What is this latest internet social network? Picture it like an idea board, or a few idea boards with different topics on each. My first impression was that it would take the pace of tearing photos out of magazines. When I first started using it I wanted to go track down “stuff†on the internet that I could “pin†to my “board’. While this seems intuitive it will actually leave you disappointed. Keep pinterest in your back pocket (or web browser bookmark bar) for when you do find internet awesomeness, but don’t go searching!
Pinterests power lies in the fact that all of the users are adding things as they find them. Pinterest evaluates your interests when you first join through a short survey and matches you to other boards based on the results. The boards you are subscribed to automatically show up on your pinterest page every time you log on. The result? Internet awesome comes to you!
Because pinterest can only show you so many things at a time, you want to be particular about the boards you are subscribed to. Be proactive about subscribing to boards you like and unsubscribing from ones you don’t. I somehow ended up on a board about vintage dresses. At one point my entire pinterest page was littered with vintage dresses from the 1800’s; corsets and all! Once I unsubscribed from one, pinterest unsubscribed me from the others. It learns as you go so take the time to teach it!
Finally, the most powerful thing about pinterest is that the information behind the “pin†is typically only one or two clicks away. See a recipe for real cornbread? Clicking on it takes you to the person who originally pinned it. Clicking on that should take you to the source; hopefully a recipe page. In this way, pinterest also acts as a notebook, wedding scrapbook, and recipe box.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.