Pinterest introduces messaging

You can now send messages on Pinterest. This continuing social media convergence has seen platforms borrow features from each other, making them more and more alike. Facebook is becoming Tumblr; Instagram is becoming Snapchat, and Twitter (bless it) is continuing to be a faster-paced version of the message board you loved in 2003.The familiar UI looks suspiciously like Facebook’s chatheads - you’re notified of messages in the top right of the screen, and a little bubble appears in the lower left for each conversation. To start a conversation, you can click the Send button on any pin or board (or dragging a pin onto the chathead) and send to your connections (including Facebook friends, Twitter handles, or keep things old-school and send to an email).Chat doesn’t have to include pins - but a pin within a chat can be re-sent (pinception).Because of the Facebook-esque UI and the commonly held belief that all web developers are magic (well why didn’t it have chat before? It can’t be that hard to write a chat program!) I suspect many users will pick up this functionality and use it like it’s always been there.Chat is great news if your brand’s on Pinterest - you can now message users directly, as long as they’re following a board.You can also send to a group - Pinterest uses the example of “planning a camping trip” seemingly unironically. (Who plans a camping trip on Pinterest? A lot of people, it seems.)It may open the door to Pinterest spam - users are already requesting the option to turn this functionality off. However, Facebook doesn't really have this issue, so I guess we can assume that the developers/wizards that make the internet go are all over it.It’s marvelous not to have to switch to email to share the pins I love with friends. This extra layer of functionality means that Pinterest is even more simple - and gives you one less reason to close that tab.Are you using the new messaging feature? What are your thoughts?