What's the Deal with Pinterest?

Although I’ve been spending a lot of time mulling over the pros and cons of jumping on the Google+ bandwagon, Pinterest is another social networking site that I’ve been watching closely. In the new year, I might just add both sites to my social networking repertoire. One thing that’s cool about Pinterest upfront is that you have to be invited – so, it’s kind of like an exclusive club. You can also request an invitation directly on the site, but that’ll take longer (and be less fun).

So what’s the deal with Pinterest?
You can think of Pinterest as an online cork board or idea book. It’s essentially a place where you can gather a bunch of pictures that inspire you in one way or another. Why would that be valuable? Well, think of how women plan weddings. They might clip pictures of dresses, hairstyles and venues, and keep them all neatly tucked away in an idea book. With Pinterest, you can “pin” any picture from the web and neatly tuck it away into a category of your choosing. Because others can see your boards, you can get feedback, and maybe even connect with other people who have similar taste as you. But Pinterest isn’t just for weddings, by far. You can pin anything and create any category your heart desires. I was just browsing the site and stumbled upon a category labeled “boys.” And, you guessed it, there were pictures of many, many boys. From Johnny Dep to Ryan Renynolds – everyone was in attendance. I doubt this was among the most popular boards, but you get the picture. It’s not always about pleasing others. Sometimes you just need a wall full of boys (apparently). Pin what you like.

If you really get into pinning things, you can download the mobile app and browser extension, which both make it easy to create boards on-the-go. See an outfit you love? Pin it to your fashion board. Maybe later you’ll go back and buy it. For the ultimate fashion and social media geek out, create a custom outfit on Polyvore, get some feedback there, and then pin it to a Pinterest board where it can be shared amongst your fashionable followers.