Soon after Facebook-owned Instagram shut its doors on Twitter, Pinterest has quietly added support for Twitter Cards. This means Twitter users can now add Pinterest links to their tweets and see the preview of that link below the message – as was the case with Instagram pictures.
The integration leverages Twitter Cards, also dubbed as expanded tweets. The feature enables third-party partners to put their photos, news, videos, songs, and so forth, inside tweets.
According to a Pinterest spokesperson, the site had started conducting a limited test of Twitter Cards early last week, rejecting the notion that Pinterest support had anything to with Instagram’s departure. “Timing is simply a coincidence,” says the spokesperson.
Here’s an example of what the pin previews look like:
Image courtesy: Mashable
The addition was first noted by social media blogger Kelly Lieberman, who tweeted a Pinterest link to and a photo of a Happy Chanukah pin. “Have you noticed that you can view your Pinterest Pins on Twitter?” she said in her blog. “Pinterest has added Twitter Card support!”
Twitter Cards have been in the news since last week when Instagram withdrew support for Twitter Cards. The move caused Instagram pictures appear cropped on users’ Twitter feeds. By the weekend, the pictures completely vanished from the site.
Twitter was quick to respond with its own photo filters. The update is now available for both Android and iOS devices, and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store respectively. Read more about the Twitter photo filters here.
Integration with Twitter is certainly going to help Pinterest, which has been a growing social network for quite some time now. According to an estimate, the site is growing by 1,698 percent year-over-year. Pinterest recently released its apps for iPad and Android. Check out our Pinterest for Android review.