Any blogger who relies on social media outlets like Facebook or Digg to increase traffic and communication with readers has probably considered jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon. Indeed, the virtual pinboard site has exploded in popularity faster, in fact, than any other website. It’s no surprise that the majority of its users are women, so the content is largely based upon motherhood, recipes, home decor, fashion and DIY ideas. The occasional adorable pet picture, LOLcat and inspirational quote also make an appearance. Ironically, the recipes that will clog your arteries are next more than a click away from motivation to work out or eat better.
What better place, I thought, than for me to advertise my blog. Are not sex toys, after all, a woman’s world? I did go ahead and add affiliate links to my favorite toys, as well as some direct links to my reviews here on Of Sex and Love. I added a few friends, but not many of my sex toy reviewing peers seem to be active on the website. Most of my followers, then, appear to be akin to my followers on Facebook: horny men and sex toy shops.
It struck me as a bit odd that the sexosphere was so inactive on Pinterest, especially when the potential benefits were so great. However, it wouldn’t have if I’d taken a closer look at the terms. Actually, Pinterest doesn’t explicitly state what you shouldn’t pin or what will happen to anyone who breaks those rules. However, it’s Pin Etiquette page does lightly touch on the subject. The image bookmarking site does not allow:
nudity, hateful content, or content that encourages people to hurt themselves
So, you might figure that perhaps porn would be off-limits, but I could still submit product images, as long as they weren’t in use. So far, I haven’t had repercussions from the content I have submitted, but a fellow blogger recently expressed her frustration at not being able to submit any content from PinkCherry, a sex toy retailer. Pinterest now views the retailer as inappropriate and will not allow its user to add new pins, sadly. Nevertheless, none of my pins have been taken down, whether they be realistic dildos, revealing lingerie or nearly-nude book covers.
Of course, it doesn’t much matter if Pinterest plans to simply ban all sex toy retailers, and perhaps they already have. Is anyone still pinning from Babeland, Good Vibes or EdenFantasys? Please let me know in the comments.
Still, plenty of Pinterest imitations have begun to pop up, as you might expect. Manterest, is one such site, catering toward men. The list also includes several places where porn and adult content is especially welcome. Perhaps sex bloggers should focus on these websites, instead. We might even see a more influx of traffic.
- Sex.com does nothing to hide itself as a knockoff. In fact, it looks nearly identical to Pinterest. Sex toys and reviews wouldn’t be out of a place — a few pins already exist – -but the majority of the content is porn (of women!)
- Snatchly tries to be a bit more original than its inspiration; although, it’s content doesn’t differ from that of Sex.com.
- The only thing clever about Pornterest is its name, and the front page has the most NSFW content of the three listed thus far.
- Although PinClub is mostly geared toward Europeans, and sex toys are scarce, but it’s another potential destination.
Of course, none of these sites has had the amazing growth of Pinterest, which is exactly why it might not be worth the average sex blogger’s time to join another social network. Pinterest could always put the wheel in motion to allowing adult content, behind some sort of warning to placate those who would rather not see it on the website or who browse from work (so very productive!). It’s not a change I would expect to come before any of the more pertinent issues that the team behind Pinterest needs to take on. In the meantime, are we sex bloggers not allowed?
Do you Pinterest with your sex blogger identity? Are you a member of any of the other sites? Or do you think that the virtual pinboard just isn’t for us sex bloggers and toy reviewers??
I was adverse to Pinterest from the start because anything that is full of mostly women (and dismissed for that very reason) kinda freaks me out. But their policy is also worrisome. I don’t think any of the sex ones will take off. I’m sticking with Tumblr…