Okay, okay, guilty as charged for jumping on the blogging about Pinterest bandwagon this week, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t chime in right? But at least I’m taking a unique angle by trying to be a little more helpful for the gents out there as it pertains to the most recent social darling, Pinterest. Even on pinterest, dudes can shop very nice stuff like t-shirts etc.
I’ve been kicking the tires a bit on Pinterest the past few weeks, and it’s definitely something I’m finding more and more pinteresting (that just happened). I do find myself spending time just browsing through all kinds of stuff, looking for interesting things that catch my eye whether it’s cool gadgets, food, etc. However one important Pinterest lesson that contradicts all other social networks…do not follow everyone. I made that mistake and my page pulls up a smorgasbord of wedding, women’s fashion, jewelry, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I find mild interest in many of those things, but I want to focus on the the things that I’m actually connected to, and the only real way to do that right now is to stick to following like minded folks. I’m actually starting to collect some of these things and can see how this will be useful to me.
Pinterest Gender Breakdown
I definitely can see the overwhelming amount of content learning towards the feminine side (see obligatory supporting chart above courtesy of Ignite Social Media). Makes sense of course. I’d love to see more stuff for dudes. Gadgets, men’s fashion, cars, etc. Slowly but surely I anticipate that will be the case, but in the meantime, I’ve done a bit of digging to help all of you dudes get a head start on finding and following some existing heavy users that you might find useful.
Pinterest does have a couple men friendly categories to check out right out of the gate:
Some Men worth taking a look at and following:
- Ben Silbermann (go figure the founder is a dude!)
- Evan Sharp (co-founder too!)
- Ben Stovold
- Dan Polley
- Jeff Davidson
- Tim Sullentrup
- Andrew Firstenberger
- Maverick
- Oh and of course me right?
Thanks for this. I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet but what I saw on it I wondered how much of Pinterest had a male focus. I have a few of my female co-workers on it to try to figure it out but it helps to be able to dive in myself.
Totally worth it Michael. Not to mention their are reports that many folks are finding that Pinterest is driving more traffic to their websites then the Google+s and LinkedIns of the world.
I am currently on Pinterest and it is safe to say that there is male orientated content available. Just follow the right individuals.
This is just comical: Wondering about “Pinterest for Men”? Look no further.
Gentlemint[dot]com
Hey Ryan, I actually just stumbled across Gentlemint.com and signed up for an invite. It will be interesting to see if a Pinterest for guys will fly.
I actually checked out Gentlemint also but I feel like Pinterest’s shelf life may be way longer. Think about it, who is more prone to sharing visuals…males or females? I’d have to say females, therefore it may be difficult for Gentlemint to put up a fight in the online world.
I’m wondering how long Gentlemint can go before become a porn site? Think about it. It’ll start with Sports Illustrated pics grabbing the featured spots, soon Maxium will cover the homepage, then it’s all out triple-x HC content. It’s only a matter of time.
It comes across as being heavily skewed towards women so I don’t have a ton of interest. More importantly my time is limited so it is hard to justify adding a new platform to the mix.
It would have to be something really special.
It definitely is so far Jack, but I wouldn’t write it off too much. Check out this article about the amount of traffic the site is driving versus other networks: http://mashable.com/2012/02/01/pinterest-traffic-study/
Nice post! I always thought pinterest was for the fairer sex, but now I see I can get my man fix here as well. Hoow hooow haoooo!(Tim Allen Style!)
I have a confession to make. I’m not a dude. And I like tech. (Was that two confessions?)
Anyway, my first board in Pinterest was in Technology (Apps I Love). I also enjoy the Photography category which is pretty gender-neutral.
I encourage you of the male persuasion to give Pinterest a try. You may discover boards that you enjoy or have fun sharing your finds with others. Even if you don’t enjoy it, at least you’ll know what everyone is talking about!
Well what dude wouldn’t appreciate a lady into tech?! I’m definitely becoming a fan of the platform. And for what it’s worth, mostly fashion so far!
Thanks for a great intro to Pinterest, Jason!
I have tried to avoid it, but it is such a hot topic it’s becoming too irresistible now.
Cheers,
Kris
It’s definitely worth a look Kris. It will probably take a few tries, but you’ll find yourself growing more interested over time.
I’ve read a lot about the explosive growth of Pinterest. It seems super faddish to me, and I wondered how well it would monetize for the company itself besides the normal display ads, yadda yadda yadda. Then, I saw this business insider article and realized that while it is fun for now I think it is headed to be the worlds largest affiliate link farm. Genious idea to keep the lights on but can it last? Check it out: http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-secret-clever-way-pinterest-is-making-money-2012-2#it-starts-with-the-pin-find-something-interesting–pay-attention-to-the-link-1
I saw that Bill. Honestly, I have no problem with them monetizing this way. The only problem is how they weren’t very transparent about it. I think a an even better play is if they shared the affiliate revenue with their users somehow.
I actually wrote an article about ‘How Pinterest Can Win with Men’ a few days ago. http://bit.ly/xvIksP
The fact of the matter is Pinterest doesn’t have the same value to men as it does to women. It’s a woman’s dream if you think about it. Unfortunately, the uses for women aren’t exactly appealing to men, and until men can find an overall value from the platform (as women have already found), the gap between the sexes will only deepen.
Thanks for sharing some ‘men’ walls.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing. I don’t know if I agree that the discrepancy is that wide between men and woman in terms of value with Pinterest. It certainly exists, but as more men start to use it, I think that gap will become less.
Much seems to be made of the gender gap on the Pinterest site, just the same when g+ started and it was top heavy with tech males. Perhaps the focus should be on how men can use it to their advantage rather than highlighting the gap?
Nice to see you have a list of men to follow.
Totally agree Sarah. I think it’s just a matter of time now. Especially as the reports are coming in as how Pinterest is driving signifcant traffic.
MANteresting(dot)com
Site looks pretty new, but at least they don’t require an invite to sign up.
Maybe Pinterest is just a woman’s way of getting us men in touch with our feminine side?
Sorry women, it won’t work…lol
Shoot. They got me Dave. Too late for me, but save yourself!
Check out the hashtag #bropin on Twitter (and Pinterest, of course)! The tide will turn…maybe.
I just joined Pinterest and found it very interesting. While it does have a predominately female audience, there are a lot of cool things for the guys. I just found a James Bond infographic on his cool cars over 50 years. If you enjoy design or architecture, there are hundreds of logos, graphics, buildings, interiors, furniture, and cars to keep you clicking. The cool thing is, you can build your boards any way you want. Definitely request an invite!
Add your own dude content!! Enjoy 🙂
This article caught my eye as I have just joined Pinterest and was having a look around. I have already found it to be very enjoyable at first sight having browsed the photography section so far. I always appreciate reading posts about the different SM sites to pick up tips. I found your article to be very helpful. Thank you!
Thanks Rusty. Glad I could help in any way. The photography section is great and I find myself spending time in there quite a bit myself.
I would definitely add that there are plenty of sports boards. I was actually following Lance Armstrong’s amazing race in today’s Panama Half Ironman via Pinterest – FlaSwimNetwork had photos and video of it on there… plenty of stuff besides crafts and fashion on Pinterest!
That’s actually pretty cool and a great way to enhance an event. I’ll actually have to think about the possibilities of using Pinterest for events similar to Twitter and hashtags.
I joined up the other day because I had heard a lot about it (my girlfriend is obsessed with Pinterest) and I was curious. I followed the default suggestions that it gave me and found most of what they posted was of no interested to me. So I’d take your advice of not following everyone one step further and say only specific boards of people that interest you. I’m so happy they allow you to only follow certain content from certain people because like you I had way too much wedding, fashion, food/recipe posts.
Great point Tim, I should have added that to about the ability to follow particular content from people and not just everything.
Haha,
Jason this is the best post I’ve read all day. I gave myself an hour to catch up on the blogs I read and most were ho hum but this…this is AWESOME.
I may have to give up my man card, but I just started using Pinterest as well for our Balanced WorkLife Blog. I made the mistake of following everyone as well and now am in a woman’s paradise, but not so much for men.
I suppose for our company’s pinterest it’s not as much a big deal.
Loved the read, keep it up.
Bryce
Thanks Bryce! Funny about the man card, my wife has threatened to take mine away as well. The way I see it, it’s my job to be up with the trends of social media regardless of how gender specific they may be. At least that’s what I’m going with. Thanks for stopping by!
our Shed community is made up of 70% men – but I do add a few colourful sheds as well so sheddies on pinterest can make their choice
http://pinterest.com/unclewilco/shed-of-the-year-2012-entries/
Hey Dan
Great post, I too believe it wont be long before there are more males on Pinterest, and any intimidations are just trying to cash in on the gap. Pinterest know what they are doing and I expect to see them take the male market shortly!
P.s the links to founder and co-founder of pinterest return 404’s but im sure they worked when you set them up.
Jason, Thanks for including me as a dude to follow on Pinterest. And the Board of Man is the best board ever.