Sourced from WATC

A monumental shift has occurred in the digital distribution landscape of 2025. For content creators and publishers, a platform once heralded as a beacon of visual discovery and organic traffic has fundamentally altered its core function. Pinterest, formerly a powerful driver of website visits, has seen its utility for the creative community collapse following sweeping algorithm and interface changes. This isn’t a temporary dip in performance; it represents a strategic pivot, leaving countless creators scrambling for a viable alternative. As this crisis unfolds, Flipboard is emerging as the unexpected, yet logical, successor, championing the very values Pinterest appears to have forsaken.

For years, content creators and publishers honed their Pinterest strategies. They meticulously designed aesthetically pleasing pins, optimized descriptions with relevant keywords, and curated boards that served as crucial gateways to their online presences. Pinterest was a consistent, high-quality traffic source. However, recent algorithmic adjustments have dismantled this established relationship. Disillusioned creators now report plummeting outbound link clicks, with some experiencing traffic drops exceeding 90%. This isn’t a cyclical downturn; it is a direct consequence of Pinterest’s calculated evolution, forcing an urgent re-evaluation of content syndication strategies.

Our Story: A Decade on Pinterest Wiped Out in Months

As the online art and design publication WE AND THE COLOR, we have been active on Pinterest since 2013 (https://pinterest.com/weandthecolor/). Over twelve years, we cultivated a dedicated following, growing our account to over 152,000 followers and becoming a trusted source for creative inspiration. At our peak, our content generated over 30 million monthly impressions, driving an average of 1,800 daily outbound clicks to our website—a vital traffic source. However, since the 2025 algorithm changes took effect, these numbers have fallen off a cliff. Our follower count is now in decline for the first time in over a decade. Monthly impressions have plummeted to just 7 million and are continuing to drop sharply.

Most critically, our outbound clicks, the primary metric of value for any publisher, have dwindled to almost zero. This first-hand experience is a stark testament to Pinterest’s strategic shift away from being a partner for publishers to a closed ecosystem that no longer values external content.

The Pinterest Paradox: A Collapse of Creator Visibility

The recent modifications to the Pinterest platform have inflicted a severe blow to publishers. They are transforming a once-reliable content distribution channel into a barren landscape. This widespread frustration stems from a series of interconnected changes that collectively deprioritized the value of organic content from publishers.

Outbound Clicks Decimated by UI Friction

Perhaps the most impactful, yet subtly introduced, change was a critical update to the user interface in early 2025. Historically, a user could click anywhere on a pin’s image to be instantly redirected to the source website. This seamless interaction was a cornerstone of Pinterest’s value proposition for publishers. Now, the pin image itself no longer serves as a direct link. Users must instead locate and click a small, often inconspicuous, “Visit Site” button. This seemingly minor addition of friction has dramatically reduced click-through rates. Users, conditioned by years of intuitive navigation, are no longer instinctively reaching publishers’ websites.

The “Paid-First” Mandate

Underlying the decline in organic visibility is Pinterest’s aggressive adoption of a “paid-first” operational model. Consistent with trends across many digital platforms in 2025, Pinterest increasingly prioritizes sponsored content and its burgeoning e-commerce functionalities to maximize revenue. This strategic imperative means organic pins from publishers now compete directly with paid advertisements and shoppable pins, which the algorithm demonstrably favours. For independent creators and smaller publishers operating without substantial advertising budgets, this creates an almost insurmountable barrier to meaningful visibility. This signals a fundamental shift in Pinterest’s role: from a discovery platform to an advertising-centric environment.

A Deluge of AI and the “Freshness” Fallacy

The Pinterest algorithm in 2025 has also intensified its focus on “fresh” content, ostensibly rewarding newly uploaded pins over established, evergreen assets. While the intent might seem positive, it imposes an immense, often unsustainable, burden on creators to continuously generate new visual content, even for existing articles. Compounding this challenge, the platform has seen an influx of low-effort, AI-generated content. This phenomenon has prompted what some industry analysts believe is an algorithmic crackdown that inadvertently penalizes legitimate publishers whose primary objective is to drive qualified traffic to their high-quality, well-researched websites. The platform’s ultimate goal has clearly transitioned from fostering discovery across the web to cultivating a self-contained ecosystem designed to maximize in-app engagement.

Why Flipboard is the Premier Pinterest Alternative Now

As Pinterest definitively shifts away from its organic, publisher-friendly ethos, Flipboard emerges as a robust, creator-centric alternative. Its entire architecture is predicated on content discovery and unwavering respect for the original source. This makes Flipboard the most compelling destination for publishers seeking to cultivate a loyal readership and consistently drive qualified traffic.

Unwavering Commitment to Organic Discovery and Publisher Value

Unlike Pinterest’s recent strategic redirection, Flipboard’s foundational purpose remains the curation and surfacing of high-quality content from the open web. This commitment directly benefits publishers in critical ways:

• Direct-to-Publisher Traffic: Every click on an article or post within Flipboard navigates the user directly to the publisher’s original website. There are no intermediate pages, no in-app browsers, and no content hijacking. This is a fundamental principle that respects content ownership and ensures traffic flows where it should, fostering genuine engagement with your brand.
• Interest-Driven Content Delivery: Flipboard employs a sophisticated, topic-based feed, ensuring your content is surfaced to users based on their expressed interests, not on your ad expenditure. Editorial quality and genuine relevance are the primary drivers of content visibility and reach.
• Publisher-First Programs: Flipboard actively collaborates with content creators and publishers through dedicated programs, offering tools and amplified visibility without requiring substantial advertising investments. Their self-service publisher initiative provides an accessible pathway for creators to integrate their content seamlessly.

Superior User Intent for Deep Content Engagement

The typical Flipboard user exhibits a fundamentally different intent compared to a Pinterest user. While Pinterest users often seek fleeting inspiration or product discovery, Flipboard’s audience actively seeks in-depth articles, features, interviews, and opinion pieces.

This distinction translates directly to higher-quality traffic for publishers. Visitors arriving from Flipboard are demonstrably more engaged readers, exhibiting longer on-site times and deeper exploration of your content. The platform particularly excels in content-rich niches such as technology, design, business, culture, current events, and long-form journalism, making it ideal for substantial editorial offerings.

Elevated Branding Through Curated Digital Magazines

Flipboard empowers creators to design and brand their own digital “Magazines.” These function as sophisticated, curated content hubs, offering a more professional and authoritative presentation than typical social media boards.

You can meticulously organize your own content by topic or series, constructing rich, themed collections that accrue value and authority over time. Content from your blog, newsletter, or podcast can be automatically pulled in via RSS feeds, establishing a low-maintenance, high-impact distribution strategy that starkly contrasts with Pinterest’s incessant demand for new visual assets. This editorial-style curation strengthens your brand’s authority and cultivates trust with your audience.

Broad Cross-Platform Reach and SEO Benefits

Content curated and published on Flipboard is inherently indexable by major search engines. This means your carefully assembled magazines and the articles within them can be discovered directly through Google searches, unlike many Pinterest pins, which are often de-indexed or hidden behind login walls.

Flipboard supports robust mobile apps and a comprehensive web presence. This ensures your content has wide visibility without additional formatting effort. It integrates smoothly with social media and RSS feeds. This significantly expands the reach of every article.

A Tale of Two Platforms: Our Long-Term Experience with Flipboard

Fortunately, our presence on Flipboard is not a recent reaction, but a long-standing part of our distribution strategy that is now proving its superior, sustainable value. For years, the official WE AND THE COLOR profile has served as a comprehensive hub for our audience, where we meticulously organize our content into curated magazines. These collections cover the full breadth of the creative industries. We have dedicated magazines for design, art, photography, fashion, and more. We also use Flipboard’s Storyboards to feature exceptional work from the wider community, fostering discovery and dialogue.

While our Pinterest metrics are now in a state of freefall after years of growth, our Flipboard account has demonstrated something far more valuable. It has delivered consistent, steady growth in both followers and engagement over the long term. This stable trajectory underscores its reliability as a partner for publishers. This respect for quality content is also reflected in my personal account. It has proven to be a sustainable and rewarding ecosystem, standing in stark contrast to the volatility that now defines Pinterest.

A New Haven for Intentional Content Creators

The digital landscape is in perpetual motion, yet the recent transformations on Pinterest signify a profound and likely irreversible shift. The platform no longer honours the symbiotic relationship it once shared with content creators and publishers. Its focus has clearly moved towards internal commerce and proprietary advertising, leaving organic content creators to navigate a drastically diminished visibility.

In this evolving reality, Flipboard stands out as the unequivocal, leading Pinterest alternative for content creators and publishers. It is a platform built on a core respect for content, a deep understanding of audience intent, and a steadfast commitment to empowering creators. For those who prioritize driving qualified traffic, cultivating a loyal readership, and building genuine brand visibility without being compelled to pay for every impression, Flipboard is not merely an option; it is the essential next step. If your content is thoughtful, high-quality, and designed for genuine engagement, Flipboard is the platform where your work belongs.

Feel free to follow our account. We would love to see you there!

Feel free to browse WE AND THE COLOR for more creative news.

Sourced from WATC

By Emma Roth

By Emma Roth

Emma Roth is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Sourced from The Verge

By James Mayo

How AI is being used to clean ‘dirty’ data

As personalized and user-centric offerings become a necessity for modern organizations, utilizing data is a critical component to understanding customer and stakeholder needs. From public sector bodies and healthcare providers to financial institutions and software suppliers, it is now imperative for organizations to collect, store and organize data effectively.

Yet, unfortunately, many organizations are struggling to maintain clean, actionable data. In fact, a recent survey found that two-fifths (39%) of organizations have little to no data governance frameworks1. Years of inconsistent data practices and working in silos have left many departments with ‘dirty’, inadequate data that cannot be actioned.

This ongoing lack of effective data governance has resulted in organizations missing the valuable insights that would otherwise help them become better service providers.

Organizations, across sectors, as well as public sector bodies, urgently need to take decisive action to mitigate against any further damage their current data collecting practices may be having. In addition, they must instil values that make data governance a priority. This would ensure the information they collect, and store, is not only clean but also actionable.

How has this happened?

The manifestation of ‘dirty’, disorganized, data stems from a multitude of factors. From collecting duplicate and incomplete records to a lack of integration, too many organizations have unfortunately failed to manage data effectively. According to 2024 research, 44% of financial firms struggle to manage data stored across multiple locations2. This has hit their bottom line, with many incurring inflated costs. However, where, and how data is stored is not the only problem.

In organizations where data governance remains a concern, data is often fragmented and inconsistent across departments. Instead of having integrated systems that deliver a single, dependable, database, teams are working in data silos. For instance, separate sales and marketing teams at a digital bank may want to reach out to the same customers, or prospects, but have their own isolated data sets. In a borough council, the social housing and waste collection teams may need to contact the same residents, yet they do not share their citizens’ records.

This disjointed approach causes ‘dirty’ data that is not only difficult to use because the information is incorrect but also challenging to clean and then maintain. What’s more, ‘dirty’ data leads to conflicting insights, impacting decision-making, customer experience and overall business efficiency.

Commercial organizations risk falling behind competitors who can adjust their product lines in accordance with customer and market demands. Meanwhile, public sector bodies may not be delivering crucial services to the right citizens.

Who is responsible for ‘dirty’ data?

Poor data management comes in many forms, but perhaps the most prominent reason for ‘dirty’ data revolves around ownership. While many heads of departments perceive data governance as a responsibility of an organization’s IT team, it is their department colleagues who actually use data on a day-to-day basis. An IT team can offer support by ensuring software and systems are working properly, but they are not the ones utilizing information to interact with customers and stakeholders.

After all, it is the departments, such as finance, sales and marketing, that need customer and stakeholder engagement to succeed and that benefit from clean, actionable data. The same can be said for local authorities. For example, the social care and education teams need clean data to ensure they can identify the residents that qualify for their services. With this in mind, it is then reasonable to suggest that the prime beneficiaries of clean data should be the ones managing it. Fostering a culture of data responsibility, driven by a desire to create a single view of customer or citizen information, while investing in staff training, is the first step to resolving the human aspect of effective data governance.

Keeping data clean

The technical aspect involves adopting appropriate solutions to help with the initial clean up and then maintaining data accuracy. While having the right intentions is fundamental to establishing effective data governance, introducing appropriate technology allows departments to put their drive for change into practice.

The sheer volume of data that organizations need to collect, store and process has led to legacy, or rules-based, software being no longer fit for purpose. Instead, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, have been developed to notice patterns and inconsistencies in data. Newer tools can handle larger volumes, so they are deployed to irradicate data duplication and are even at the stage to offer predictive data modelling.

These technologies maintain clean data and support the generation of actionable insights so organizations can accommodate customers’ and/or citizens’ present and future needs. Successful adoption will happen gradually but once this is achieved, automated data cleansing will boost productivity. By automating the manual processes that eroded people’s time, organizations can empower humans to prioritize and fulfil the tasks they do best.

Benefit from actionable insights

The responsibility for data governance cannot rest solely with IT teams. It must be a shared priority across departments, where those who rely most on data take an active role in ensuring its quality.

The benefits of clean data go beyond having the easily accessible information that is always in the right place, at the right time. Breaking down data silos allows better cohesion and collaboration, which then in turn helps deliver actionable insights. From personalized marketing campaigns and optimizing supply chains to issuing council tax bills and allocating social care budgets, clean data allows organizations to run more efficiently.

By investing in both technology, such as AI-powered automation tools, and a more responsible, and proactive, culture, companies can develop robust data management practices. Ultimately, the organizations that thrive will be those that treat data not as a by-product, but as a strategic asset.

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Feature image credit: Shutterstock / Ryzhi

By James Mayo

James Mayo is Senior Business Development Leader at Version 1.

Sourced from techradar.pro

By Natalie Fear

It claims to have the “capabilities of an award-winning creative team.”

AI has been a perpetual looming threat to the creative industries, with the technology developing faster than we can regulate it. With AI advertising and VFX corner-cutting becoming more normalised, it’s an uncertain time for the community, but now a new opponent has entered the ring, legitimising fears that AI could replace human talent.

Meet Lovart, an AI co-pilot designed to meet all your design and branding needs. Supposedly equipped with the “capabilities of an award-winning creative team,” Lovart slithers onto the scene as a sleazy alternative to hiring traditional design agencies – and with a $90 per month price tag, it’s a corner-cutting all-in-one service with an undeniably accessible edge.

San Francisco-based Lovart AI was immensely popular in its beta, attracting over 800,000 testers. Its mission was simple: “generate six-figure or higher branding and advertising campaigns using nothing more than a single text prompt.” The co-piot tool is powered by a “proprietary creative reasoning engine, MCoT (Mind Chain of Thought),” allegedly capable of analysing the brand’s business context and audience requirements, all while remaining “on par with top-tier Creative Directors and professional-grade visual assets.”

Despite it essentially being a robo CCO surrogate, Lovart boasts its human-like interactivity, with user recall, workflow learning and prediction, and “Autonomous Design Intelligence” that guides you from conception to finalised output with “unexpected, witty, and human-like flair.” It’s unique “Chat Canvas” is optimised for creative collaboration between man and machine, while business is taken care of by specialised AI agents that each manage a distinct creative task.

“At Lovart, we don’t have product managers. We have designers who teach AI how to think, in a way that you might expect from a Creative Director,” says Lovart’s CEO, Melvin Chen. “The canvas is the desk. The agent is your teammate. Together, they recreate the most natural way design happens that captures nuance, emotion and brand essence within a single prompt, enabling anyone to bring their creative visions to life, even without a design background.”

I find myself struggling to digest Chen’s claims, given there’s seemingly nothing “natural” to be found in prompt-based AI design. While Lovart undoubtedly makes large-scale design projects more accessible for small businesses, it’s uncomfortable that the nuance of human talent is being lost to the machine.

Human-made design is imperfect, it sparks conversation, it brings joy, and it celebrates raw creativity, something that’s lost in the churn of AI image generation and machine co-piloting. While Lovart naturally concerns me, I can only hope it’ll prove the value of investing in design agencies – iconic design isn’t made by AI; it’s born out of an authenticity only possible through the human experience.

Feature image credit: Lovart

By Natalie Fear

Natalie Fear is Creative Bloq’s staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. Natalie also runs Creative Bloq’s Day in the Life series, spotlighting diverse talent across the creative industries. Outside of work, she loves all things literature and music (although she’s partial to a spot of TikTok brain rot).

Sourced from CREATIVE BLOQ

By Ryan Christoffel

Apple has released a new video advertising Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 16, with one feature spotlighted: Clean Up. The humorous message of the video? Be careful what you remove from photos.

Clean Up should not be used to remove beloved pets, says new ad

Clean Up is an Apple Intelligence feature that lets you remove unwanted objects from photos.

Available inside the Photos app, Clean Up lets you easily alter an image to get rid of any visual distraction that’s unwanted.

But per Apple’s new video, you probably shouldn’t use it to remove your partner’s beloved cat.

Clean Up is available on all iPhones compatible with Apple Intelligence, as well as supported iPads and Macs.

By Ryan Christoffel

Sourced from 9TO5 Mac

By Daniel John

How many stereotypes can you fit in 80 seconds?

When the trailer for Dear Erin appeared online and in cinemas this month, Irish viewers were appalled – if not entirely surprised. The trailer for the ‘film’ managed to pack an impressive number of clichés into its 80-second runtime, including Irish fiddles, flat caps, Guinness, whiskey and, of course, the name Paddy. “What did we Irish people ever do to you to deserve this?” one of the top YouTube comments laments. But it turns out all was not as it seemed.

All of those stereotypes were, on this occasion, entirely deliberate. Epic, the Irish emigration museum in Dublin, has revealed itself to be behind the trailer, releasing an extended cut in which actor Peter Coonan breaks character and decries the stereotypes on display.

“As long as Hollywood has been making movies, they’ve been telling the same story about the Irish. At our best we’re simple, hopeless romantics with a quiet, rural life. At our worst we’re drunken, violent, dirty, law-breakers. Either way, we’re almost always a joke or a punchline. You’d think by now, we’d be past this. But if you’ve seen some of Hollywood’s recent depictions of Ireland, you’d understand why someone had to say something,” Epic explains in a statement.

From Wild Mountain Thyme to Irish Wish, there’ve been no shortage of stereotype-laden ‘Irish’ films released in recent years, often complete with dodgy accents and characters who mostly just drink and fight.

Perhaps the most impressive – and damning – thing about it the Dear Erin trailer is how believable it is. Indeed, most of the comments on the original trailer are from viewers complaining about those stereotypes. As one commenter puts it, “Christ could they not find a leprechaun to complete cliché bingo.”

“We thought it was time to call it out. We created a trailer for a film that we hope never gets made, and filled it with all of the tired, clichéd portrayals of Irish people often seen in Hollywood movies. At EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, we tell the real stories of the Irish—gritty, inspiring, surprising, and true. If you want to understand who we really are, come see for yourself.”

Feature image credit: Epic

By Daniel John

Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel’s debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.

Sourced from CREATIVE BLOQ