Health & Fitness
Do You Pin?
Why you might want to try Pinterest, a new social network that is all about saving your favorite ideas to a virtual bulletin board.
Even though you know I love to sew, I'm not talking about pins and needles. I'm talking about Pinterest. Pinterest is another social network that can be as social or personal as you would like.
Think of Pinterest as a virtual bulletin board where you can save pictures of your favorite things: recipes, clothes, craft projects, bridal ideas, and travel locations, to name a few. You can categorize your pins by topics. For example, I have a "Want to Make DIY" board on which I "pin" ideas about crafts I'd like to try.
I do not spend a lot of time on Pinterest, but use it in a more personal way - to save ideas that I like. In the past I would bookmark ideas but rarely go back to search through my bookmarks. The beauty of Pinterest is that it is very visual. When I'm ready to try that new recipe, I simply go back to my board and find the picture that I saved.
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The way Pinterest can be social is that you can follow people and have followers, just like all the other social networks. If you want to simply browse, you can go to the main page of Pinterest and scroll through the pins that other people have made. I will occasionally do this, but it can really distract you and quickly drain your time!
Because Pinterest is so visual, many companies are jumping on the bandwagon. If someone pins one of their products, all of that person's followers can see it and possibly repin that item, so the potential for exposure is great. I have received a lot of referrals from Pinterest and it begins with beautiful photos.
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You can link your pins to your Facebook account so your followers can see it. I prefer not to send a steady stream of pins to my Facebook friends. You can use Pinterest with a smart phone or desktop computer. On my computer, I added a button to my toolbar so when I am on any page and want to save an idea, I simply hit the "Pin It" button.
You need an invitation to join Pinterest at this point. You should be able to find a friend that can send you an invitation. If you can't, let me know and I will send you one!
You can see what inspires me on my Pinterest page.