12 more tweaks Pinterest should make in 2012

Pinterest could be even better

We introduced you to Pinterest last fall, not only showing how the sharing network functions but how it can be used in business, and recently we offered invitations to the private network as well as solid ideas for boards that professionals can create to earn influence on Pinterest, we have also named the company one of the 60 Genius Brands to watch in 2012, so we are closely watching the growth explosion right before our eyes.

Last week, we suggested 30 improvements that visual bookmarking site, Pinterest could make, rather than rehashing why the site is so amazing and addictive. We took a look at the network from a more critical perspective in hopes that these suggestions help the growing site to continue improving so as not to lose steam. The suggestions for improvements are broken down by category and described in detail – we invite you to share additional suggestions in the comments below.

1. It would be great if my comment response could be another picture embedded in comments like tumblr. I find that sometimes I respond to emails or tweets with a simple picture of a meme like Hipster Kitty, All The Things or Conspiracy Keanu. Please let me be more clever, Pinterest, I promise to make your site more fun!
2. Perhaps Facebook has made us all lazy, but could we pretty please have a “like” button for comments? I feel compelled to craft a response to every comment left on anything I repin and I just don’t have the mental fortitude. Again, blame Facebook.
3. Could you please allow us to see our relationship histories? I would like to see that William Carlos Williams is mostly interested in my housing stories, as he has repinned most of them, liked several of them and commented on two of them. I would like to know that AGBeat readers are drawn more to one board than another. This goes back to my original request for metrics – show me what my relationships look like when I go to that user’s profile.
4. I have had three emails from separate people asking me to set up a board and curate it so they can see it. One person asked me to set up a board about preppy fashion because he’s ditching his current look, another asked for a board about cat humor specifically, and another about sustainable interior design separate from my main decor board. Pinterest, could you please add a “request board from user” or “suggest board ideas to other users” feature?
5. When a new user signs up, please don’t follow in Twitter’s footsteps and push them into following your power users. It’s offensive, let me find my own users, and don’t play favorites. New users can connect with others on the main page and build from there.
6. On the invitation email you send out on my behalf, could you please make it less about me? “Come check out my stuff” is not exactly how I would talk, rather I would invite a new person to come share with me. It just feels icky.
7. Could we please get a dislike or an “eww” button? It’s not a report, it’s just telling our friends that their pictures of hangnails or velvet pants suits are not awesome.
8. Let’s add a legitimate repin history to Pinterest. Google+ has done it and it is possible to track the origin and history of a link. I would even settle for just knowing the origin of the repin, where a link appeared first in the ecosystem.
9. Pinterest, could I please just search pins and boards from my friends? Someone pinned a gluten-free cupcake recipe the other day, but I cannot find it because I have to shuffle through all one bajillion users’ pins.
10. When I enter a board and I click to see one specific pin, I would love to have a “next” arrow so that I don’t have to click on the tiny pictures on the board or go back out to the main board. I’d like to start at the beginning, because some people are using the site as a form of storytelling which is difficult to navigate.
11. In our list of 30 suggestions, Kim Hollenshead commented that she would like stability on the iPhone, a complaint we have heard a lot about.
12. Also, Stephanie Crawford suggested that users be offered an embed code for a board or a pin to be copied and pasted on to another website. Houzz.com has accomplished this, so we assume Pinterest could easily implement as well.

This concludes our love letter to Pinterest. We are suggesting improvements so that our favorite new network can thrive and grow. Tell us in the comments what changes you would like to see.