Pinterest teaches you how to pick up the chicks

Apparently, Pinterest shares a couple of parallels with the hottest nightclub imaginable.  Specifically, (1) you have to wait to get in if you don't already know someone inside, and (2) once you're in, 80% of the people there are women.

When I attempted to sign up for an account, I received this email:

Hi!
Thanks for requesting an invite. We'll be sure to send one soon.
In the meantime, feel free to explore a few pins.
We're excited to get you pinning soon!
—Ben and the Pinterest Team

What the hell are they doing in the meantime???  Every other mass social site creates your account instantly upon a single click.  Are they running a background check, based solely on my e-mail address?

An e-mail confirmation makes sense to confirm that the e-mail I've given is real.  But why the delay?

From The Social Network:

Tyler Winklevoss: The difference between what we're talking about and MySpace or Friendster or any of those other social networking sites…

Mark Zuckerberg: Is exclusivity.

Also consider:

"I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member."
---Groucho Marx

Again, from The Social Network:

Eduardo Saverin: People had the ability to invite, or not invite, their friends to join.  See, in a world where social structure was everything, that was THE thing.

Now that Facebook has taken over the world, the "college kids only,” "invite only” structure is out.  Everyone thinks they need a Facebook profile anyway (and you do, don't you?), so there's no need for a manufactured "this club is for cool people only” phenomenon.  But I'm pretty sure the strategy still holds.  Despite Pinterest's supposed obstacles that prevent people from joining up, it has become the quickest growing new social networking site of all time, with about 12 million users.  Some exclusivity, huh?

It's the oldest trick in the book.  You can give something away for free, but no one will want it.  Tell people they can't have it, and suddenly they will pay dearly for it.  If you advertise that your club would like more members, no one will join.  Announce that your club is full, and people will be desperate to get on the "waiting list.”

So now I'm like a pretty girl that's given my phone number out to this cool new guy Pinterest, but I'm not going to get an invite right away.  Cool guys wait before calling you.  Tell ‘em, Trent:

As I know from someone who's already on Pinterest, I'll soon get a couple more e-mails:

From first e-mail:

You're in!
I'm excited to invite you to join Pinterest, a social catalog. I can't wait to have you join our little community.

From second e-mail:

Hi ______!,
YOU are the newest member of Pinterest, a community to share collections of things you love. We're excited to have you as a member and can't wait to see what you pin.

A few tips to get the most out of Pinterest:

[cropped]

- Pin carefully! As one of the first members of Pinterest, your pins will help set the tone for the whole community. Use big images, write thoughtful descriptions, and pin things you really love. Also, no nudity :)

Thanks for joining and happy pinning!

- Ben and the Pinterest Team

This is exciting. I'll be one of the very, very first [12 million or so] inside their little [12 million or so] community!

The internet may have changed the venue and technology of social networking, but social dynamics haven't really changed at all since you were a child.  Ultimately, if you want to be the leader of the Cool Kids Club, you have to make people fight to get inside it.  Hats off to Ben Silbermann and Pinterest for keeping their cool, and not inviting the hot chicks too soon.  I think it's working.