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Rip Empson is a writer and rabble-rouser at TechCrunch. He covers startups, music, social, mobile, health, and education. You can reach him at rip[at]techcrunch[dot]com ? Learn More Pinterest has been growing fast and furiously, and as a result, many retailers have been rushing to add “Pin It” buttons to their social sharing options. A few months back, flash sales giant Gilt City got some buzz for becoming one of the first to incentivize “pinning,” allowing users to unlock special deals on Gilt by re-pinning certain items. In other words, after a product was pinned, say, 50 times, the pin would link to a hidden sale on Gilt where users could purchase that special, discounted item. Gilt’s clever move was further evidence that retailers are starting to understand the inherent value of Pinterest as a marketing platform. Seeing a growing demand among brands for better ways to incentivize their users to socially engage with their products (especially via Pinterest), Splurgy is today relea...

Josh Constine is a technology journalist who specializes in deep analysis of social products. He is currently a writer for TechCrunch. Previously, Constine was the Lead Writer of Inside Facebook, where he covered Facebook product changes, privacy, the Ads API, Page management, ecommerce, virtual currency, and music technology. Prior to writing for Inside Facebook, Constine graduated from Stanford University... ? Learn More Today, Y Combinator Summer 2012 startup Sponsorfied launches its tool that connects and manages the relationship between brands and the events or influencers they want to sponsor. See, we’re all trained to ignore ads, but get your product in our hands or enhance a real life experience for us and we won’t forget you. Top brands like Red Bull, Task Rabbit, and popchips are the first clients in the Sponsorfied private beta now that it’s out of stealth. By sorting out the mess of sponsorship management and installing feedback loops, Sponsorfied could make sure the next...