A couple of months ago I heard about a new social media website in a meteoric climb. Pinterest is the new kid on the block. Within a year of it hitting the “beta world”, it earned top 50 status in Time Magazine’s ranking of top websites.
Think of Pinterest as kind of a virtual corkboard for your kitchen wall. It’s where you stick your favorite pictures, ideas, inspirational quotes, shopping lists, etc… Except, you can have a whole bunch of corkboards spread all over your house.
So, I thought I’d take a peek and see what all the hub bub was about. Because the site is still in development, you need request an invitation to join. Friends of mine said it took two weeks to receive an invite after requested. I’m proud to say it only took me two days. HAH!
Briefly, here’s how it works. “Peeps” (I just made this up) set up theme-based image boards, based on their interests and passions. They then fill their boards with photos, images or videos from the internet or their own files. Other Peeps can “repin” (think “retweet”) the pin to their board, add comments and share. You can search by subject terms to find similar interests. Also, like Twitter you can follow other Peeps. I threw together a few topical boards, like Laid Back, Maui, Fire trucks (go figure), Golf (ditto), Harley Davidson, Motorcycles (OK, I’m redundant), and Bathroom Remodel (more on this in a minute).
I quickly realized I am a minority on this site….. I’m not into weddings, arts and crafts, sewing, crochet or recipes. In other words, here women rule the roost. They are sure a creative lot, and love to spread their passions. Waitaminute! I just had an “AhHah!” moment.
It struck me that this new and unique social media platform could be a target rich environment in a crisis. Why? Simple, a picture is worth a thousand words. Visualization is the ultimate in communication (unless you are a Vulcan, partial to the mind meld). It imparts knowledge, begs for interpretation and stimulates imagination.
Now, add the ability to comment and repin and you have Twitter on steroids.
It remains to be seen if this platform expands beyond the artsy craftsy crowd. I hope so. If I see one more crochet pattern or wedding dress I’m gonna puke.
I couldn’t agree more, Chief. I got my invite (from my wife, natch) and spent some time exploring last night. Seems like it’ll be fun (and hopefully useful).
JG
Hmm, I’ve been fighting going there even though I’ve had a ton of hits from it to my cooking site. BUT, maybe I need to help start a trend for the much more cooler stuff in the world?
I do love me some fire trucks lol How do I find people IF I sign up? I’ve stayed away because so many are addicted to it and I don’t need another media to take me away. lol
Thanks for the comment. I’m still figuring it out too. But, you can set up your account to log in via Facebook or Twitter and find/invite your friends through those contacts. It looks like it automatically imports them into your Pinterest friends list, where you can then send an invite. If they are already on pinterest you can simply select their name and follow them. It’s scary easy. Only problem for me is there is not enough man “rich” content yet. Even so, there are a ton of great pics and ideas that have nothing to do with work.
You might want to take a gander at Gentlemint.com which is a parallel effort to Pintrest, with a focus on men and their interests (GQ type, rather than Maxim type so far). I’ve got a couple of invites available and would be happy to pass them along.