Pinterest has opened to the public after remaining invite-only since its launch in March 2010. The social network saw a massive rise in popularity in late 2011 through the start of 2012, but it’s rapid adoption rates have dwindled to an extent. Still, it’s full open to the public could drive increased traffic to the site and brand boards for companies using the site as part of a social strategy.
While it’s current user base is unknown, a USA Today report from April said the site had nearly 19 million users.
Making the site open to all who want to use the highly visual platform will give these numbers a boost. Moreover, users can login with their Facebook or Twitter information, rather than creating a new account with Pinterest.
As the site took off in 2011, social media marketing experts and others on the web wondered about the future of the Pintererst. The visual platform lends itself to easy content consumption and shareability. Moreover, Brafton highlighted data from Shareaholic that found Pinterest actually surpassed Twitter in terms of referral traffic earlier this year, but this has since waned.
While opening the site for any users who wish to make it a part of their web experience will likely provide a traffic boost, Pinterest must continue to innovate to continue its growth. Many believe ecommerce to be a part of Pinterest’s future, which became even more apparent after Pinterest received $100 million in funding from Rakuten, a Japanese ecommerce giant, this year.
