Hooray for Houzz.com, that listens to its users!
*Update*
That discussion has disappeared from Houzz.com, so I used the fabulous Wayback Machine, and pulled it up. The text went as follows:
Wondering why we can't pin our fave pictures on Pintrest? Not being rude here just seriously want to know, is there a legal reason?
posted 2 days ago in Using Houzz by ldirk | last reply 31 hours ago
13 replies
annalea123 says:
I'd love to know, too. Not "allowing" Pinterest links is seriously hurting Houzz. Sure, it brought me here and I now know what Houzz is . . . but there's no way I'm going to start using the service after they've fouled up my method for keeping track of my idea files. The lack of perceived goodwill is pretty glaring -- and I don't have time for two services anyway.
2 days ago
sheilaschmitz says:
Thank you for your comments, ldirk and annalea123! We love our community and truly appreciate your feedback. We are currently looking for a solution that will also address the requests from design professionals on the site to keep their photos protected.
When we started Houzz in 2009, a priority was to create a place where design professionals and others would feel comfortable and protected when sharing their work. When members share their portfolios on our site, they know we have done our best to make sure their photos are presented in the way that they have chosen.
We recently discovered that 20,000 images from Houzz had been posted to Pinterest. From there they can be copied again to other places. We certainly do not wish to spoil anyone's experience with Pinterest; we were simply fulfilling a promise we made to the designers when they gave us license to use their images on our site.
Again, we are trying to work with Pinterest to find a solution that will solve everyone's needs.
When we started Houzz in 2009, a priority was to create a place where design professionals and others would feel comfortable and protected when sharing their work. When members share their portfolios on our site, they know we have done our best to make sure their photos are presented in the way that they have chosen.
We recently discovered that 20,000 images from Houzz had been posted to Pinterest. From there they can be copied again to other places. We certainly do not wish to spoil anyone's experience with Pinterest; we were simply fulfilling a promise we made to the designers when they gave us license to use their images on our site.
Again, we are trying to work with Pinterest to find a solution that will solve everyone's needs.
2 days ago
ldirk says:
Awesome! Thank You so much for answering my question. I wondered if it wasn't something as such. I have to sort of agree with annalea123! that it seems negative even though you are just fulfilling a promise. I hope it can be resolved because I love these two sites equally and I direct all my friends to both. I don't plan on quitting Houzz. It's an awesome site. But I will say that many others will be directed to your site via Pinterest. I have found numerous sites since joining there and it makes it simple to be redirected to the origin of the photo.
Thanks Again! And thanks for your great site. Lots of hard work and time goes in to Houzz and I really do appreciate it.
Thanks Again! And thanks for your great site. Lots of hard work and time goes in to Houzz and I really do appreciate it.
2 days ago
annalea123 says:
Hi Sheila,
I appreciate your time to answer. One thing that's important to bear in mind is that once photos are posted on the internet, control is gone. If photos are here at houzz.com, they can be downloaded, copied, pasted, ad infinitum. (There are plenty of image-capture programs out there if right-clicking is disabled in the page html.) As it is, code is offered upon right-clicking to embed the photo wherever I want, so I'm at a loss to see how disdaining Pinterest pins protects anyone.
A designer's work pinned (and repinned, going viral) on Pinterest is some of the very best free marketing ever. The social networking aspects of Pinterest make it one of the most powerful tools so far for making sure images are seen. And if you're a designer, whose work must be seen, I'm having trouble understanding how that's a bad thing.
All of the hyperventilating about limiting what amounts to fair use really is self-defeating. I'm sad that these designers don't yet grasp the importance of always gaining a wider audience. Pinterest is, quite literally, a "quotation" site, but it quotes images instead of text. Images are always linked back to their original sources, which will drive traffic both to Houzz and to the designers in general.
As the business-minded wife of a software company owner, and an active customer/consumer, I love to see companies that humble themselves and realize that without goodwill and a great reputation for generosity and friendliness, they simply won't make it. Designers fall under that same category.
There are tons of great designers out there, in innumerable fields. I'm sorry that those who post to Houzz are actively opting out of such a fast-growing and highly active marketing tool as Pinterest.
You may now return to your regularly-scheduled evening. This rant chapter of the Great American Novel is now over. ;o) Thanks for reading!
I appreciate your time to answer. One thing that's important to bear in mind is that once photos are posted on the internet, control is gone. If photos are here at houzz.com, they can be downloaded, copied, pasted, ad infinitum. (There are plenty of image-capture programs out there if right-clicking is disabled in the page html.) As it is, code is offered upon right-clicking to embed the photo wherever I want, so I'm at a loss to see how disdaining Pinterest pins protects anyone.
A designer's work pinned (and repinned, going viral) on Pinterest is some of the very best free marketing ever. The social networking aspects of Pinterest make it one of the most powerful tools so far for making sure images are seen. And if you're a designer, whose work must be seen, I'm having trouble understanding how that's a bad thing.
All of the hyperventilating about limiting what amounts to fair use really is self-defeating. I'm sad that these designers don't yet grasp the importance of always gaining a wider audience. Pinterest is, quite literally, a "quotation" site, but it quotes images instead of text. Images are always linked back to their original sources, which will drive traffic both to Houzz and to the designers in general.
As the business-minded wife of a software company owner, and an active customer/consumer, I love to see companies that humble themselves and realize that without goodwill and a great reputation for generosity and friendliness, they simply won't make it. Designers fall under that same category.
There are tons of great designers out there, in innumerable fields. I'm sorry that those who post to Houzz are actively opting out of such a fast-growing and highly active marketing tool as Pinterest.
You may now return to your regularly-scheduled evening. This rant chapter of the Great American Novel is now over. ;o) Thanks for reading!
2 days ago
islandhome says:
With you annalea123 on this. Houzz's stance on this has been very disappointing particularly as these designers portfolios are online and available to pin without going through Houzz.
Enough to turn me off Houzz and stick with Pinterest.
I'm curious to know how this will affect bloggers who use images from here? After all Pinterest provides links to follow back to source whereas a blogger can easily eliminate all that information when posting an image from Houzz.
Enough to turn me off Houzz and stick with Pinterest.
I'm curious to know how this will affect bloggers who use images from here? After all Pinterest provides links to follow back to source whereas a blogger can easily eliminate all that information when posting an image from Houzz.
48 hours ago
angela_kuzior says:
I completely agree with annalea123-you are a very eloquent writer! Everything she mentions about images being "protectable" is correct, as I'm sure you well know.
I am a photographer myself and would be absolutely delighted if a photo of mine went viral on Pinterest since it would lead so many back to my site and/or blog. There is quite a difference between saving a photo (or what have you) on a pin board online vs. STEALING a photo for print or to claim as your own work.
I'd also like to point out that I had never even heard of your site until someone was bashing it ON Pinterest for taking away a ton of folks pins, many of whom I'm sure were the same as me and had not heard of your site before they found something they thought was beautiful pinned from it on Pinterest.
I have literally replaced a lot of the paper in my office by using Pinterest and will not frequent any site that does not allow me to pin something so I don't have to try to remember the path I took to get back to it.
I hope you will reconsider this horrible business idea and that the designers you work with understand that nothing they make available on the internet is sacred.
I am a photographer myself and would be absolutely delighted if a photo of mine went viral on Pinterest since it would lead so many back to my site and/or blog. There is quite a difference between saving a photo (or what have you) on a pin board online vs. STEALING a photo for print or to claim as your own work.
I'd also like to point out that I had never even heard of your site until someone was bashing it ON Pinterest for taking away a ton of folks pins, many of whom I'm sure were the same as me and had not heard of your site before they found something they thought was beautiful pinned from it on Pinterest.
I have literally replaced a lot of the paper in my office by using Pinterest and will not frequent any site that does not allow me to pin something so I don't have to try to remember the path I took to get back to it.
I hope you will reconsider this horrible business idea and that the designers you work with understand that nothing they make available on the internet is sacred.
48 hours ago
cookles2 says:
Why would anyone post anything on the internet if they wanted to keep it private. I love you site and have spent many hours searching reading and enjoying. I am in the process of building a new house. Being able to catalog my likes on PINTEREST has been a godsend, I can easily share my likes and dislikes with my entire design team. Over 100 pins from Houzz were just deleted, all that invested time ... GONE! Business wise I can't imagine your designers and advertisers wouldn't want the exposure, I have used a few of your leads. Hope this can be resolved .... till then I can't spend the time searching your site for info that later I can't retrieve easily.
43 hours ago
houzzsupport says:
Thank you again for your feedback and ideas. We read them all and take them seriously. We have written to Pinterest to let them know they can continue to allow their users to pin photos they find on Houzz.
We value all members of the Houzz community and want your experience to be the best it can be — on Houzz as well as Pinterest. We are sure there's a solution that works for everyone and will do whatever we can to make that happen.
We value all members of the Houzz community and want your experience to be the best it can be — on Houzz as well as Pinterest. We are sure there's a solution that works for everyone and will do whatever we can to make that happen.
39 hours ago
annalea123 says:
I believe one word begs appropriate use here:
Waaah-hoo! :o)
Houzz, you just earned major points in my book. Thank you!
Now, to find that email so I can repin the Houzz photos I had before . . .
Waaah-hoo! :o)
Houzz, you just earned major points in my book. Thank you!
Now, to find that email so I can repin the Houzz photos I had before . . .
34 hours ago
annalea123 says:
P.S.) Now I just need to wait for Pinterest to whitelist Houzz so their "Pin It" bookmarklet will work again. . . .
34 hours ago
