for images, but we do know that we're now in desperate need of cupcakes.
Ads creep into Pinterest with introduction of promoted pins
Move over ad Twitter, here comes ad Pinterest. The social networking service, which allows users to "pin" items of interest (get it?) to digital boards, began offering personalized recommendations back in July. Now, it's taking the approach one step further with plans to introduce promoted pins from business accounts in search and category results. Pinterest is framing the move as an "experiment" for now, while promising all promoted pins will be clearly marked and relevant to user tastes. How thoughtful. And so begins the march towards profitability.
Teachers on Pinterest initiative could make lesson planning halfway enjoyable
Oh, education. So necessary, but so grueling. Particularly for oodles of grade-school instructors who are forced to swallow their fresh-out-of-college ambitions and fall into the system if they ever hope to level up in academia. We've seen glimmers of hope here and there, with certain schools getting outside of their comfort zones long enough to try new methodologies, and Pinterest's latest project certainly holds a lot of promise. Teachers on Pinterest is a hub that showcases a variety of lesson plans and teaching tools, and through a partnership with Edutopia, it's hoping to build out a full-bodied community for instructors. Hit up the source link below for a closer look, and remember: teachers rule.
Amazon Collections: like Pinterest, only for stuff Amazon sells
Amazon has just introduced Amazon Collections, and it appears to go up directly against Pinterest. Indeed, the look and feel of the site is eerily similar to that of the pinning service. Just like Pinterest, Collections lets you gather images of your favorite Amazon products and display them in different lists -- sort of like a visual version of a wish list, if you will. Users start out with default topics like "My Style," "Want List" and "Possibilities," which they can modify and add on to if they wish. Also like Pinterest, users can find and follow those with similar interests, and they can "heart" or add listed items to their own Collections. With Pinterest moving in on the e-commerce space as well, it looks like the digital pinboard space just got a whole lot more competitive.
Pinterest introduces email alerts for price reductions on pinned items
Pinterest has been a boon for digital scrapbookers, and today, the company is rolling out a new feature to appeal to its bargain-hunting user base. When the price drops on an item you've pinned, an email will be zapped to your inbox to alert you to the discount. If you're the kind of person who uses the site to sort out your shopping needs, it might be right up your alley, but not all pinners will appreciate the influx of messages. The feature can be switched off from the account settings menu, though even when it's on, Pinterest insists that emails will be bundled to avoid clutter. Discount alerts are set for a gradual roll-out, so if you're not seeing the option under settings yet, sit tight.
Pinterest upgrades iPhone app with animated pinning shortcuts
Given its CEO's stance on the importance of mobile, it's only natural for Pinterest to keep polishing its apps. The newest iPhone version, for instance, brings with it an animated shortcut for repinning, liking and sending pins to pals when you press on an entry. Though similar in function to Tumblr's sharing tools, the menu boasts fancier graphics that fit the social networks' aesthetic. As a nice bonus, Pinterest's also adding an Edit Home Feed button for speedier housekeeping on the iPhone and the ability to send pins to your friends from the iPad. Assuming you're willing to wade through a deluge of recipes, inspirational quotes and bridal photos, you can check out the app via the links below.
Pinterest introduces enhanced tracking, offers opt-out option
From the NSA to Mozilla, it seems like everyone wants to track your online activity (because you're so interesting, of course). Pinterest is the latest to jump on that bandwagon, but the company is keen to assure users that it's completely down with Do Not Track. In a blog post introducing its most recent update, Pinterest spelled out what its latest addition -- the "Edit Home Feed" option -- means for its users' privacy. Basically, you can now tailor your feed to provide you with content related to what you've been pinning. Additionally, Pinterest can track your activity on other sites (so long as they feature a "Pin It" button) to suggest boards based on your interests, though users can easily opt out under their account settings. With public concern over online tracking at an all time high (Thanks, PRISM!), Pinterest evidently didn't want to get caught on the wrong side of the divide.
