How Likes and Plus Ones Are Killing Commerce, and Pinterest is Saving it.
IMHO...Peer Recommendations, Facebook Likes, Plus Ones, Check Ins, and other social recommendation engines and aggregators have all seemed to miss the boat when it comes to influencing purchasing behavior. (In fact, They should be doing the EXACT OPPOSITE to be effective!)

The running theory is that peer recommendations in the real world seem to really influence our purchasing decisions, We ask our friends for recommendations and ideas all the time, and make decisions based on what they say and like... so, if we can aggregate our friends preferences and choices, and deliver that data to us as we search, it will influence us in the same way and help us weed through the garbage, curate the products and options out there, and help us make easier decisions...

This is based on a flawed understanding about how, why and where peer recommendations matter..
(and how it is actually the solution to a problem that we would rather not have in the first place.)

There are two basic theories out there about why they work. Both are accurate on one layer but miss the deeper emotions and motivations behind it.

1. We hate to think, and want every possible advantage to help us think less and if our friends already vetted an option and approved it, it makes our life and decision making easier.

2. Trust and Credibility are the biggest challenges of communicating value and marketing, and a peer recommendation seems to solve that problem.

The truth is, the reason trust and credibility are such an issue to us and the reason we seek out our friends recommendations is actually more of a dynamic of our relationship than it is relevant to the issue at hand of solving my problem to making my pain go away. (I.e. I am not asking for a friends recommendation because I need his advice but rather because I want his validation of my decision.)

One of our biggest fears is "Looking Like a Fool" to our friends and peers. Every time we make a decision to buy something, we ask ourselves, how can I defend this purchase to my friends, family, colleagues, whoever out there is going to question my decision. This is the real reason peer recommendations work so well...It removes the fear of disapproval. It gives you a scapegoat, and lets you know that your friends already approve your choice.
For this reason, in the context of seeking out peer approval, recommendations and referrals works so well. Like in forums, or asking friends questions, and other places that you proactively seek their recommendation.<p>

However, The truth is, I would rather not have this fear in the first place. There are a couple of ways to do this.
1. To create a scenario where I have bragging rights over my friends. Where not only am I not afraid of defending my decision to my friends, I will jump on the opportunity to brag and gloat... Hey check out my new Ipad3 or I got invited to a private beta of pinterest.

The thing is, when I am searching in google, or anywhere and I see that my friends valdiated a product, it causes me pain. It reminds me that I need to defend my decisions to them, and also lets me know that, "THEY GOT THERE FIRST" They are the one who discovered that cool new coffee spot, or they are the one with the new Ipad3.

These social recommendations cause me pain, They don't make the pain go away.<p>I can find curated content, and validate products and companies with a few google searches, but showing me what my friends already liked, defeats the very mechanism that drives successful peer recommendations.

Pinterest makes me feel good about myself. It makes me feel better than my friends. Every time i get an email that "Joe Awesome" is following my pinboards, I think, Hah, I got here first... Everytime I see a friend liked something or recommended something I think, Eh, they found it first, I am gonna search for something better, something I can brag about, something that makes me feel better than my friends, not something that reminds me how much I thrive on their approval, and need their approval...

I still believe that when I am getting ready to make a purchase decision, if I dont have bragging rights and I need to justify my decisions that I can always find a forum or some reason to defend my purchase and all will be well.

Give me the tools to show off every time I find something cool and I will PIN Things all day long :)