Why Pinterest Is Playing Dumb About Making Money - Alexis Madrigal
Why Pinterest Is Playing Dumb About Making Money - Alexis Madrigal - Technology - The Atlantic
Nonetheless, once the story broke that Pinterest was quietly making money off its users (the horror!), the company started to backpedal on its practices. That reached full bloom in a Wall Street Journal article yesterday in which various Pinterest parties (CEO, board member) fell all over themselves to declaim that the company knew anything about making money. (…)
The key to this model here is the Superman III principle: they are making pennies on a retail shopping market that is truly gigantic, and they are taking their cut from the top-line. Forrester estimates that the online retail market, in the US alone, will total $279 billion in 2015.
And really, what a win for everyone. Users get a great service and don’t have to look at advertising. Retailers get a new outlet for marketing. Pinterest connects all these buyers and sellers.
