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Pinterest launches its first non-English site, can now parler Français
Pinterest is rolling out the welcome beyond Anglo circles, with France the first country to pick up its very own localized version of the sharing site. Users will get France-centric content and more French site links in both search results and category feeds. It launches today across the web, iOS and Android and like last month's UK launch, Pinterest has set up a dedicated team in Paris for the site. As noted by Techcrunch, even if you're not a French speaker, other language options are still available within settings, encompassing Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. However, the site will still lack the country-specific content that Pinterest's new localized versions offer up.
Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann: consumers will soon expect every service on every platform, mobile included
Ben Silbermann has found himself in a pretty swell spot. He's the CEO of Pinterest -- a company that was recently valued at $2.5 billion, despite not making a single cent to date. He took the stage today at D11 in Southern California, answering questions shot from Kara Swisher. One of the key points he made was on the topic of mobile. Swisher was asking about Pinterest's mobile efforts, and Silbermann suggested that in the very near future, asking such a thing would be borderline silly. "It'd be like asking a business today if they're a dot-com business," he said, suggesting that every business created in 2013 should absolutely have some sort of presence on the web. It's perhaps due to the shocking uptake of Pinterest's apps. Said Silbermann: "A growing number [of users] use Pinterest exclusively on their phone or tablet. When we released our mobile apps, we were taking bets on how long it'd take for those to surpass our web traffic. I figured it'd take a few weeks. It was literally the day it was released [that the traffic was passed]. I think it's because phones and tablets are largely always around you, whereas you're not always around a [traditional] computer." It's perhaps the token example of how consumers at large are moving away from needing a full-fledged machine at their fingertips, and the redefining of what a "computer" is for the newest generations.
Pinterest adds more data to your boards with rich pins
Pinterest is already an absurdly popular way to save stuff from around the web, be it shoes you love, accessories for your bridesmaids or decorations for your man cave. One thing the social-bookmarking service has been missing, however, is context. Now it's offering a way for companies to deliver more info, through metadata attached to particular types of pages. Rich pins, as they're being called, can automatically attach price and availability to a product, or ingredient lists to recipes. There are also movie pins, which let sites attach ratings and credits to films. Pinterest has lined up an impressive list of partners to help it launch the new feature, including Netflix, Etsy, ASOS, REI, The North Face, Modcloth, Bon Appetit, Epicurious and Real Simple. All your old pins that now have contextual data will automatically be updated (which you'll be able to identify thanks to icons below them), and you can check out some example boards at the source link.
Pinterest lets users send pins directly to friends, receive instant feedback
Despite being one of the hotter social networks, Pinterest hasn't been on the cutting edge of sharing: members wanting to send their pins through official channels have had to use old-fashioned email. The service is catching up to the modern era in style, however, with a new option to send pins directly to friends through Pinterest's mobile and web apps. While email is still hanging around, both ends now just have to be mutual followers on Facebook or Pinterest for the magic to happen. Sharers will also receive any adulation (or criticism) right away -- comments, likes and repins on those items will appear as notifications. It will take weeks to fully deploy the direct sending feature, but it shouldn't be long before everyone is on the same page.
Pinterest adds notifications, search suggestions to Android and iOS apps
Today Pinterest announced an update to its Android and iOS apps, bringing some key features from the desktop site to your smartphone or tablet. First up is the addition of notifications: now you can view all your comments and mentions via push notifications or within the app. You'll also be able to mention friends -- using the ever-popular @ symbol -- on your mobile device. Finally, Pinterest has added suggested search terms to help speed up your queries, and it will reflect searches done on your PC as well as on your handset. Nab the download for your OS of choice via the links below.
Flipboard brings magazine curation to Android, gains web tools
If you're a Flipboard user, you'll recall that the app was recently updated to let you create your own magazines. Unfortunately, this functionality was limited to the iOS version. This changes today, as Flipboard brings magazine curation to Android. Creating a magazine is simple: just tap the plus button visible on each article inside the app or use the bookmarklet when surfing the web. This gives you a personalized way to collect posts, images and videos and share your ideas on Flipboard and beyond. The new Android version introduces some unique features. You're able to "flip" content into your magazines using the share button built into many Android apps. In addition to the existing social network integration, Flipboard now includes a share button of its own on magazine covers -- this allows you to share magazines via SMS, email or Pinterest. The app also makes it easier to create a new Flipboard account by supporting Facebook's Single Sign-on. Along with the updated Android version, Flipboard's rolling out a web-based Editor to help users manage magazines. This collection of web tools lets you reorder and delete content, rearrange magazines and check how often others have shared items in your magazines. Finally, the Financial Times is now available on Flipboard -- you'll even be able to read premium content by logging into your Financial Times account right within the app. Take a look at the gallery below and hit the break for the PR.
Pinterest revives classic features, revamps notifications and search
When Pinterest unveiled its big redesign last month, it took the sort of gamble on feature trade-offs that we've seen before: some big leaps forward at the expense of a few leaps back. Much to the relief of many, the company is already doing what it can to restore what was lost while still forging ahead. Veteran users can once again see pins they've just posted, mention friends and find would-be contacts on Facebook on Twitter. As for the less nostalgic among us? The progress isn't as dramatic, but it's there: Pinterest has reworked notifications to show their history, and searches now include as-you-type keyword suggestions. More updates are on the way, including notifications for new pins, so we wouldn't worry that Pinterest is spending most of its time mending broken fences.
Pinterest now available for Barnes & Noble's Nook lineup
If you can't even contemplate e-reading without a healthy side of inspirational photos, you'll be happy to know that Pinterest is now available on Barnes & Noble's Nook devices. Amazon already offers the popular app for its Kindle lineup, and now its chief rival in the e-reader market is bringing the app to all of its Nooks. Starting today, new devices will ship pre-loaded with Pinterest, along with new apps for Facebook and Twitter. Those who already own a Nook can download the virtual bulletin board from the Nook Store; click the source link to do so.
Microsoft makes Bing image search more social with one-click sharing to Pinterest
Companies know how important it is to make their products as friendly as can be with third-party social websites, and Microsoft, for one, has done a pretty fantastic job at making sure the team behind Bing's doing exactly that. To wit, the Surface maker is, as of today, also starting to cater to the Pinterest crowd, announcing that it's now allowing users of the recently redesigned site to share Bing image search findings via a simple click -- assuming you're logged in, naturally. The new sharing feature might seem like a rather minor one on paper, but for avid Pinners, it'll certainly come in handy as they can keep their precious boards stocked up with a little less effort. And, well, you know what that means: more cats.
Pinterest redesign shows pins related by creator and activity, stokes curiosity
Going on a Pinterest spree isn't always easy -- not when there's been extra work involved in exploring someone else's board, or figuring out what else is similar. The company may have licked both of those problems with a redesign that's exiting its testing phase today. As of now, visiting a pin will show others from the same board or company, as well as items that fellow explorers have pinned alongside the one you're viewing. Lower-profile changes are in store as well: the pin content itself is bigger, and the site will finally remember your place when you step back from a curious click. Web-based Pinterest fans should soon get an invitation to use the discovery-friendly revamp, while the Android and iOS apps will eventually see the new tricks through updates.
Pinterest unveils web analytics, offers insight into visitor pinning behavior
If you've wanted to know just which adorable puppy picture on your website got the most pins on Pinterest, you're in luck. The internet pinboard folks just unveiled a new web analytics tool for businesses and site owners that'll track which content receives the most attention in terms of clicks, pins and repins, and how recently those items were selected. Verify your website with Pinterest, and you'll be able to check out your visitors' pinning behavior starting today. Hmm, maybe now we'll get to see which one of our editors is the most popular.
Pinterest quietly sneaks in support for Twitter Cards
Oh, the mild drama between social networks. Just as Instagram nixed its in-depth URL integration with Twitter about a week ago, now it's Pinterest getting involved -- however, the latter is taking a slightly different route. Thanks to Twitter user Kelly Lieberman, who initially spotted the changes, we have now learned that Pinterest has turned on support for Twitter Cards, allowing folks on the microblogging service to get a slightly better look at links coming from its own, pinboard-style network. Essentially, this means you can now get a preview within Twitter of what your friends are pinning -- you know, things like what type of grub they're craving or pics of insanely cute dogs.
Connected To The Case to use Facebook for crowd-sourced crime solving
Ready the spandex and decide on a name for your alter ego, because come October 16th, you'll have the chance to fight crime from the comfort of your computer. On that date, the "Connected To The Case" website goes live with the aim of crowd-sourcing tips from its users to help the cops solve active investigations. You'll use your Facebook login for access, as the service pulls data from your profile to prioritize cases with which you might have a connection. Morgan Wright, CEO and Chief Crime Fighter of Crowd Sourced Investigations, told us its system looks at five key areas when digging for pertinent triggers: "date, location, time, relation and demographics." It then uses that data to tailor notifications of unsolved crimes based on -- for example -- proximity to your school, or where you used to work. Rest assured that you control the privacy settings, and if you've got useful info to share, you can do so anonymously. Law enforcement agencies can register to include their cases from today, with the initial roll-out targeting the US. The plan is to expand first to other English-speaking countries, with foreign language support in the future to build a global network of internet do-gooders. Including data from other social networks is also in the pipeline, starting with Twitter and later, Foursquare and Pinterest. A smartphone app is also on the agenda, so get your detective devices ready -- we can be heroes, if just for one click.
Twitter founders create Branch and Medium to keep the conversations, collections flowing (updated)
If you've ever been so embroiled in a chat or sharing splurge that you've been told to "take it off of Twitter," you now can -- sort of. Twitter co-creators Biz Stone and Ev Williams have launched Branch and Medium, two companion services that (naturally) use a Twitter sign-in but narrow the focus to just a few subjects. As the name suggests, Branch lets especially vocal Twitter users invite others into conversations that don't clutter everyone's feeds or cut replies off at the 140-character limit. Medium? Think of it as Pinterest turned publishing platform: members can publish either a static collection of favorite articles and media, for reading and rating, or leave it open for more collaborative efforts. There's no rush to open the floodgates to the invitation-only portals, though. Stone and Williams see the quietness of their new services as an antidote to the madness of regular social streams, and we can't help but sympathize. Update: The services don't quite work in the way The Guardian originally suggested. Branch lets you invite others into conversations through email, not just Twitter. Medium is really a self-publishing system, not a Pinterest-style sharing service. Also, the Twitter founders were just the most prominent investors in Branch and Medium; they weren't responsible for creating the companies.
Pinterest now ready for iPad
Pinterest is rolling out its mobile apps and making it easy for users to pin things on the go. The image-centric social network announced today that it released a universal iOS app that includes a new iPad version and an updated iPhone version. On the iPad, the app mimics the website with a fullscreen layout that lets users view a handful of pins at a time. Pinterest users can swipe to call up the navigation menu to view different categories and use the integrated browser to visit the site that was the source of a pin. The app supports most of the social features of Pinterest including sharing, liking, repinning and commenting. The iPhone app received an update that improves the mobile experience with a new two-column layout and faster performance. This improved UI lets users see more Pins on their display, so they can enjoy Pinterest when they are away from their iPad or desktop. The Pinterest app is available for free from the iOS App Store.
Yahoo Axis on desktop, iOS unifies your bookmarks, makes the web visual (hands-on)
We're all familiar with syncing bookmarks and save-for-later web services like Instapaper, but it's not often that they come with a full web component. Yahoo's hoping to hit the proverbial two birds tonight with Axis, which combines a desktop web browser extension (your choice of Chrome, Firefox or Safari) with a mobile app on the iPad and iPhone. You can bookmark any page and get at it later through a common portal -- hence the Axis name. That unity idea also extends to the idea of browser searching, where you'll see both trending topics as well as immediate answers and visual thumbnails of the top search results. Mobile users can share content through email, Pinterest or Twitter, if that's their inclination. Axis is ready and free to use as of today, although Android users won't get their turn until closer to the end of the year. Engadget had a chance to give Axis a quick spin, and we largely like what we see, even if we'd say it's not for everyone. The desktop browser extension largely stays out of your way until you need it, although we're surprised the social sharing elements are left out. On the mobile side, it's effectively a full, tabbed web browser, and a fairly solid (if simple) one at that. Most of the advantage comes through having the deeper search options just a pull away. Our issues mostly stem from the need for the app and the ecosystem it's leaping into. If you already thrive on (or want to try) services like Instapaper or Pocket, you're not going to get significantly more here, especially since you can't save content offline. Choosing iOS also means you can't make Axis your default browser, so any links you get from other apps can't be directly shared with Yahoo's mobile app. %Gallery-155648%
Guild Wars 2 gets all social before the beta weekend [Updated]
There's no shortage of players waiting eagerly to jump into Guild Wars 2 beta testing this weekend, but that's still several days away. It's very possible that you really need a steady shot of Tyria a little earlier than that. Fortunately for you, there are options open as the community team pushes interaction in a big way. The game's Facebook page is the center of a rather art-centric promotion: As the page nears half a million Likes, the team is releasing a new piece of art for every 10,000 new fans. Not your cup of tea? That's all right, as the team has also set up a Pinterest page to show off the best game-related fan projects. There are also boards set up on the same page where you can show off screenshots of each race, whether you're opting for the diminutive Asura or the towering Norn. It's a good chance for everyone to get involved in the Guild Wars 2 community before the weekend gets underway, even if it won't make the test start any faster. [Updated with clarification regarding the picture forums.]
