Facebook monetizes the past. Twitter the present. Pinterest, by organizing your wishes and dreams, can identify what you might do or buy in the future. That's a model worth $5 billion for the social network with almighty Google in its sights.
The soft-spoken Pinterest CEO was attending Cannes for the first time. Silbermann, 32, had just checked into his hotel and was planning to have a quick drink with his team before turning in to prep for his keynote speech the following morning. A few weeks earlier his social media service, especially popular with women and hobbyists, began experimenting with selling ads to show to its 70 million users.
With more demand than it could satisfy, Pinterest had limited its test to a mere dozen sponsors, wringing commitments of more than $1 million from each....
Pinterest's advertising machine is just beginning to hit its stride.