If you have logged into Pinterest today and greeted by a “Namaste” written in Hindi, don’t be startled. This is not an April fool’s day gag! Pinterest has added ‘Hindi’ to its list of language options today, thereby launching the Hindi version for its ever-growing Indian user base. So what’s this noise all about and what changes do we actually get to see from today? Read on to know more –
The high points of these changes are as follows –
With the addition of Hindi now Pinterest supports 24 of world’s premier languages
Why this sudden inclusion of Hindi in Pinterest?
Well, the experts are saying that Pinterest, although not as popular as Facebook or Twitter in India is slowly and gradually coming in the front row, in terms of popularity, among Indian social media users. In 2013, a study by media group Semiocast showed that India ranks 10th in terms of the number of worldwide Pinterest users with US topping the chart followed by the UK. However, with smartphones becoming the next big thing to grab for the average Indian consumer, Pinterest usage in India has doubled in the last 6 months. This must have been the signal that the Pinterest management was long waiting for, and hence the inclusion of Hindi.
The upcoming parliamentary elections in India might also be a catalyst, as a reputed journalist remarked in a tweet earlier today. Pinterest being essentially a photo sharing medium and with increasing number of political cartoons and memes circulating in the social web in the build up to the elections, Pinterest will play a big role, as now Non-English speakers too would take advantage of Pinterest just like they do with Facebook, another industry veteran remarked.
Only time will tell the impact of this change, but as for the commoners it’s a welcome post- Holi treat! So what are you waiting for? Roll up your sleeves and start pinning in Hindi.
There’s a hush-hush going on in the social media circuit that Pinterest is testing animated GIFs. The little birdy from Twitter chirped this ‘supposedly’ undercover development taking place at the Pinterest labs yesterday. Now you might wonder why’s all this secrecy and what’s it all about? Well, to cut to the chase, let me tell you that Pinterest unlike its big brothers – Facebook, Google Plus and Twitter has never been vocal about their in-house experiments and only those developments which pass the conformity test from its highest management gets due approval to go public. But then what happened now? Let me explain.
GIFs are social engagement boosters
It is for this reason particularly that Pinterest has turned their attention towards GIFs and will soon make the facility available to users to pin and share animated GIF images on their boards. Social media scientists are of the view that Pinterest has taken cue from Google Plus – Google’s very own social networking site that didn’t perform well as compared to Facebook in spite of huge expectations. They noted that since Google Plus allow GIF images and that a majority of the highest viewed, shared and talked about posts in G+ are GIF animated images, Pinterest is simply trying to invest on the same and bite on to Google Plus’s growing supremacy in the GIF domain.
How animated GIFs will work on Pinterest?
Now, that’s a million dollar question given that no one is pretty sure on that. But as of now the word which has come out is that, the animated GIF feature would be available only to some select pinners. Once a user uploads an animated GIF image on to a pin board, they can play or pause the animation at their sweet will. All they have to do is control their action by clicking on a tiny play button at the lower left-hand corner of each image.
A Pinterest spokesman was heard saying that they (Pinterest) are always trying to enhance the usability of their platform so that people can pin and share things they love as well as discover new things along the way. Animated GIFs are no doubt going to add dynamism to the already vibrant Pinterest platform.
What to Expect in coming Days
Expect the unexpected! Well that’s what social media is; you can never predict when a new trend will catch up with the social media population. Take for example the curious case of the GIFs. Even a year back GIFs were just an image format and now animated GIFs are ruling the popularity charts in Google Plus. Major brands are drawn to this trend so much so that even Verizon has introduced an animated GIF image as their profile banner moving with the trend. So expect outstanding developments in Pinterest in the coming days.