Pinterest third among social networks

INTERNET • Pinterest has become the third most popular social network in the U.S., behind only Facebook and Twitter, according to one marketing researcher.

An Experian Marketing Services report found marked increases in visitors to Pinterest’s website, including a 50 per cent gain from January to February that made it more popular than Linkedin or Google+.

The Palo Alto, Calif., company has found an ever-growing audience for its digital bulletin boards, which allow users to collect and share digital images and link them to websites. Since co-founder and CEO Ben Silbermann launched the social network in January 2010, it has become especially popular with hobbyists.

Experian research showed the site’s visitors were demographically different from those visiting other social networks, with women accounting for 60 per cent of the visitors.

Alexa, a web-analytics company, disagrees with Experian, ranking Pinterest fourth.