Pinterest, the visually-driven social media platform, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, marking its remarkable evolution since it first launched in March 2010. The brainchild of co-founders Paul Sciarra, Evan Sharp, and Ben Silbermann, Pinterest was created with the vision of inspiring users seeking ideas for decorating, meal planning, and more. Over these years, it has carved out its niche within the crowded social media marketplace by focusing more on enabling users to shop as they plan for their inspirations.
The past 15 years have been filled with significant milestones for Pinterest, and to honor this anniversary, here are 15 key events and achievements from its history:
2010: Pinterest began as an invite-only platform, primarily attracting DIY enthusiasts, designers, and fashion lovers. It allowed users to pin their ideas and inspirations through digital "pins." It quickly moved to open registration for all users, broadly targeting idea-sharing.
2011: Pinterest surged to popularity with about 1.6 million unique weekly users by October. It was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the top 50 websites of the year. The team realized the importance of monetizing the platform and initiated discussions with brands.
2012: Co-founder Paul Sciarra left the company. By February, Pinterest had tallied 17 million monthly visitors, indicative of its growing appeal and user base.
2013: The platform launched "Pinterest Web Analytics" to assist businesses in gauging content performance. Cat Lee, a product manager at the time, mentioned, "The goal is to help websites understand which content resonates with users on Pinterest,” as the tool sought to offer insights on popular pins. The total user count reached 48 million globally, marking substantial growth.
2014: That year, Pinterest celebrated having 30 billion pins shared since its inception, seeing significant activity with 750 million boards published.
2015: Pinterest hit the 100 million monthly active users milestone, introducing "buyable pins" to allow direct purchases through the site. The launch of Pinterest Shop catered to retailers, spotlighting trending products and enhancing user shopping experiences.
2016: The platform launched "Pinterest Predicts," highlighting trending topics globally, serving as both insights for users and advertising partners.
2017: The platform bifurcated its identity, with CEO Ben Silbermann referring to Pinterest not strictly as a social media platform but as "a catalog of ideas." User growth reached over 200 million, with many users located outside the U.S.
2018: Pinterest expanded its advertising capabilities, allowing French advertisers to leverage the platform, with Guerlain being one of the first to utilize these services. Pinterest recorded 3 million pins daily across sectors like fashion and cuisine.
2019: Pinterest went public on Wall Street; its stock surged 28.4% on the first day of trading, closing at $24.4. It maintained 300 million active users worldwide, reflecting its strong consumer engagement.
2020: The introduction of augmented reality enabled users to visualize how products like lipsticks appeared on them before purchase. Pinterest also simplified its shopping experience with new sections for seamless buying.
2021: New content formats, including Story Pins, were introduced, allowing users to share multi-page posts akin to Instagram. The new "Shopping Spotlights" feature emerged, drawing inspiration from expert selections for product suggestions.
2022: The Shuffles app was released, aimed at fostering creativity through collage-making. Following organizational changes, Bill Ready took over as CEO from Silverman, providing new strategic direction focused on e-commerce.
2023: Pinterest innovated with Showcase ads and quiz ads, extending its e-commerce capabilities and enhancing the user buying process through systematic integration with larger platforms like Salesforce and Adobe.
2024: The current year boasts another triumph as Pinterest recorded 553 million monthly active users, marking an 11% increase from the previous year.
The consistent adaptation over its fifteen years demonstrates Pinterest's commitment to intertwine creativity with commerce, making the platform more than just a repository for ideas—it's becoming a seamless shopping experience. Pinterest's focus remains on refining this user experience, ensuring it remains integral for consumers and advertisers alike.