Is it naïve to think that for once we might have a popular social media site that isn’t riddled with spam? Yes, unfortunately, it is naïve. Today, I received my first Pinterest spam. Have you been hit yet? If not, prepare for it. The spam is coming sooner than you think. All it takes is for some black hat programmer to build an automated way to post and tag on Pinterest. Once this happens (it may have already) the flood gates will be open.
Admittedly, I don’t do much with Pinterest yet so to receive a mention on someone’s pin was a surprise. Naturally, I clicked to see what they were talking about.
Ah, they got me! The link sent me to a Pinterest page full of bikini clad women and links to a weight loss website – obvious spam. This forced me to reflect back on my early days of Internet naïveté and MySpace.
Now what? Is this allowed by Pinterest’s Terms of Use? After some digging, it’s clear that Pinterest anticipated this possibly happening by directly addressing it in their Terms & Privacy - Acceptable Use Policy below.
“You agree not to engage in any of the following prohibited activities:
. . . Send any unsolicited or unauthorized spam and spam comments on posts, advertising messages, promotional materials, email, junk mail, chain letters or other form of solicitation. . .”
This activity is neither sanctioned nor permitted on Pinterest.
Luckily for us, Pinterest provides an easy way to report this type of Spam. Simply click on the Report Pin button next to each image.
Don’t be surprised if your inbox starts to fill up with messages like the one above. Spammers will go to any length to get you to click on something, capture your email address or just grab the attention of your eyeballs. Hopefully, Pinterest is busy working on ways to stop spammers from using this new popular platform and filling up our inboxes with garbage. In the meantime, the Report Pin button will be my best friend. For non-spam help with social media, watch this expert panel with our guests Jay Baer, Laura “Pistachio” Fitton and Jim Kukral.
| Follow @CPollittIU |
| Follow @Kuno |
