Style and algorithms...

So a few months ago, all of a sudden I started to get thousands of Pinterest notifications. Overnight, I was picking up new Pinterest followers in hoards, all following just one of the boards I had created: 'the girl has got style'. Odd. Interesting. It kinda made me up my game on the Pinterest front as suddenly I became aware that thousands of people might be looking! Pinterest bashfulness ensued. Then I looked back on that board and decided that it genuinely is a homage to the kind of 'look' I am always striving for. And yes I do strive; I do care what I wear.

via carolines mode

I have thought long and hard about why this is the case. Was it something that happened to me in childhood?! What is it that makes me covet clothes, shoes, handbags and jewellery? I feel mildly shamed by my interest; it's not that it's even interest in fashion as frankly I find fashion shows and a lot of fashion commentary rather elusive and elitist. I don't slavishly follow trends but I do just love good clothes. And people who look good in them. Enter my Pinterest obsession.

I find how people look in the real world pales in comparison - sadly. Why can't life be like a Pinterest board? Ha ha. I also have some fellow 'pinners' whose work I love. The following are so full of loveliness that I can honestly say not a day goes by where I don't check their feed. Robin and Sophie and Simone to name a few.

And while I am here, let's touch on how pervasive these clever applications are in life right now. I was in Topshop this week with Boo and saw that a number of their items had a sign attached saying 'most pinned item'. The word 'pinned' has entered the shopping vernacular! How clever is that? Something that didn't exist a few years ago is now in a high street shop - mainstream, accepted and crucially understood as something that means: PEOPLE LIKE THIS! BUY IT! For any brand, no matter how established, this is a consumerism gift.

We can't ignore how influential these methods are now in making people buy, follow trends, understand what is out there. I worked for a technology company for a long time and many years back when things like Pinterest were just a twinkle in some pre-schooler's eye, we were lectured to be aware of 'pervasive computing'. I understood it to be the power of suggestion; clever computer stuff that worked out how we (the world) behaved and used it to inform brands on their methods, product placement etc. I can guarantee there will be someone out there in some techie company looking at buying and search engine algorithms and selling that information back to brands.

Anyway I digress; I guess I just have to stop sometimes and acknowledge just how amazing this world we inhabit has become. How used we are to it now. And thank goodness for virtual shopping. I heart it :-)

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Style and algorithms...

Reviewed by axiata
Published : 2014-01-08T02:54:00-08:00
Rating : 4.5