Pinterest: Pin the Tail on an Image

Does it seem as if overnight the Pinterest pushpin logo and “pin it” tag have appeared on every website? That’s because Pinterest, a virtual bulletin board, has leaped into the top ten social networking apps in a matter of months. So what is Pinterest and why the phenomenal growth?

Pinterest lets you tag or pin any image on the web and organize your images in virtual bulletin boards. It works like browser bookmarks, but each link is an image. You organize images in boards instead of folders.

Pin Any Web Image

Not surprisingly, since members are mostly women, the most popular categories are food, clothing, decorating, crafts and DIY projects. Redecorating your bedroom?  Pin any image on the web and add it to your Decorating Board. Planning your daughter’s wedding?  Organize your wedding dress pictures or mother-of-the-bride dresses in a Wedding Board.

Pinterest uses all the tools of popular social networks. You can create a profile, follow users, and comment on someone else’s pin. If you see something you like on someone else’s board, repin it to one of your boards.

Looking for inspiration? Do a keyword search and see what others have pinned. Clicking on that image will take you to the original image source.

How Do You Get Started?

Pinterest membership is by invitation. But don’t worry. If a friend hasn’t invited you to join, you can request an invitation from Pinterest. To sign up, you must have a Twitter or Facebook account. If you have neither, Pinterest suggests Twitter’s quick and easy sign-up. Oddly, after joining Pinterest. you can delete your Twitter or Facebook account and still retain your Pinterest membership.

Once you’re a member it’s easy to add the Pinterest button to your browser’s bookmark bar. Then any time you see an image you like, click the button and store it on a board you’ve created.

Caution: All Boards Are Public

Other social networks such as Facebook and Linkedin let you choose who can access your account. But with Pinterest, all of your boards are public. That means any member can view your boards. Your only privacy option is choosing to omit your profile from search engine results.

One More Warning!

Pinterest is a time sink. There are so many captivating images that you can get sucked down a rabbit hole. Before you know it, there goes another day!