TL;DR
Wanna embed a Pinterest board in a WordPress post? Avoid the new Pinterest “Sections” feature, introduced back in November 2017.
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes.
Organizing Pinterest Boards, via Sections
I forgot. With rare exceptions, tech companies introduce new features not for the customer, but for the press and similar me-look-good rationales.
In this instance, Pinterest recently rolled out a much ballyhooed organizational aid: Pinterest board sections. Instead of, say, one “Social Media” board holding 1900 pins, the board can be broken into sectional boards with each focused on a topic, i.e. Social Media: Twitter, Social Media: Facebook, Social Media: Facebook Page, Social Media: StumbleUpon, etc.
Turns out, Pinterest —-and WordPress— analyze only the surface of things. That’s a polite way of noting a brutally sloppy/lazy thought process. Both have amassed a huge following. Both pretend to cater to users. Both lie. I’ll provide detailed proof to support these statements, as regards WordPress, in a subsequent post. Today, the laser focuses on Pinterest.
Embedding Pinterest Boards? Maybe
The idea, on paper, thrills.
Pinterest serves as a research /visual bookmarking service, as opposed to a typical social media network’s message exchange. Given that inherent bookmarking focus, the gift of an embed feature delights with its promise of easy sharing.
On a WordPress site, sharing materializes via embedding a Pinterest board. How? Situate the associated url on a line, by itself, ensuring no spaces appear at the start or end of the line. Easy peasy, right? Once upon a time, yes.
It works, but only if the embed references an old-school Pinterest board, that is, a level-one or top-tier board. Example:
- (1)Social Media ← yep, works as proclaimed
- (1) Social Media: (1a) Content Ideas ← fuhgeddaboudit
Despite entering the URL of the latter 2-tier board on a line, all by its lonesome, the board refused to appear. Instead, I received a weird error advising the url was “not recognized.”
I reached out to WordPress. A day or two later, it’s finger of blame-shame pointed to Pinterest. Contacted Pinterest. You already know this (non-)answer.
Two mega companies. Working together for the common good, theoretically. Until they don’t/won’t. Logic strongly suggests the fix would require changing only a handful of lines of code. But it’s yet to happen.
DIY Scheme: Embed Fix
I remain determined to share certain bookmarks. Only Pinterest offers the ease of embedded bookmarks. Why do I prefer this? Because as I pin articles at Pinterest to, say, the Content topic/board, it auto-flows to the embedded board hosted at WordPress. Without re-touching the published post, it will always reflect my latest Content additions. Bonus: if folks follow the board at Pinterest, they too will be kept updated without lifting a finger. How’s that for a snazzy twoFew?!
To pull off my goal of embedding the Content board, technical circumstances required embracing “busy work:”
- return to Pinterest to reconfigure the Content sub-board
- create a new top-tier board
- move pins from predecessor sub-board to new board
- change the title of the predecessor board, reflecting the change ( → moved: Content for Blogs and Social Media)
- bullet journal “Blog Promises: note: kill old 2-tier Content board at end of March
- bullet journal March month: spread over 3/30-31: kill old Pinterest Content board
- delete the predecessor board
Did this require a prolonged timesync? No. In and out within an hour. But time stands too precious to fritter it away on mere busy work. Plus, multiply those steps by each instance of a desired embed —ya know, the one feature the Pinterest-WordPress partnership promises: ability to share boards withOUT engendered grief.
In other words, time better spent actually moving toward a desired productivity goal → usurped, as I slap a service claiming to make my life easier so it will performing as advertised.
Lessons Learned re a Pinterest-WordPress Marriage
- Reconfigure target boards on Pinterest, to permit embedding when desired.
- Keep an eye out for an associated Pinterest/WordPress update.
- Keep an eye out for a Pinterest replacement. Ditto WordPress.
FaceBook exploited the weaknesses of CompuServe, messaging, and related services. Pinterest exploited the weaknesses of PinBoard, Delicious, and others. NetFlix exploited the weaknesses of BlockBuster and its siblings.
A group of wizKids will likewise note Pinterest/WordPress ills. One day.
History confirms: patience is my friend.
Call to Action
Some things, I can not change. Some things, I will not accept. For the latter things, I devise workarounds. Why? Ranting alone resolves nothing.
Your approach to problematic scenarios?
Snapped: Scarlet Ibis, Juvenile / Sylvan Heights Bird Park, Scotland Neck, NC