AgencySpy UnBeige SocialTimes LostRemote TVNewser more TVSpy GalleyCat AppNewser 10,000 Words FishbowlNY FishbowlDC MediaJobsDaily AllFacebook AllTwitter semanticweb.com    

Print Mags Are Back on Top…of Pinterest

So...heavy...You may have heard the news that the public’s long, sordid love affair with print magazines — those prime drivers of the recycling/waste management industry — has come to an end. And yet, scruffy upstarts like Martha Stewart Living, Real Simple and Better Homes and Gardens seem to have gained a new lease on life by way of a fancy new social media site called Pinterest. Sound familiar?

Let’s review the numbers: Social media analytics experts ZoomSphere tell us that print mags occupy at least 15 of the top 50 spots in the fast-growing Pinterest brand hierarchy, with Real Simple currently sitting pretty at number 3. How do they do it? Visualization. These magazines’ art directors know the game and play it well; anyone who has ever read a Real Simple recipe on an iPad can confirm that it’s a lovely, eminently shareable thing.

According Min Online’s Steve Smith, these well-made Pinterest pages have simply virtualized the time-honored practice of scrapbooking: Picking your favorite photos, recipes and design ideas, cutting them out and adding them to that well-worn tome you keep on hand for moments when you need a little domestic inspiration.

Killer wedding blog The Perfect Palette retains its perch atop the Pinterest flock for the time being (and a quick glance at their imagery will tell you why), but the list is filled with one-time heavy hitters like Cooking Light, Shape and Country Living. It’s difficult to calculate any precise ROI for these stats, and sharing or “re-pinning” numbers may be a more accurate measure of a given brand’s Pinterest influence, but we have to think that the folks at Meredith (and a certain ex-con) are very happy with this development. What do you think? Can these print brands rise again on the strength of a thousand pins?

Mediabistro Event

Explore the Future of Virtual Currency

Inside BitcoinsDiscover why countless investors and businessmen, including the Winklevoss twins, are becoming big supporters of virtual currencies at Inside Bitcoins on July 30 in New York. You’ll hear from speakers like Charlie Shrem, Vice Chairman at Bitcoin Foundation, who runs one of the largest alternative payment companies. Every paid registrant will receive a Bitcoin paper wallet with 0.01 Bitcoin. Register today.