Pinterest lays foundation for making money
The U.S. startup Pinterest is laying the groundwork for future revenue. As the social network announced on Tuesday, companies can now see how many visitors were redirected to their sites via the Pinterest website.
Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where users display their interests and hobbies. They post videos, upload photos, offer recipes or jot down their shopping lists. The service, which has 30 million users worldwide, is particularly popular with women. In Switzerland, the network is little known. In the U.S., however, more and more retailers such as Gap, Patagonia, and Dell are using the platform, which has been around for three years, to advertise promotions or special offers.
"The goal is to help websites understand which of their content is attracting interest from Pinterest users," said product manager Cat Lee. So far, Pinterest operates without advertising. Analyst Greg Sterling of market watcher Opus Research called the service a "clear step" by Pinterest to earn money with data in the future. Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann had already announced a corresponding approach.
In January, the company, currently valued at $2.5 billion, ranked 38th among the most visited websites by Americans. In February, the company raised $200 million in a financing round. Venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners were among those who participated. (SDA)
