Thursday Buzz: Pinterest Search Gets Visual

Your searches on Pinterest are about to become as picture-heavy as your boards.

On Wednesday, the social network unveiled numerous visual search features  (opens in a new tab) to help users discover more content on the platform.

“Pinterest has been increasingly trying to close the gap from a user initially viewing an image to being able to jump to ideas and products with a single step, and adding these new in-image search capabilities is another step toward that,” reports Matthew Lynley from TechCrunch.

One new feature, Lens, is a search tool that allows users to point at something with their camera, say, a pair of shoes, and then Pinterest will automatically return similar results based on that image on its platform.

“The main reason why this is so critical is that it means Pinterest may be able to capture that brief moment that a customer might have to just make an impulse purchase,” writes Lynley.

Pinterest has also fine tuned the ability for users to search for a specific product within an image. “So if you’re looking at a pin from a company that may be selling a jacket, it will also pick up the image of the boots and let you jump to them,” Lynley explains.

Check out Lynley’s post to find out more about the Pinterest updates  (opens in a new tab).

How CEOs Innovate

The CEO’s guide to #association  (opens in a new tab) #innovation  (opens in a new tab) https://t.co/79weBSsnuM  (opens in a new tab) @SmoothThePath @AssocAdviser  (opens in a new tab) #ASAE  (opens in a new tab) #AssnChat  (opens in a new tab)

— Amanda Lea Kaiser (@AmandaLeaKaiser) February 9, 2017  (opens in a new tab)

In the past five years, 73 percent of associations have been focused on innovation, according to the Association Innovation Benchmarking Report  (opens in a new tab). And that’s no surprise considering the dramatic upheavals in recent years in politics, technology, budgets, and more.

So how can CEOs help make their organizations more innovative? Consultant Amanda Kaiser, writing on Association Adviser, provides five ways to set your group up for success  (opens in a new tab).

Kaiser says CEOs are the central force to organizational innovation. And it’s not enough for CEOs just to set up initiatives and establish goals. “CEOs of highly innovative associations continue to be enthusiastic drivers of innovation and remain deeply involved for a decade or more, if not the duration of their stay at the association,” she writes.

Also, leaders should make it as easy as possible for all staff members—not just senior managers—to have their ideas heard. Kaiser recommends setting up an “idea application process” for any employee to submit cutting-edge thinking.

Other Links of Note

No more dumb meetings: CMSWire tells us how to make the most of virtual or in-person meetings  (opens in a new tab) using smart tech.

10 best features: In just a few months, Microsoft will debut a number of major updates to Windows 10. Here’s what CNET says you should look out for  (opens in a new tab).

Lines of communication: Grit Marketing reveals different ways to glean member feedback from your online community  (opens in a new tab).