Anybody here a Pinterest expert? I have a few questions. I’ve been pinning for about a year now, and I still have no clue about many things.
Last week, I pinned a Pinterest-suggested pin (one of those picked-for-you pins) that became popular. Within minutes, it had been repinned for at least a couple dozen times.
And then, it started getting comments. Mostly from people being upset that the pin did not lead to the correct recipe and had in fact led to a completely different recipe on a seemingly shady website. Of course I have no idea what a shady website is supposed to look like, but for the sake of argument let’s call it shady. More interesting that way.
The whole thing upset me, too. I had no idea I pinned a fraudulent pin. It was picked for you! By the way, does anybody know who the picker is? I had assumed it was Pinterest. Was I wrong?
Anyway, I ended up deleting the pin. Now my question is, what happened to all the repins? Are they all deleted, too? Does anybody have an answer? Anybody?
Don’t worry too much if you don’t have an answer. I’m not exactly all that concerned. I just need to be careful about what I pin from now on. It’s always good to check the source first!
Now let’s just party, shall we?
First, we look at these superb recipes from last week:
Chocolate Butterscotch Cheesecake from Michelle @Giraffes Can Bake.
“When I think of Michelle, visions of sugary sweetness come to mind. That gal can bake and create in her kitchen, she can tantalize you with her wonderful dessert concoctions every week and this Fiesta Friday was no different. Her Chocolate Butterscotch cheesecake had me stuck on her page forever! I could not stop salivating, the decadence and chocolatey goodness just oozed through the screen. I’d have been perfectly content with a slice of the cheesecake by itself, but then top it with the to-die-for Brown Butter Butterscotch Chocolate Sauce and my palate was doing cartwheels and thanking me.” — Loretta
“Michelle’s of Giraffes can Bake’s Chocolate Butterscotch Cheesecake is such a perfect antidote to all that talk about diets: the sheer indulgence – oreos, mascarpone and chocolate – the perfect centrepiece of any party!” — Ginger
Hungarian Egg Twist from Julie @Hostess At Heart.
“Julie’s Hungarian Egg Twist bread was one heck of a beauty! I love Julie’s determination to conquer the yeast beast, and she’s done it in strides. I’ve watched her get involved with bakers and challenges and I’ll have to say this bread was truly a winner. The gorgeous golden crust and the texture just seemed like it came out of a bakery. The addition of lemon zest gave it the final touch. I can only imagine the aroma that seeped through Julie’s entire house. I’d love to tuck into a couple of slices with butter and jam dripping, a cup of hot tea, and I’d be in my happy place for a few days :)” — Loretta
“Julie’s Hungarian Egg Twist is such a beautiful take on bread! I loved the story, the pictures, and the recipe. Gorgeous.” — Ginger
Green Pepper Panchamrut from Sandhya @Indfused.
“I loved Sandhya’s Green Pepper Panchamrut – the colours, flavours and textures are absolutely mind-boggling! It does take quite a number of ingredients that you might not have at hand unless you enjoy Asian cooking, but looking at the pictures and at Sandhya’s description makes it all worth it. We’ll be having that soon!” — Ginger
Fig, Avocado and Cashews Dessert from Zeba @Food For The Soul.
“Zeba’s Figs, Avocado and Cashews contribution to Fiesta Friday was absolutely spot on in my books. You see I’m the world’s worst when it comes to controlling my sweet tooth urge, I make up every kind of excuse to indulge. But with this healthy dessert, I could easily partake and not feel the guilt. The filling with the addition of creamy cashews, cocoa powder, figs and the surprise ingredient of avocados is nothing short of “healthy and wholesome” without the addition of sugar. Zeba’s pictures say it all, don’t they?” — Loretta
And now we can proceed with the party! Your co-hosts this week are Effie @Food Daydreaming and Jhuls @The Not So Creative Cook. It’s Effie’s first time, so be gentle, people, be gentle… Don’t want to scare her off. And you behave, Jhuls! 😀
It’s time to party! Join Fiesta Friday #65 by adding your link!
Click on the blue “Add your link” button on the bottom of the page.
If you’re new to Fiesta Friday, please read the guidelines
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Can’t answer your question but always wondered who pinner was. Thanks for sharing and helping us all beware of shady pinners Angie.
I’m glad I’ve made you aware. That’s my PSA (public service announcement) of the day! 😀
I feel your pan on Pinterest. I am still trying to figure it out. I have not had your problem and I try to repin as much as I can. I need to take a class! Happy Fiesta Friday!!!
Sorry pain not pan. I have breakfast on the brain :)))
I actually think I was lucky the pin received comments. I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I think it’d be a good idea to check on the sources of these pins. Btw, I’m not sure we’ve seen you @Fiesta Friday before. So, welcome aboard! Feel free to join us anytime! 🙂
Oh my! I have pinned so many stuffs from this Picked for You. I don’t even bother to check if the link of the pin works. Lucky me, I have not received any comments. Meaning, I don’t have answer to your questions, Angie. But you gave me an idea to check if the pin works or not. So thanks for bringing this up. 😀
And don’t I always behave? 😀 Hmm, I think I know the answer to that. Thanks for letting me co-host again. Happy FF. xx
You’re behaving very nicely right now, Jhuls! 😀 About Pinterest, read Dini and Stephanie’s comments below. I think it’s a good idea to check on the source before pinning.
Sorry, I’m a non-pinterest kinda gal. Please tell us all the answer if you ever find out.
I’ve brought two dishes this week. Why? Well, the cake was planned, but the dip just sat there saying ‘bring me, bring me’ so I have.
It seems the repins will stay even if the original had been deleted. At least that’s what some people are saying (read Stephanie’s comment down below). Oh, well…
I’m glad you’ve brought the dip along. I’m certifiably dipaholic! 😀
Sorry, Miss Angie, I don’t have an answer for you either. I do know that those who pinned the same pin and didn’t check the source either have only themselves to blame, not you. And thank you for asking me to co-host, I’m looking forward to it 🙂
Never mind Pinterest, Miss Effie! YOU’re co-hosting! That’s the most important thing! Yay!!! So excited to have and Jhuls as my co-hosts. I hope you’re having fun! 🙂
Yep, I’ve come out of my hidey hole and am co-hosting!! Slowly, but I’m getting there and having a ball, Miss Angie! Jhuls is a great co-host to have 🙂
Some Pinterest accounts were hacked last week Angie! 🙁 alot of the popular pins were stolen by some spammers to redirect traffic to their websites (for advertising income i suppose). I had to keep checking where the website went to before repinning everything last week. It’s still there now, but to a lesser extent! 🙂
Also you can check the pinning source on the pin, and if it sounds suspicious I avoid it! 🙂 It was a massive pain!!
That explains a lot! Thanks for letting me know!! When I think of it now, the source did sound suspicious. It sounded like a medical company or something, but the pin was very interesting so in a rush I just repinned. Geez, these spammers are everywhere, aren’t they?
I have no idea about the Pinterest thing but I will def take care in the future esp if it comes from you lol, just kidding. Anyway what delicious recipes again you pick, Michelle always comes up with faint worthy astounding puddings! Drooollllllllssss…the photography on these entries are superb x
My future pins will be squeaky clean, Justine, trust me! Better yet, maybe we should pin directly from our sites. No third party repins!
Michelle needs to open a bakery! 🙂
squeaky clean? coughs..and yes she does x
Yes, squeaky clean! I sent you an email 🙂
I’ve always wondered that Pinterest question Angie! My research this morning tells me that if you delete a pin, the repins still remain. I’ve accidentally pinned some great looking stuff this week, only to find that it goes to the wrong place as well. Disappointing huh?! I guess that’s how we learn! (And ohhhhh how much there is to learn. Everything is a science, right?) Welp, HAPPY FRIDAY! Let’s partaaaayyy!!!!
Thanks for doing the research and telling us, Steph! I think I’m just going to repin your pins and people that I know from now on. That should be safe, right? So much to learn, you got that right. But I find it fun!! 😀
Wow! Who knew Pinterest could be fraught with danger… I’ll be careful too and hope all is well with your board now Angie. Lovely features as usual, and am particularly interested in Zeba’s healthy tart… yum! Happy FF and thanks for hosting! 🙂
These spammers are everywhere!! I’ve actually experienced something more serious last year. My photo/pin was the one hijacked! But I was able to shut down the guy. Or gal, I wouldn’t know. Maybe I should compile all these and blog about it one day. Happy FF, Lili! 🙂
Oh dear! Great that you could shut it down! Would be interesting to know about these things, true! Happy FF to you too Angie!! 🙂
I can’t help you with Pinterest either; I can’t get interested enough in it to find out!!! Lovely picks, I loved Julie’s bread. Happy Fiesta Friday xx
Not a Pinterest person, are you? I find it dangerously addicting, like collecting clippings from magazines, something I used to do when I was younger 🙂 I’m going to give Julie’s bread a try, sounds so good!
I did give it a go, I do have an account and I pin the odd thing. I like Instagram more, and keep trying with twitter, and then of course there’s Facebook, and our blogs…I’m coming to the conclusion I don’t need to do it ALL!!! But then, maybe I should revisit Pinterest….?? 😉
Maybe it’s because I never did scrapbooking as a child, although, I did keep endless cuttings on Duran Duran…..!!!!!!
Thank you for sharing your pinterest experience. I don’t know much about it but I will check twice before pinning. Lovely treats here, Angie!
That’s the best thing to do, Sri, always check first. I’m glad I shared. Consider that my public service announcement of the day 😀
I wish I could help on the Pinterest end. That is very interesting and I will now keep an eye on that. Awesome picks! Have a wonderful weekend!
I’m glad we can all use what happened as a learning experience, Sarah. We can all be savvy pinners now! 😀 Happy FF, dear!
Hi Angie, I accidentally put in the wrong Permalink for my entry, and was wondering how to delete number 51 on the links. When I hover over the dust bin it goes away so I can’t click it. Do you know what I can do to get rid of it. Thanks for helping this technologically challenged blogger!:(
I’ll take a look when I get home, Shari. Away from computer right now. Don’t worry, I’ll fix it!
Thanks so much, Angie. You’re the best!
hi Angie
I signed up to pinterest as well but have to admit I don’t qet it. I haven’t spent a lot of time on it but one day! 🙂
Pinterest is actually a pretty darn good referrer and my direct experience with the company has been positive so I would encourage you to give it as much time as you can afford. Just beware of spammers.
Hey Angie,
I can answer all your questions. The best way to ‘pin’ is to click on the ‘pin it’ option on the image from the blog. However, if the blogger doesn’t provide that option, on the Pinterest board, you click on ‘Add Pin’. It will ask you if you want it from ‘Computer/Web’. Clicking on Web is a much simpler option. It will ask you for link of the blog post. Copy paste the link in, Say if you type in this link, it will show you all the images on this page. I am assuming you might have clicked on the wrong image. Because Pinterest has no control over the link.
Also, re-pins never get deleted. Once, it is out there, it is out there.
If you need help with setting accounts, send me an email. Happy to help <3
Hey Charanya, thanks for the help. Yes, I agree the best way to get a clean pin is from the original blog/source itself. But what I pinned (or re-pinned in this case) was a picked-for-you pin from Pinterest. There was no image selection unlike pinning from computer/web. Anyway, it sounded like there were spammers hijacking popular pins last week (read comments from Dini & Stephanie above). I’m not too concerned really, just sharing my experience that’s all. Have fun at Fiesta Friday!! 🙂
What are you up to now?! Directing people to shady websites! Actually, I’ve never heard of Pinterest picking pins for you. So it sounds like you’ve been spammed. I’d report it to Pinterest, otherwise it’ll be there forever. Yep, pins don’t disappear. Even if you put your own post into draft (that you pinned it from in the first place) it’ll come back to haunt you. I’m still getting people looking for access to FTP, even though I set it to private a year ago. And that’s through Pinterest.
You mean you haven’t seen those picked-for-you pins? How come I get them all the time? Somebody out there must have known I’m a novice! Darn it it’s in my name! But I still love Pinterest, I have to say. I get steady views from it daily. Plus the customer support is very helpful, unlike FB. Can’t even get hold of them. Oh well, at least they’re free.
Do you mean through emails from Pinterest, as in ‘Pins you’ll love’ and stuff like that? I never look at those, partly as they use thee most dreadful puns! Instantly deleted. Last year, one of my followers was hijacked (which I reported) as her boards were never being used. Since then I’m cautious about what I click on. And you’re right, it’s a great way to get regular traffic.
I get those emails too, but no, that’s not what I’m talking about. When you get on Pinterest, and you click on that P icon on the upper left corner, you’ll get a bunch of pins. Some say picked-for-you, some promoted-by, some found-on, etc. I assumed the picked-for-you were generated automatically based on your interest. But in hindsight, I should have known it’s all probably software driven, so it has its problems. Like you said, unless we tell pinterest, they wouldn’t be able to know if a pin had been hijacked or not. I actually had one of my pins hijacked last year. I had to file a DMCA.
Okay, I get where you’re coming from. I never use that feature. But, when looking for pins for my boards, I do make a point of checking the links – just in case! That’s probably the only thing you can do to safeguard against what happened recently.
I’m only going to pin or repin from your boards from now on! 🙂 🙂
Hahaha! Actually, I should’ve added that I only double-check the links when pinning through Pinterest. It’s such a big site now that it’s best to do it that way. Just right click on the pin, open in new tab, then right click the link, etc. Otherwise I could be linking to dodgy sites – unwittingly, of course! 🙂 Off to grab some beauty sleep (much needed). Enjoy your party!
Nighty night, Sir! Don’t let the bedbugs bite! 🙂
I wish I know more about this to be able to help you out, Angie. So sorry that this happened. 🙁
It wasn’t all that bad, truthfully. Just a little nerve-wracking getting those comments “Annoying!” “Irritating!” etc. I recently had one of my posts featured on theberry.com and the comments were insanely disrespectful. Maybe I’ll talk about it next time. it took a lot of self-restraint on my part to not respond.
I think perhaps you’ve just been unlucky Angie! I’ve occasionally pinned in the same way and never had any trouble like this… though I only have a handful of followers, so that might make a difference. How frustrating for though to have people commenting/complaining like that!? It’s ONLY Pinterest after all! :o/ Put it in perspective people!
It was a case of bad luck most likely, though I actually feel lucky that it happened ‘coz it opened my eyes. I had a much worse case last year when my pin was the one hijacked. That was a lot tougher to deal with. Part and parcel of putting yourself out there in the public arena, I suppose 🙂
Thanks for hosting another party.
You’re welcome, Sadhna! I hope you’re enjoying the party!
Oh dear! A blog is enough for me to handle at the moment, let alone other social media platforms. I hope you resolve the issue!
I was reluctant to join any of these social media at first, but since the experts say they’re an extension of your blog, I did. Haven’t joined Twitter though. Like you said there’s only so much we can handle 🙂 Everything’s fine with Pinterest, thanks!
Pinterest! I love it and don’t always check pins right away, and good for people commenting! There’s a better way, though: Any suspicious or offensive pin should be opened up by clicking on it. On the bottom right, under the photo, there is a tiny flag. Click on the flag and it opens up a small menu, hit the radial button for the reason reporting and send.
It takes about 30 seconds. Pinterest does work/investigate and remove these – somehow all at once.
And “picked” for you seems to be a more recent feature. I’ve never gotten an email from pinterest, so I assume at some point when I set up there must have been a way to opt out!
Hope that helps! I was happy to see you there last week and immediately followed! 🙂
I should have flagged the pin! I hope someone else did! I’ll make sure I do that next time. Yes, picked for you started only recently. As well as promoted by. I think this must be a way for Pinterest to make money. Pinners must have paid for their pins to be promoted, etc. That’s my guess. But I’m no expert 🙂 Thanks for your explanation and for following. I’ll be looking for you and follow back! XO
Oh I’m already following you, yay!!
Yay I finally made it to the party!! I’ll be linking my posts up as a late pick me up in a minute haha! Thanks sooooo much for the feature, that was a lovely surprise after an exhausting weekend!
As for pinterest, I’m trying to use it a lot more but I’m still a bit clueless about most of it. Like Dini said it was hacked last week so hopefully all the shady pins are disappearing. I think the picked for you feature is for popular pins, like the more repins you get or the more popular your board/pinterest is the more pinterest will show your pins to everybody. I’m sure there is a way to pay to promote your pins too, they are a business after all!
I had a recipe of mine pinned from my blog (using one of my least favourite photos of the lot, typical) and it really took off, as of yesterday it had almost 800 repins – which is probably a drop in the ocean compared to most popular blogs/pinterests but it was very exciting for me haha!
That cake is incredible! When are you opening your bakery? 🙂 You should at least put up an order page on your site so we can place an order! 🙂
That’s exciting about your pin. I have one, too, and of course they picked the least pretty photo. Always happens! Everytime it gets repinned, I keep wanting to say “Hey, there are prettier photos, people!” 🙂
Haha if baked things shipped well I would definitely open an order page!
Haha it’s always the way, I think they do it on purpose!