If you're still downcast over the likelihood that your Instagram photos will (probably) never again show up on Twitter's website or apps, you may get a lift from knowing thatPinterest just added support for Twitter cards (what amounts to a snapshot of the shared content).
That's right, from now on, you'll be able to see shared pins on Twitter without going to pinterest.com or a Pinterest app. Social media manager and Pinterest power user Kelly Lieberman first noticed the changes. A spokesperson for Pinterest confirmed that the company began limited testing of Twitter cards early last week, before Instagram pulled support.
My gut reaction to the news was "Who cares?," as I've never seen someone share a pin on Twitter. Turns out I follow the wrong people, because there are plenty of links to pins on the micro-blogging site. Now Pinterest Twitter cards are popping up as well, where you can expand a tweet to see the pin, the name of the board, and the pin's description. To see the pin, just click "view photo" on Twitter's desktop site, or tap a tweet in the Twitter apps.
In the same way that Instagram initially benefited from its interoperability with Twitter, Pinterest will benefit as well. (Apparently Instagram doesn't need Twitter's help anymore, especially with Facebook backing it up.) Pin-addicted tweeters can now get their fix on both social networks, and the uninitiated can see what the fuss is about without leaving their feed. Now that Instagram has pulled its support for Twitter, Pinterest has an opportunity to take its place and turn more people into pin-happy addicts.
Not that Pinterest hasn't been doing just fine on its own. The site has skyrocketed in popularity since its private beta launch in 2010. In January 2012, Pinterest hit 11.7 million monthly unique viewers, surpassing the 10 million monthly unique mark faster than any other website in history. Five months later in May, the site raised a whopping $100 million in V.C. cash, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Recent stats rank Pinterest as the sixth most-used social network, beating out Tumblr and Google+. The site grew its monthly unique viewers 1,047 percent on the desktop and 4,225 percent on mobile from July 2011 to July 2012.
While it's tempting to label this an opportunistic coup for Pinterest, it's likely more coincidence that mere days after Instagram dumped Twitter, Pinterest showed up. It takes time to get Twitter's approval for cards, so Pinterest has had this planned for at least a few weeks. One thing is for sure – Pinterest will get the same shot in the arm from Twitter that Instagram did.
