Since Pinterest is making huge waves, it should be no surprise that there are clones popping up all over. Some may even have been parallel development rather than “copying” Pinterest. But, it ain’t about who got to the starting line first, it’s about who’s ahead in the race. And, Pinterest Referrals Beat YouTube, Google+, & Reddit Combined” target=”_blank”>Pinterest is the lead dog.

Some “clones” are Pinterest competitors. Some just use the Pinterest “pinboard” concept for their purposes. Let’s have a look at a few that are out there to see the usefulness of this pinning concept and to get an idea of where the whole thing is going.

Pinterest has a few issues. I’ve Pinterest: Can We Talk?” target=”_blank”>listed some of them here. Others have gone even deeper in outlining Pinterest‘s shortcomings.. And, anytime there is a chink in your armor, someone will come along and offer to do the job better. Even when it seems you are king of the hill, you have to watch out that an up-and-comer does not unseat you.

Remember Myspace? Remember when your friends asked you to switch to Facebook? Why did you go? Because Myspace had turned into a greasy-kids’-stuff playground full of bloated backgrounds, auto-playing music and inconsistent formatting? Facebook offered us an adult alternative. Something we could get our heads around. We left Myspace, and left Rupert Murdoch holding the bag.

More recently, Google Plus threw down a challenge to Facebook. We considered it. Why? Because we were getting tired of privacy issues, changes to the layout being forced upon us, boatloads of games and apps of questionable security. And, Google+ had that great “Circles” capability. But, Facebook grabbed that capability and allowed us to do it without calling for a mass migration of our friends. So far there has been no mass exodus from Facebook. But, kings of the mountains must beware. It could be coming.

And, Pinterest could be at the vanguard of a pinboard movement that it will not remain king of. With 16 employees, they have to scramble to keep abreast of issues, field requests for information, etc. Who knows? Maybe one of their hungry competitors are primed to unseat them.

For example, there is Juxtapost. You can’t go read a blog article on Pinterest without running into a comment on that article by someone (usually Erica Brand) representing Juxtapost. And, you gotta recognize the tenacity with which they are going at it. Pinterest has had some problems and Pinterest Gets Competition from Juxtapost” target=”_blank”>Juxtapost feels they can do better. If Pinterest doesn’t fix its problems, the rising pinboard tide may well lift Juxtapost’s boat and make it heir apparent when Pinterest sinks under its own ambition. Again, Myspace vs Facebook. It could happen.

Juxtapost boasts some big features that Pinterest would do well to keep an eye on. For starters, you can make a pinboard (Juxtapost calls them “postboards”) private. No such function on Pinterest. That’s a big deal.

Juxtapost’s boards are also exportable. You can build an Excel file with your materials. So, if you’ve collected wedding planning information, you don’t have to cart your whole pinboard around with you as you start implementing those ideas.

And, they have a color indexing feature, helping you keep pins coordinated for decorating purposes, etc. No option like that on Pinterest.

Some sites are not Pinterest competitors, but are taking the concept into interesting territories. A great example of that is Lulu Live. Developed at Middle East Voices, Lulu Live is a place where people can pin pictures and video of Arab Spring uprisings, particularly those in Bahrain. The Pinterest-like layout allows for a quick scan of available material, without the regimented layout of YouTube itself. The #Occupy movement in the United States could certainly benefit from a layout like this.

And, finally, any development on the Internet would not be complete without mentioning porn.

This look alike a good place for a little Tropic Thunder…

Kevin Sandusky: Now, if you recall that whole hullabaloo where Hollywood was split into schisms, some studios backing Blu-ray disc, others backing HD DVD. People thought it would come down to pixel rate or refresh rate, and they’re pretty much the same. What it came down to was a combination between gamers and porn. Now, whichever format porno backs is usually the one that becomes the, uh, most successful. But, you know, Sony, every PlayStation 3 has a Blu-ray in it…

Kirk Lazarus: You talkin’ to me this whole time?

And, with that in mind, here comes [NSFW!] Snatchly [NSFW!]. It has categories, as most porn “tube” sites do. But, it is laid out with a more Pinterest-looking format. In all honestly, this is not much different than those sites ever looked, just with different sized thumbnails to make it look more pinboard-y. Maybe they’ll get a more “social” thing going. And, there you have it.

So, the pinboard craze is gaining steam. There are direct Pinterest competitors. There are Pinterest-inspired sites. And, there is, as always, porn.

What more could you ask for?