Every Picture Provides a Metric?

Less than two years ago, I was personally involved in designing a way to measure the engagement of first time members as well as the treasured "net promoters" for a large nonprofit.  Capturing "engagement" is tricky ... especially for a nonprofit.  There are surveys, and click throughs, and all sorta of things which, in a nonprofit setting, are difficult to find the true outcome even it you can capture it all.

Just recently, I came across an article on SelfGiving -- produced by Joe Waters -- that talked about the value of a new platform called Pininterest and the value of it especially in a nonprofit sense.  Comparable to a Facebook Likes promotion, Pininterest is easier to use (which is especially valuable for smaller, shoestring nonprofits) and conceivably affords some simple ways to achieve real and tangible measures and value.

One simple and obvious measure is the pinning of a picture by an engaged user.  Beyond that, such "pinning" could be tied to fundraising -- that is, for each "pin," a company or corporation could make a contribution.  Beyond that, the use of Pininterest at present would position a nonprofit as a social media leader.

The "buzz" generated with potential partners and the opportunity for online and on the ground social media has real value.

Regardless, Pininterest has the underpinnings of the potential new Facebook perhaps?