Thanks for linking the Trend data. I was trying to figure out a way to express this myself. Colloquially, I feel like Pinterest used to be mentioned in conversations 5+ years ago with some frequency. For example, I would have someone mention some recipe they saw there or see links to Pinterest shared on other social networks. But in the past few years, I don't know if anyone in my circles has actually mentioned it at all. This Trend data seems to reflect what I felt through my anecdotal experience.
That said, this is US data if I am not mistaken, and Pinterest seems to have a lot of activity happening internationally. Other comments state they have more MAU outside the US than within.
If it’s US data, then your experience is my experience and it makes total sense. The trends represents search of “Pinterest” which was word of mouth driven. This was a very word of mouth driven app. Ladies in my life educated their friends, then their mothers, then their aunts, etc. They explained what it was and what “boards” are. But, it’s reached a saturation point now where everyone knows what it is.
The conversation turned to wife-> her mom “did you see my nursery board? I pinned some inspo” and no explanation is needed she already had the app installed and didn’t need to go google “Pinterest”.
Also, the women in my life love it for inspiration that definitely drives purchasing behavior. I can’t speak to whether Pinterest is monetizing that opportunity to its fullest but I certainly feel like it’s established itself as a place to research a future purchase which we all know is a valuable position to be in. I use my wife’s account occasionally to look up ideas for a home renovation or landscaping ideas. It helps. But I feel they’ve made some poor UX choices bordering on dark patterns. And with that, they are probably their own biggest risk. Eventually they will do something to totally alienate and piss off their user base.
People search for Instagram profiles and content that get's reported as news i.e. "did you see X on Y's Instagram". Same for Snapchat, which requires searching for username discovery. Pinterest doesn't have either of those traffic catalysts.
That said, this is US data if I am not mistaken, and Pinterest seems to have a lot of activity happening internationally. Other comments state they have more MAU outside the US than within.