I’m not on Pinterest. I’m on Instagram, Path, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, Flickr, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Posterous, YouTube, Soundcloud, Google+, Goodreads, Diigo, and several other services I can’t think of at the moment.
It’s been my job for the last 7 years to consult with clients on the use of social media. It’s been my job to be one of the first people to sign up for, use and understand how these tools can help my clients connect with their customers. So why am I not on Pinterest? It’s not because I’ve quit signing up for new services. I just signed up for the new service Jux last week. It’s not because I didn’t think Pinterest would be big. I was pretty certain it would be. It’s actually because I thought it would be big that I haven’t signed up for the service. What? Let me explain.
I’ve been “that guy” for the last seven years. I’ve been the guy that knew about social media and I’ve made a wonderful career for myself being “that guy.” But we’re moving into a stage in this space where “that guy” shouldn’t exist. And “that guy” really shouldn’t exist at an agency. The whole agency should be smart about this kind of stuff. And at the agency I’m at we’re getting to the point where social media doesn’t exist in one group anymore. Sure we have consultants that can help you with these tools but increasingly we’re used for the big digital strategies not just specific social media tactics. And this is the right move IMO.
So as the market moves in that direction I wanted to accomplish three things:
- Give other people the chance to be the expert.
- Give myself a break from the “new hot tool.”
- Experience what it’s like to not be on a hot social network that everyone is talking about.
Will I eventually join Pinterest? Maybe. Probably. Eventually. I don’t know. Do I feel like I’m missing out on anything? Nope. Because honestly, I’m more about content creation (blogging, posting, taking photos) than I am about aggregation.
So what do you think? Should I keep holding out? I should I give in and start pinning?
