Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can accumulate and categorize interesting pictures, websites, and ideas you find on the web. You create and classify pinboards, known as “boards,” which are basically a clean and easy-to-use virtual space to discover and collect images of specific topics that interest you. Pinterest describes itself as “a place where you can create collections of things you love and “follow” collections created by people with great taste. People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things — wedding inspiration, favorite T-shirts, DJ equipment. You name it, people are pinning it.” From the moment I discovered the site I was obsessed, and apparently I’m not the only one. Not surprisingly, Pinterest has been called the best social media site since Facebook and Twitter. It really is the most exciting and growing social media around.
Here is how Pinterest works; First, you will need to create a user account. You can look at other people’s boards and pins without a user account, but you will be unable to create your own boards until you are logged in as a user. Once your account has been set up, take a few minutes and browse through the pictures that appear on your Pinterest home page. Under the “discussion” section you will see the most popular pins that are literally being discussed by fellow pinners. Click on “everything” and you will see the most popular pins of the day, with the option on the left hand side to look specifically at certain categories. Take a look at “Gifts” and see the most popular gift ideas that already have a price calculated and shown in the top left corner of each pin.
There is a new language that is being created by Pinterest, and you may be wondering what your friends are talking about when they mention the pin that they just posted to their board. A pin is a specific picture that you post. A board is a category, such as home, quotes, fashion, that you create to post pins in. My favourite board that I have is “famous quotes,” where I have pinned more than thirty posts.
Take a look how other people “categorize” their boards. There are so many creative ideas and your options are limitless. One feature I love is that as you scroll down through the most recent pins, there is a “scroll to the top” button that appears on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. This allowsyou to quickly get back to where you started.
Next, you’ll want to see if any of your friends are using Pinterest. You can do this by simply logging onto your facebook. Twitter, yahoo, or gmail accounts. You can “follow” your friends, or choose to follow only specific boards that they have created, so that every time you log on you will see what your friends have been pinning. You can see what your friends favourite fashion trends are, what new recipe they are trying, what their favourite quotes are, and what books they have read and recommend. Like other social medias, Pinterest has a newsfeed, which keeps you up-to-date on what’s happening in your friends pinning lives. On your front page you can see recent pins made by those you follow, and on your profile page you can read about recent activities, such as which of your friends liked your pins.
On your profile page you can look at the boards you have created all at once, with small thumbnail images of recent pins you’ve added to each board. You can have unlimited boards and add as many pins to each as you like. There is also a “like” option, a comment box and message option. When you find a pin that you love, you can pin it to your board, comment on what you love about it, and/or message someone about the particular pin idea. Many times I see I a pin that I don’t want to repin, but I do like, so I will just press the “like” button letting my friend know I like their pin.
You can also add pins that you’ve found while searching the web. For example, if you are planning on getting married and are looking for creative decorating ideas, simply create a “wedding” board. You can add pins that are already on Pinterest, but you can also add pins from other websites. Create a collage of what you like. As your boards grow you will notice that people will start repining your pins, and following your boards.
An additional feature that is very useful, is when you find a pin you like, such as the a fun holiday craft, you can click through the picture to the original website the picture was found. This is important to know if you are looking for the directions of how to make the craft.
Pinterest is an extraordinary and original resource that has vast potential for everyone. Whether you are an artist looking for creative resources, a photographer looking for new and fun photo ideas, a fashionista looking for the new fall fashions, a stay-at-home mom looking for craft ideas, or someone like me who loves new and fresh ideas, Pinterest is the spot to be! Have fun pinning!
