[m0rose]

I like Pinterest. I'm bad at decorating, and I'm a bad cook, so having recipes and decorating stuff that I can sift through and save into distinct idea books is nice. However, the website/app is basically glorified bookmarks. Trying to turn this into a Social Networking Empire is just pure greed, and I agree with you: the "Growth Team" concept is wretched. Sure, it's an interesting problem from a CompSci perspective, but the underlying motivations make me ill. Stop trying to manipulate your users. If they like and have a use for it, they'll use it. If they no longer have a use for it, they'll stop. BUT, if it's good enough, then the incoming users should eclipse the outgoing, and you'll float on just fine. Alas, for Social Network Empire wannabes, that's just not good enough!

[ncarroll]

I really enjoy using are.na (https://www.are.na/about) for collecting images and random bits of text into spaces where I can view them together. It's a small, creative community and definitely not of the repost, repost, repost quality that you find at Pinterest. It is run by a small team and they offer a very useful free plan for getting started and membership is only $45/year.

I am not affiliated are.na. I am just a happy user.

[Jaruzel]

Is there not a self-hosted open-source solution you could use?