Pinning Woes, Scraper Scandals & Your Power

Pinning from the original source is vitally important to artists and bloggers.  It generates traffic for us. A wrongly pinned project diverts traffic from your own original post and all the hard work it represents. 


Apart from the recent "scraper scandals" you may be hearing about {stealing bloggers' content}, some of our very own are using the pin button in dubious ways ~putting it right next to or on top of your featured project photo. This hurts all of us.

I am VERY picky about pinning. You'll see language and/or these signs plastered on my linky parties and features. I want you to get credit when it comes to YOUR work. 

Receiving lots of traffic from Pinterest, I value it. But like any artist, I want it done properly. 

And legally. 

I've left comments asking for a pin to be edited on the few occasions when, despite my pleas on my posts, your work has been pinned from my blog:

Alas, after making 3 of these comments in a row, Pinterest barred me from commenting. Arrgh! I've emailed Pinterest but it took several months to have my commenting ability restored. 

So.... when I received a FANTASTIC Pinterest tip from Kirstin over at Craftiments to help encourage pinning from the original post, I put it to use immediately! She showed how to make a message like this pop up for any image on your blog that is not your own:

Actually, I started having fun with the messages I embedded to discourage pinning linky party features or the amazing projects from my Inspiring Creative Women series:

But THEN, Kirstin discovered another tip that will make a photo un-pinnable from your blog. Even if you don't host a linky party or feature other people's work on your blog, many folks would want to use this tip to prevent family photographs from being pinned.


Go check out Kirstin's blogging tip on Encouraging the Pinner to Go to the Original Source for the 411 on how to do this. I had been using the original tip on all recent features because: YOU are WORTH it! Now, I'm applying this new and improved tip.


And here's my pledge to you: When you party with me or are featured here at I Gotta Create!, I will not steal your traffic by encouraging pins of your work from my blog.  I value our relationship. I value your hard work and your ideas. And I value my own integrity. I always ask that visitors click on the link to your blog before pinning. In the past, if they chose to violate pinning policy and copyright law, they received a funny pin description that has a link to your post so they can edit the pin for proper attribution. Often people don't know better, so this grabs their attention and educates. From here on out, I will use Kirstin's tip so that your work cannot be erroneously pinned from my blog.


Remember Your Power!  You vote with your clicks and your links. You make a blog or a party popular with your support. Link up and browse at parties that respect you and your work. 

Leave me a comment and share what's on your mind about this. 

You can browse more tips at the Blog Tips Cafe by clicking *here.*

Link up your DiY, Crafts, and more 

at the Wildly Original Linky Party !

{I host a weekly linky party. Come find out more here!  I'm sharing this Pinterest Woes, Scrapers & Your Power with...Monday:  Craftomaniac, Making The World Cuter, Alderberry Hill, Skip to My Lou, Cherished Bliss; Tuesday:  Not Just a Housewife, Nap-Time Creations, The DIY Dreamer, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Savvy Southern Style, Uncommon, What We Wore & Made, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family. Elizabeth & Co.; Wednesday:  The 36th Avenue, Live-Laugh-Rowe, Someday Crafts, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Trendy Treehouse,  Snap; Thursday: Johnny in a Dress, My Repurposed Life, Tidy Mom, Shabby Nest; Friday:  Funky Junk Interiors, Anything Goes, Finding Fabulous, My Simple Home Life, Romantic Home, French Country Cottage, Tatertots and Jello, Thirty Handmade Days, Naptime Crafters, Stuff & Nonsense, One Creative Mommy; Saturday:  Be Different Act Normal, Tutus & Tea Parties, Positively Splendid, Sew Country Chick; Sunday: Nifty Thrifty Things, DIY Project Parade, Under The Table and Dreaming, My 1929 Charmer, Sew Darned Crafty; Overflowing}