I've been playing on Pinterest for a little while, since I was aware of it I suppose - a visual version of reddit, mainly American, and judging by some of the names of people that follow my pins, big in Scandinavia.
If you're not familiar with it then it splits into board - which are made up of peoples individual boards that are sorted into these categories - sometimes it slips up - weight loss pins seeping into the geek board but the Food & Drink board is pretty solidly full of pretty, yummy things to eat. That's the first thing you notice is how pretty everything is on there.
There's the instagram effect - everything looks pretty with a faux-vintage digital filter (even us) and the rise of good cameras on mobile phones I'm sure has had something to do with the quality of photos on the boards - even if everything I take a photo off comes out yellow - but so many of the pins focus on pretty little party food - things on sticks (Coming soon, a board entirely for these) - little nibbles, tiny bites - the things cookery magazines have been hawking to us for years, but no one really expected to be able to live up to, and no one really made at home - but it was print media, and everyone knows print media lies.
But this is the internet, and the feeling on pinterest is that these are, normal people - desperate housewives in the states who produce wonderful healthy lunch box snacks for sprawling families as if it's nothing. I know, I've tried to make pretty things, I've succeeded on a few occasions, but I'm also aware that people don't really notice if the food you serve is a little lop sided, or a mini tart has it's guts spilled over. I just wonder if this very glossy view of food will change the way people think about how they make food for their friends, if anyone who has built up confidence in cooking will have it knocked back because they don't have the time, or the skills to make everything look Pinterest pretty...
Update:
http://pinterest.com/wormella/things-on-sticks/
If you're not familiar with it then it splits into board - which are made up of peoples individual boards that are sorted into these categories - sometimes it slips up - weight loss pins seeping into the geek board but the Food & Drink board is pretty solidly full of pretty, yummy things to eat. That's the first thing you notice is how pretty everything is on there.
There's the instagram effect - everything looks pretty with a faux-vintage digital filter (even us) and the rise of good cameras on mobile phones I'm sure has had something to do with the quality of photos on the boards - even if everything I take a photo off comes out yellow - but so many of the pins focus on pretty little party food - things on sticks (Coming soon, a board entirely for these) - little nibbles, tiny bites - the things cookery magazines have been hawking to us for years, but no one really expected to be able to live up to, and no one really made at home - but it was print media, and everyone knows print media lies.
But this is the internet, and the feeling on pinterest is that these are, normal people - desperate housewives in the states who produce wonderful healthy lunch box snacks for sprawling families as if it's nothing. I know, I've tried to make pretty things, I've succeeded on a few occasions, but I'm also aware that people don't really notice if the food you serve is a little lop sided, or a mini tart has it's guts spilled over. I just wonder if this very glossy view of food will change the way people think about how they make food for their friends, if anyone who has built up confidence in cooking will have it knocked back because they don't have the time, or the skills to make everything look Pinterest pretty...
Update:
http://pinterest.com/wormella/things-on-sticks/