A Virtual Pinboard called PINTEREST

What do you think about a Virtual Pinboard? I haven't heard about Pinterest until my hubby introduced it to me a couple of months ago. I was not really interested that time and just browsed the site for just a few minutes, but then I found it really interesting and informative as well.

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. It lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find in your life. It is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from other people who share your interest. People use Pinterest to collect and share all sorts of things- recipes, home decor/design ideas, wedding ideas and a whole lot more. 

Pinterest is a social bookmarking tool used to “pin” images found around the Web into categorized collections, or boards. Think of it like an interactive, shareable scrapbook. Like any good social network, you can follow other users, share their content, make comments, and tag users. Similar to a Twitter stream, you get real-time updates of what the people you follow are pinning. You can also easily share your pins on Facebook and Twitter.

A lot of people are not using Pinterest yet, but I think it would change soon. The audience of Pinterest is different from major social networks because most people use it to find information/ inspiration, whether they are looking for a recipe, remodelling their house, getting married or hosting a party. In other words, they use Pinterest as a guide. 

Pinterest is still "invite only", you can request an invite on the site. You can also login using your Facebook or Twitter account for instant access.

Here's a quick overview of Pinterest's features:


PINS
A pin is an image or video, either from a website or uploaded from the user. A description can  be added to pins.

BOARDS
Pins can be organized by topic, called boards. By default, Pinterest starts users off with a bunch of boards, but these can be deleted or renamed to suit a user’s interests. 

FOLLOWING

Like Twitter, you can follow anyone, even if they aren’t following you back. You have the option to follow all of another user’s boards, or you can just select certain boards to follow. You can sign up using your Twitter or Facebook account, which makes it easy to find all of your friends already using Pinterest.

REPINS
Repins are the “retweets” of the Pinterest world. Repinning is sharing an image pinned by someone you follow or found while browsing Pinterest, and then adding it to one of your own boards. Repinning gives credit to the person who first pinned the image. You can also edit the description when you repin something. Source links also stay on the pin no matter how many times it is repinned. You don’t need to be following someone to repin from them.

LIKES
Liking a pin just adds it to the “Likes” on your profile, but doesn’t add it to one of your boards. Again, you don’t need to be following someone to like their pin.



SHARING
Anytime you pin something, you can easily share it on Twitter and Facebook.



PINNING FROM THE WEB
You can add a “Pin It” button right into your browser to easily pin things you come across on the Internet (this is currently only available for Chrome).

Currently, this community is best suited for retail, lifestyle, food, home decor, design, and the likes. In my opinion, Pinterest is a visual bookmarking site used primarily by....... US, women.