Pintrest – Blogging Without Words

English: Red Pinterest logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Looking at the success of Pintrest this morning it finally hit me. Pintrest is a success for a couple of reasons, but one in particular. It requires very little writing.

A Base Level

At a base level Pintrest gives the average or time constrained person the ability to communicate in pictures without having to write a single word. This simple ease of use and and the ability to share ideas via images is at the core of human nature.  Here are a few reasons Pintrest  is successful and just might grow.

• US and World Literacy Rate – The literacy rate in US is certainly not the worst in the world, but it’s not the best either. Even if many people are comfortable reading and understanding what they read, writing is much more difficult. Ever try to convince a friend to blog in order to help their job search or make a few bucks on the side? Remember the facial reaction you got? Either from fear or lack of ability, most folks don’t want to write because it’s hard. Posting pictures on the other hand is not.
• It’s in Our DNA- Most people know about the earliest cave drawings found in France. They tell stories, instruct and share knowledge without a single word. It’s how we first learn to communicate with our mothers reading us picture book on their laps. We cut pictures from magazines (you remember them right?) when we were kids and pasted them on poster board for projects. By this point in our culture sharing images is second nature.
• It’s Global- One of the best things about posting pictures is they are universal. Like the cave drawings, a picture tells a thousand words. It does not need Google translator or further explanation.

These qualities let Pintrest take the mantle of the worlds easiest to use blogging platform.

• Easy to use
• Little or No writing required
• Image based communications

Pinterest might continue to grow because of its simplicity.  If it can resist the need to add things on and evolve like many other platforms have done , it just might continue its explosive growth. This of course is asking a lot. Another human need is to grow, change and evolve. This is especially true in a world where the desire to make increasingly larger amounts of money trumps common sense.