Pinterest Adds Twitter Cards Support

Pinterest has quietly thrown in with Twitter Cards, enabling previews of posts from the content-collecting service embedded in tweets, and countering the high-profile departure of Instagram. The new functionality sees any Pinterest links embedded in tweets converted into thumbnail previews, the same thing that so frustrated Instagram and drove it to cut ties with the contentious Cards system.

Instagram's argument was that the Twitter Cards were poorly understood by users, and that it felt it would be served better by directing all visitors to its own site. That followed the launch of Instagram online profiles for all users, shifting some of the focus out of the app itself and onto the web.

Pinterest's motivation for adopting Twitter Cards while others flee is unclear; the company has not made any public announcements about the functionality, which was simply spotted by user Kelly Liebermnan. Clicking on the preview takes you to the original post, while there's an option underneath to directly follow the Pinterest Twitter account itself.

Whether the decision will come back to haunt Pinterest remains to be seen. The site has experienced rapid traffic growth, tapping into a market of eager sharers looking for shopping tips and new products.

[via Digital Trends]