Pinterest: What It Is And Why You Should Use It.

So you’re probably wondering WTF is Pinterest, why is everyone posting stupid pictures to it, and WHY is it showing up on YOUR Facebook newsfeed…

I recently discovered the next online phenomenon, Pinterest (and by recently, I mean I was invited and joined 2 hours ago). I had heard about Pinterest a few weeks ago and thought it sounded cool… But you have to get invited to join and I didn’t feel like going through all the unnecessary effort of asking people if they have an account and if so, if they’ll invite me. The site sounded like another Tumblr… and I already have a blog AKA a way to share my thoughts with the world… so I didn’t see the point of adding another online addiction to my daily activities. I mean, I finally got myself to stop playing Words With Friends… That took weeks.

However, after getting invited to the site from a friend who thought I would become addicted, I realized that Pinterest is different. It’s like creating wish lists and sharing things you’re interested in all in one place. One of my favorite ways to pass time is “window shopping” online. I always create wish lists, but no one sees them except me. And – the worst part – I always get annoying emails from stores telling me to hurry up and buy those shoes I want (if only they weren’t $800, Nordstrom).

For the past two hours, I have been posting some of my most wanted items off Nordstroms’ and Urban Outfitters’ websites. Now, others can see what I would love to be wearing/carrying without having to show it off in a Facebook picture.

You don’t only have to find pictures yourself, though… You can “re-pin” other pictures already on the Pinterest site. It’s very easy to navigate the Pinterest site and find pictures you love. It really is a fantastic way to waste pass the time.

When sharing/pinning pictures, you can organize them all on separate “boards” (get it? you pin your pictures on boards?). These are the different boards I created on my account: 1. Wanted, 2. Pretty, 3. Yum, 4. Amusing, 5. Things I love. Obviously, I’m a beginner at the world of Pinterest, so my boards will probably change and grow… but for now, it’s a pretty cool way of showing what I love to others – and keeping track of what I love for myself.

There are some things I’m still confused about / some things I’m turned off by. I have already gotten about 50 emails in the past hour from Pinterest telling me all these people “re-pinned” me. Very cool. I am flattered. But no thanks. I get emails on my phone and it’s really, really annoying to get a million that I am not even going to open. Another thing – When I signed up, my account automatically followed over 100 people… Some people I was friends with on Facebook… and others I have no idea who they are! Does anyone know why this happens?

All in all, I feel like Pinterest will be my new “Words With Friends” – except 100 times better… and slightly more productive. I know Pinterest isn’t for everyone… especially people who do NOT enjoy wasting time online searching for “pretty things” and probably not guys… But if you’re like me, I highly recommend joining Pinterest. And if you need an invite, send me an email and I’ll send you one!

I will leave you with a few of the items I just pinned to my “Wanted” board… Happy pinning 🙂