Methods

Due to the vast sampling population and topics I knew I wanted to discuss I focused on boards featuring: a) future-building and inspiration b) actionable and non-actionable tasks c) mixed content types and multi-modal objects d) connectivity, provenance and further resources

I ended up with 32 boards that would be suitable for analysis, 7 of which fit maximal criteria for selection.

collected all Pins and metadata from these boards
conducted informal thematic analysis
- a mixture of inductive and deductive coding
- descriptive, then interpretative coding
selection of the most interesting/relevant/valuable codes and the best examples of each
characterisation of some through wireframe sketch

I selected the more valuable emergent themes to discuss and combined these with insights from literature to form the below characterisations. I’ll go on to apply them to selected Are.na channels to see where the different infrastructure and community ethos corresponds to a comparison, contradiction or extension to each themes below.

Themes

description	details
hyperconnected	instructional diagrammatic Pin linked to relevant resource, reasonably sourced historical claims, quotes directly linked to source
Tumblr thread of gold	Tumblr screenshot linked back to the post, which itself links resources
wrong format	image-first platform infrastructure hampering the usefulness of the item with irrelevant or secondary data as image or metadata. only here out of convenience of keeping everything together. book list as video and album as photo
citation needed	unlinked historical claims, protest signs without context, unlinked quotes
source link semantics	for screencaps, comic panels, posters, general media sources - context would be nice but isn’t necessarily instrumental. broken links. art is inconsistently linked to artist, sales platform or resources. ‘source’ link as a singular option doesn’t allow semantically useful connections or pluriversal knowledge lineage
reposts and syndication	source linked to another instance of the same content, shows need for content to live in multiple platforms but clogs up the only ‘source’ link avaliable and acts more as a bridge between social media audiences than between related content
image as data, image as gateway	image/link combo as a rich data object eg book covers and reading lists (data both in image and link). image as a façade, containing source links as text, or otherwise circumventing the image-first infrastructure, linking to a like-minded community
image assemblage	traditional collages, extensive meme edits or use of the newer ‘collages’ feature. frequently providing difficulties for users wanting to source individual elements. see ‘imagesnippets’? multiply-overwritten memes requiring something less like traditional sourcing and something more like asserting the chain of authorship of elements, knowledge lineage. extensive meme edits akin to collage often hold in-group references requiring extensive sourcing in other contexts, but are often unsourced
memes as formatting	use of very open meme format for extensive text resource or assertion, format as inessential general context. Image assemblage and remix is a wide topic of investigation just outside of the current scope, but I will highlight the prevalence on Pinterest in particular of a particular class of meme formats. The examples here both use a format for arbitrary blocks of text, where the text is the main content but the surrounding scene and/or character acts as a tonal indicator akin to facial expressions alongside spoken word. Each format under this class adds a slight nuance to the assertion or instruction made in the text. This is of particular interest as it is predictable and lightweight form easily expressed in text decoration akin to italics, whilst retaining both human and machine readability.
‘vagueposting’ revolution	ironic, threat softened, using screencaps/comics/fiction/humour to relate/retain denial/ambiguity of intent, signal directly and indirectly to multiple audiences at once
actionable utopias	creation, development, building, doing
actionable dystopias	destruction, dismantling, abolition, undoing
self-actualisation and self-transcendence	long-term capacity-building of individuals, groups and communities
making sense/making unsense	denaturalisation, carthartic, complexities and confusions, absurdism and existentialism
connecting past, present and future	directly compared utopia/dystopia, or: what we have now, what we shouldn’t have now, what we shouldn’t have later, what we could have later
pinning likely doesn’t signal intent	specific incendiary acts called for but likely not enacted, as in (Dolphin, Char, and Rogers, 2024) (just pinning is different from engaging with content to make change)
screenshot provenance	screenshotting can be from necessity, as the most feasible/comprehensive method of capture, even if it loses some info - some dialogues and continued threads link directly back, others are missing valuable data, others contain provenance in the image text. Twitter screenshots in particular (as the second most common source I found, after Tumblr) have gained more nuanced questions of reliability through the influence of Musk
collection, not curation	mass data loosely tied, unlikely reflection of elements and placement has taken place, possibly hoarding, performative aestheticisms, etc
strategies or tactics?	evidence of counter-strategy, counter-tactics, or a blurring of the two, as in (Smolicki, 2017)

Some Discussion

hyperconnected para-archives

Pinterest held more evidence of hyperconnected knowledge than I expected. I found instructional diagrams linked to relevant resources, historical claims and quotes connected to primary sources or secondary resources linked through Tumblr threads of gold. In descriptions, titles, watermarks and comments there were creative acts of resisting the site’s capital-oriented architecture through additional provenance, directly actionable pins and gateways to alternative communities. This appropriation of tools can be considered para-tactical assemblage of para-archives.

image-first infrastructure

A particularly interesting circumvention of the image-first infrastructure was the use of image as data in the form of visual book lists, book covers and spines. Research is ongoing within library sciences to connect metadata with images of shelves (Zhou et al., 2022) which could be extended over these networks to associate predictable image forms. Many pins contained fragments of text within them, raising the question of what counts as an atomic fragment. I found a strong presence of decorated text-blocks and slogans from which the primary content is easily ‘scraped’, but the formatting might provide important context. Screenshots particularly often hold metadata and provenance. Elsewhere I discuss the value of viewing these fragments both contextualised and decontextualised.

Additionally, many pins I’d describe as concept-mapping or otherwise diagrammatic. These textual forms would be more suited to alt-text or annotation than text-scraping as the visual elements hold more crucial information. Often these pins could make better use of hypertext in encoding semantic information visually in live code rather than as image, but this would necessitate manual translation of decades of digital image to reinterpret and replace commonly saved diagrams.

vagueposting revolution

A notable class of pins used irony, humour, vague language or appeal to in-group language to discuss incendiary political acts. Softened threats and speaking through others (screencap captions, gifs) dissociated posters from the acts described. Whilst catharcism like this is common and pinning doesn’t necessarily entail engaging with the content to make change (Dolphin, Char, and Rogers, 2024), this ambiguity enables a resistive counter-public that retains denial of intent or purpose. Signalling directly and indirectly to multiple audiences at once allows resistive unity without the specifics that individualise and identify authors - another benefit of decontextualisation.

Some Meta

thoughts on need for consent for public data analysis here ->
I contacted each user for explicit consent to analyse this data in anonymous form, through Pinterest’s messaging system, but didn’t receive any responses. I chose to include my analysis without any reference to the specific boards I analysed.

Minor notes

I did not rigidly structure my analysis nor combine it with quantitative frequency analysis as I was interested more in relative frequencies to my expectations and in interpreting the juxtaposition of particular ‘pins’.
The initial/additional codes I didn’t select can be read here ->
Details of procedure can be read here ->.
Tags aren’t included as they are not user generated, but created by user behaviour in the machine learning interests taxonomy and so are directed at business interest rather than the intentions and desires of the users.
In general observation, titles and descriptions are almost always redundant to alt text, errors/placeholders, not immediately relevant to the content or not adding much context (additional minor commentary)

meta-block codes

codes from the Are.na meta-analysis

selected codes

code	building on / merged from / in vivo	direct phrasing from	general category
active discovery	anti-algorithm / anti-AI / active search / mindful recommendation / dig	me	affordance
agency	choice / flexibility / options / take control / customisable	-	affordance
alt-academia	for grads / educational / casual study / academia-adjacent / research tool	me	audience
ambient context	ambient files / ambient brain / passive / surrounding / pool / context / background / ‘ambient intelligence’	BL25 + Para-Archives - Rethinking Personal Archiving Practices in the Times of Capture Culture	structure
assemblage	assemblage / aggregate / scrapbook / collage	-	structure
better bookmarking	bookmarking	-	use
carrying	carrier bag / backpack / pockets / portability	-	structure
chasing a high	mind-altering substances / dopamine / tend to curiosity / addictive or explicitly not / trail / rabbitholes	me	use
cloud storage	cloud storage / Google Drive / Google Docs	-	purpose
commonplace books	commonplace books / Zettlekasten	-	purpose
connectivity	connections / relations / links / unsiloed / networks / graphs / mind-maps / cousin	-	vibe, structure
cross-pollination	cross-pollination / synergy / circularity / thrifting / transactional / exchange / bidirectional / both ways / cross-disciplinary	BL44	structure, use
curation	libraries / archives / careful selection / curation / organising / categorising	-	use
digital intimacy	closeness / smallness / intimacy	BL114, ‘strangely intimate’ (Tiidenberg, Hendry, and Abidin, 2021, pp.41)	vibe
esoteroticism	explicitly spiritual / sexual gratification hyperbole	me	vibe
external memory	second memory / external memory	-	purpose
file explorer	file systems / files / PDFs	BL115	content type
fragments	little things / short text / notes / atomic content	me	content type, use
friendly strangers	collaborative / convivial atmosphere / genuine connections	me	vibe
good internet	better than social media / better than Instagram / better than Facebook / better internet	BL91	use
hoarding	link dump / hoarders / everything / information overload / vast / infinite / endless / losing time	-	use
incubator	embryo / building ideas / lab / sandbox / testing grounds / suspended time / children / learn adulting	me	use
index	index / reference / catalogue	-	use, structure
knowledge commons	sharing knowledge / freely published / collaborative research / hive mind	-	purpose
legacy	saved / store forever / tell your story / long-term	me	purpose
like pinterest but good	compared to Pinterest / better than Pinterest / Pinterest for X / Pinterest for us	BL282	comparisons
mind atoms	fragments / thoughts / ideas / concepts	me	purpose
mnemotechnique	process / mindset / way / vehicle	Para-Archives - Rethinking Personal Archiving Practices in the Times of Capture Culture	use
mnemotechnology	tool / platform / storage	Para-Archives - Rethinking Personal Archiving Practices in the Times of Capture Culture	use
multi-dimensional	multi-directional / complexity / non-linear / more than bidirectional / possibles	BL166
multi-modal	multiple data types / more than images / more than text	-	content type
nerds and techies	tech-interested / internet-interested / nerds / meta-users	mixed several	audience
no noise	quiet / calm / therapeutic / minimal / anti-ad	mixed several	vibe
open publishing	open publishing	-	use
open source process	open source process / shared process / learning from others’ methods	BL289	use
pinblr	Pinterest + Tumblr / Tumblr culture + Pinterest function	me	use
playlist	playlists / feeds and queues	directly from a few	structure
post-Tumblr	better than Tumblr / ex-Tumblr users	BL228	audience
flesh tunnel	brain interface / brain prosthesis / transparent brain / prosthetic lobotomy / shared thoughts / immediacy / ‘raw’ thoughts / direct access to the brain	me	structure
public forum	social space / in public / town square	-	use
rabbithole	rabbithole / following threads / following paths	BL245 / BL326 / BL205 / BL334	structure
second brain	second brain / extra brain function / enhanced brain / brain extension / strenthened neurons	-	use
self-actualisation	express yourself / tastes / goals / mood board / vision board	me	purpose
special interests	niche / esoteric / interests / obsessively single-minded / dopamine / hyper-specific	me	audience
tab bloom	tabs / rabbithole	BL388	use
tend to the self	ritual / garden / maintenance / mindful practise	BL208	use
the underground	ambiguous other / alternative / cool	BL337	audience
tune-in	radio / flow / channel hype / tap	BL373	structure
un/pretentious	pretentious / elitist / unpretentious / anti-elitist / misogyny to pinterest users	me	audience, vibe
unconscious patterns	patterns / network / tropes / unexpected connections / possibles	BL162	use
unfolding	infinite / paper metaphors / evolving / recursion / layered	BL293	use
unique perspectives	unique individuals / valuable specificity	-	use
lo-fi	like old web / better than old web / specific old web tools / web 1.0 / old web metaphors / physical media	BL145	use
wormhole	void / black hole / portal / gateway	BL70	structure
seeds	inspiration as noun / ingredients	me	use, content type
strategy and tactics	revolutionary / holdout / anti-AI / anti-ad / anti-algorithm explicit anti-capitalism	me	use
remix	playlist / assemblage / uses a quote to express	-	use
screenshot	uses screenshot	-	use
data ownership	data ownership / stealing / data portability	-	rights
play	play / leisure / dreaming	-	purpose
future-building	long term / future / building	me	purpose
mycelium	decentralized / multi-root network / tree metaphor / fungus metaphor	me	structure
connected pasts	long term	me	use
coveillance	transparent brain / connectivity	BL381	use
intersubjectivity	Rosetta Stone / translation / personal / public and private / existential phenomenology	-	use
funnel	content umbrella / filter / no noise / information overload / probable	-	use
flat ontology	fragments / multi-modal / anything / block	BL169	structure
slow labour	slow / mindful / over time / long term / evolving / wandering	me	use
hyper-	hypertext / hyperlinks	-	content type
flexibly organized	categorisation / agency / semi-organised / deorganizing / bunch of stuff / loose structure	BL20	structure
semantic	meaningful connections / semantic web / schema / wikipedia	me	structure
self-transcendence	part of something entire / dissolved into something	me	use
safety	no noise / friendly strangers	-	vibe
clipboard	fragments / impermanence / multi-modal / canvas	me	use
speculative futures	sci-fi ref / utopias and dystopias	-	vibe
refinding	finding / circularity / thrifting	-	use
trail	maze / labyrinth / threading / pathway / rabbitholes / tab bloom / probable	me	use
dreaming	dreams / general consciousness	-	vibe
experiential knowledge	inner monologue / tune-in / trail / intersubjectivity / mind atoms	me	use
vibrant media	texture / liveness	Vibrant Matter ?	use

emergent common codes lacking depth

for creatives, artists, researchers - defining audience by a limited set of occupations as marketed
surface level interface descriptors and general praise
party - referencing the question context literally (whimsical tone may be of note but not relevant here)
use as a tool, specifically often as a research tool, or for productivity
reference to objects, posts, blocks, content, information - general / marketing terms
digital / on the internet / virtual - self-explanatory
now / next / modern / 21st century - comparison to older media, remediation
‘intellectual’, smart (‘nerd’ and ‘pretentious’ are the more interesting forms of this, see above)
referring to generally a place, a space, a site, a platform or another spatial metaphor - common to web experiences

metametameta

both I and Are.na users favour ecosystem metaphors: dark and wet / incubator / mycelium / wormhole / garden / seeds / the underground / tab bloom / tend to the self / cross-pollination / evolving / caves / fertiliser / ant colony / dig

collect and organize (double meaning) BL95