What is Pinterest?

Back in the old days, I can remember when people used to ask "do you have email?"  As the internet started evolving and more and more people became addicted, various sites became the "it" thing and the above question evolved over the years.

 

The newest and hottest thing is Pinterest!   So I have to ask, are you on Pinterest?  If you're not...um, what rock do you live under????   My Grandma is practically on Pinterest!  (Ok that's a lie, but believe me she would want to be if she knew what it was....and had internet access!!)

Ok so maybe, like my Grandma, you just don't know what Pinterest is.  First of all, lets start with how it's pronounced.   It's the word "Interest" with a P tagged on the front.  I've heard it pronounced every way from Pin-terr-est to Pin-turst.  Nope, it's much easier than that, "Pin-trest."

So what is this phenomenon that's sweeping the world?  Well, think of it this way.  It's like a virtual bulletin board, where you can collect cool things that you find on the web.  Rather than having a list of bookmarks with sites and stuff and pages listed, Pinterest lets you build "boards" that you can categorize and organize all of your favorite things.

You'll need to understand some of the terminology before you get started:

• Pinner - A pinner is someone who is pinning things to their boards
• Pin - When you find something you like, you can pin it, add it, to a board and save it there forever
• Board - A board is where you pin things you like.  Most people have multiple boards, with various names, to organize all of the things they pin
• Follow - Click the follow button on any board and you'll see new things added to that board as they are added
• Follow All - When you find one of your friends on Pinterest, you can choose to follow just one of their boards or follow all of their boards
• Like - when you see something pinned on a board, you can "like" it to let the person you like what they pinned
• Repin - You can repin something you find on Pinterest and select which of your boards to add it to so you'll always have it

Pinterest is fun to use for planning things like vacations, parties and weddings.  You can also use Pinterest to find new recipes, new clothes, the latest hottest things and just cruise around looking at what other people find that's cool!

So let's say you want to redecorate your home.  Here's a cool Pinterest site that you could use for inspiration:  http://pinterest.com/ohjoy/la-home/

Love nail polish as much as I do?  We've got you covered there too!  http://pinterest.com/agalleg/nailed/

Are you planning a wedding?  If so, here's a board that has lots of interesting things for weddings:  http://pinterest.com/nicolas/favorite-places-and-spaces/

It's winter time and might be hard to keep your kids energy levels down.  Here are some ideas for kids crafts that will keep your little one busy for hours and hours:  http://pinterest.com/amandasmith33/things-to-do-with-kids/

 I really want to travel to Europe for 2 weeks, so I've got a board that is dedicated to the places I want to see when I get there:  http://pinterest.com/anneakay/2-weeks-in-europe/

Hungry?  Here's my board dedicated to delicious things!  http://pinterest.com/anneakay/deliciously-delectable-dishes/

Hopefully this will help you newbie pinners understand the world of Pinterest.  I do need to warn you.  Once you jump on the site, you'll be hooked.  Prepare to spend hours and hours roaming around this site!  It's very addictive.

Happy Pinning!!