IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Hula dancing and salsa making: What exactly goes on at Pinterest's annual 'Knit Con'?

It's not about yarn. "Knitting" is Pinterest's core value: the idea that the best ideas come from a meeting of opposing viewpoints.
On April 20, 2018, more than 1,000 Pinterest employees stepped away from their desktops for the company's fourth annual, "Knit Con," so-named because "knitting" — or being met with diverse viewpoints — is a core corporate value for the San Francisco-based tech company.
On April 20, 2018, more than 1,000 Pinterest employees stepped away from their desktops for the company's fourth annual, "Knit Con," so-named because "knitting" — or being met with diverse viewpoints — is a core corporate value for the San Francisco-based tech company.Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News

Even as tech companies like Facebook fess up for not doing a better job of protecting users, we learn about a new breach of private data seemingly every week. People are increasingly concerned that time spent online may harm their well-being — and there is now evidence of a correlation between mental health issues and "new media screen activities"in U.S. adolescents.

But now, some in Silicon Valley are fighting back to say: Technology can do better.

At Pinterest headquarters in San Francisco, more than 1,000 employees ditched their desktops to participate in the company's fourth annual "Knit Con."

It has nothing to do with yarn, but rather, "knitting" is the company's core value: the idea that the best ideas come from a meeting of opposing viewpoints. And while Knit Con is the company's annual meeting, it's not your typical presentation in a boardroom. Instead, employees and star users of the Pinterest platform teach each other new skills across more than 250 informal show-and-tell class options.

Pinterest employees, for example, kicked off their shoes and donned red wraps to learn hula dancing, covered their hands in flour to learn how to toss pizza dough, and listened to the company's Head of Inclusion and Diversity, Candice Morgan, divulge how best to manage uncomfortable conversations — among many other choices.

In her day job, Dana Faataui is a member of the Pinterest human resources team. But for this year's Knit Con, the hula and Tahitian dancer led a class of her co-workers in hula.
In her day job, Dana Faataui is a member of the Pinterest human resources team. But for this year's Knit Con, the hula and Tahitian dancer led a class of her co-workers in hula.Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News
It's not every day that you can watch your tech company's general counsel lead a class in salsa making! Christine Flores took a break from legal matters to offer up tips on which peppers to add for certain degrees of spice to a tortilla chip crunching crowd of Pinterest employees. Flores is also the executive sponsor of the company's Latinx and Hispanic employee resource group "Todos Pincluidos."
It's not every day that you can watch your tech company's general counsel lead a class in salsa making! Christine Flores took a break from legal matters to offer up tips on which peppers to add for certain degrees of spice to a tortilla chip crunching crowd of Pinterest employees. Flores is also the executive sponsor of the company's Latinx and Hispanic employee resource group "Todos Pincluidos."Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News

Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, a former Facebook product designer and architect, says Knit Con is far from the only thing that sets Pinterest apart from other tech companies. In fact, he hopes Pinterest can be an example for technology playing a healthier role in peoples' lives.

"Pinterest is about you. We are focusing on helping individual people discover and do the things that they love. That phrase 'connecting,' is kind of Valley language, right? 'Connecting this, connecting that,'" said Sharp, referring to Silicon Valley. "What I want Pinterest to be is a place for people to reconnect with their own ambitions, their own tastes, their own dreams."

Pinterest software engineer Kim Toy (left) leads her fellow Pinterest employees in a lesson about making flower crowns and lapels out of colorful felt and hot glue.
Pinterest software engineer Kim Toy (left) leads her fellow Pinterest employees in a lesson about making flower crowns and lapels out of colorful felt and hot glue.Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News
After attending Knit Con for the last two years, Pinterest product designer Cheryl Chepusova (not pictured) wanted to channel her passion for leatherworking by teaching a course in making monogrammed wallets. "It's very different from my day job," said Chepusova. "When I'm working, it's very precise, whereas this is very organic, a craft, with malleable fabric."
After attending Knit Con for the last two years, Pinterest product designer Cheryl Chepusova (not pictured) wanted to channel her passion for leatherworking by teaching a course in making monogrammed wallets. "It's very different from my day job," said Chepusova. "When I'm working, it's very precise, whereas this is very organic, a craft, with malleable fabric."Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News

Sharp believes this emphasis on the personal is "a really important part of living a more balanced life with your phone." And as social media and internet users increasingly ask questions about that balance, Sharp may be on to something. (After all, a whopping one in five Americans will use Pinterest this month — more than Snapchat.)

Pinner Alejandra Ramos serves up her mixology expertise in her class "That's my jam" on hacking jam cocktails and desserts — with a healthy serving of tequila.
Pinner Alejandra Ramos serves up her mixology expertise in her class "That's my jam" on hacking jam cocktails and desserts — with a healthy serving of tequila.Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News
Pinterest engineer Kathy Zhou leads colleagues in mixing, kneading, and even tossing pizza dough in her "On the rise" course at Knit Con.
Pinterest engineer Kathy Zhou leads colleagues in mixing, kneading, and even tossing pizza dough in her "On the rise" course at Knit Con.Photo by Chiara Sottile/NBC News

In contrast to the fact that Facebook was grilled by lawmakers for not protecting user privacy, Sharp says Pinterest very deliberately gives users control over what they share: "Pinned" items on Pinterest are either public, so everyone can see them, or private, so only the user can. "The idea of giving a user control for a lot of people is 'here's 50 checked boxes for every single--' that's not control for me," says Sharp with a wave of his hand. "Control is: make it simple to help the user get what they really want in the couple of seconds they want to spend on it."

Advocates for the healthier use of media and technology, like Jim Steyer, Founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, say companies ignore new demands from users "at their peril."

"This is a watershed moment. Period. Full stop. The Facebook hearings, the outcry; it is a watershed moment in terms of the public's view on technology," Steyer told NBC News. "I think you will see a change in consumer attitudes towards companies. But the tech industry is not monolithic," he said, calling it an opportunity for companies to take a stand in support of regulation and also for companies to show how they are different.

"I think you will see a lot of companies trying to show that, and it would be a very good sign. Many of these companies want to separate themselves from Facebook, and existentially see it as a threat to their brand. They want to say, 'We're not the same as them,'" said Steyer, referring to other tech companies generally.

For Pinterest's part, Sharp says the company has no interest in trying to be like Facebook or Twitter. "Pinterest is about the future. It's not about what's happening in the world. It's a very different feel than a lot of the other recommendation services out there."

"I think helping people discover and do things they love, helping people connect with themselves is the most meaningful thing I can be working on in my life right now," said an earnest Sharp from a conference room at Pinterest headquarters. "I personally see that as one of the most important things we can do for people in society. I love that this is the focus of the product we've already built."