Seriously, people. As much as we like to talk about tools, do we stop and think about the purpose behind them?  Just because Flickr is getting redesigned and may look more like Pinterest does not mean they are competition.  To be fair to Mashable author Zoe Fox, she does not suggest this will happen in her article.  But I have seen plenty of articles or posts about Pinterest killing Flickr, Pinterest combining Flickr and Delicious, etc and this is not even mentioning the Twitter stream.

While you could theoretically use Pinterest in the way you use Flickr, that isn’t in my opinion what it’s set up for.  Flickr allows users to upload and share photos, create albums, etc. I can then share photos on behalf of my company, or share pictures of Piper’s birthday to the masses.  The cross over here, perhaps, is for artists that may post their photography on Flickr and then also create a Pinterest page to share their work.

Personally, I don’t WANT Flickr to try to be Pinterest. I love the focus on a more visual interface, and more power to you on the redesign.  But what I love about Pinterest is the ability to visually share ideas.  I can share products I love, which can also serve as a bookmarked visual list of things I love to buy and where to buy them.  I can share home decor items that all visually go together but are collected from hundreds of different websites.  And no matter whether the item is still available from that store or retailer, I have an idea of what it looked like and possibly what it was called or who made it so I can search elsewhere.

Then, there is the wonderful Pinterest stream.  I can view Home Decor again, for example, but this time see all of the other things thousands of Pinterest users are posting.  It is a great way to expose yourself to new items AND new retailers.  I think Pinterest will turn into an excellent referral source for online retailers.  While some of these home decor items, such as furnishings, are quite expensive…I still have my handy Pinterest board that I can reference later.

So do I see new Flickr taking away value from Pinterest? Not in the slightest.  Do I see Pinterest “killing” Flickr? No, not really.  I think there could be some crossover, but given the fundamental idea of sharing that is engrained in Pinterest, I only see crossover for professionals and why wouldn’t they keep both sites?

Lately, you’ve probably seen every guru come out of the woodwork trying to explain how you can use Pinterest for a business purpose.  I would caution that while you can think of ways to use this for any business, the current greatest value is in online retail.  For instance, check out how one of my favorite home decor websites, Layla Grace, is using Pinterest to share ideas and vignettes with users.

What do you think the greatest value is for Pinterest? And what is it’s greatest threat?

It always amazes me how people can get jobs by purporting themselves to know things, rather than having actual abilities.  I know I have made hiring mistakes with people like this…have you?  When hiring, it is imperative that you make sure someone knows how to DO the work. What if it was their manager or editor or coworker?  What if their portfolio has been heavily edited by someone else or is full of pieces by the “department” but not by the individual? 

Always get multiple references from reliable sources and unless you have first hand knowledge of their abilities, give them a test.  Check them out on LinkedIn…who do you know that they know?  Do they have a lot of referrals?  What do their personal social media profiles look like?  Why did they leave their last job?  Don’t just rely on that person’s answer, dig deeper into who this person is by asking mutual contacts for details.  The best case scenario is that everyone says the person is awesome.  Worst case scenario is that you save yourself time, money, and liability by not hiring a dud.

Perhaps the candidate wowed you in their interview by using all the right words.  They said things like “SEO” and “target audiences” and “integrated strategies.” Sometimes the biggest duds can give the best first impressions.  Unless you are hiring for a bullshitter, then by all means, just go on first impressions. Otherwise, test your candidates!  Can they spell?  Can they make good strategic decisions?  Would you trust them with your dog, let alone your company Facebook page?Design your test based not in a live environment, but based on a situation they may encounter.

Sample scenario: Our company is launching a new Facebook game. It’s targeted to this demographic.  Take two hours to research and present me with: a social media launch plan, a web advertising plan, and include sample tweets, Facebook posts, web ad copy, and keywords to target.

Then sit them in a cube outside your office and tell them to get to work.  If they know what they are doing, they should at least have an idea of where to start.  If they panic, run for the hills, or give you a cut and paste document with paragraphs from Wikipedia…well then you may have a problem.

Making a bad hiring decision costs you money and time…two things that are so precious when it comes to promoting a company, engaging customers, and maintaining a positive online reputation.  Don’t take your chances and go with your gut…back up your intuition with facts.

What do you think?  Any other advice for hiring in the social media or digital marketing arena?