Pinterest...and why I love it!

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So I am writing after a hiatus of sorts, but here goes. Today, I wanted to talk a little bit about the wonder that is Pinterest!

 

I recently crossed a 1000 followers on Pinterest - a feat that was certainly not preplanned by me ;) So I think I owe it to Pinterest to mention a few words on why I love it and where is it useful (the question most users wonder about).

 

What is Pinterest?

 

For those of you who have not yet heard about this little marvel, Pinterest is a free social tool that lets you browse thousands of pictures (either pre-existing or you can upload your own too) and 'pin' (hence the clever little term 'Pinterest') any pictures that you like on your Pinterest page. You can essentially create something called as 'Boards' on your Pinterest page with categories that interest you (think Architecture, Fashion, Cars et cetra) and then 'pin' any pictures that you come across on your relevant 'boards'. There is no limit to the number of boards and no limit to the number of pins on each board.

 

Your followers (the individuals following one or many of your boards) essentially get an update of the pins that you have pinned so that they can then repin the pins onto their own boards if relevant. This is how a pin propagates in Pinterest. Finally, you can also follow boards from others that you find interesting so that you too can get an update when they pin something on their boards.

 

Another interesting concept is that of 'Community Boards'. If another Pinterest user finds one of your boards super interesting, he/she may invite you to start pinning onto their board as well. That is the basic premise behind Community Boards.

 

Why I Love it?

 

So now that we have an idea what Pinterest is, here are the top reasons why I love it -

 

1. Places! Oh the beautiful places that I come across while browsing photos! Places in France and other remote locations! Places that I haven't heard of and that make me realize what an artist God is :)

 

2. The picture is worth a thousand words adage has not been truer than in this case! Pinterest gives me a way to enhance my other passion - that of baking! Ever so often I come across food images that are just so scrumptious that they beg to be tried out ;) And the best part is that not only can I repin these images but can also click on the image to go to its source - be it a blog or a site. I can then get further details about the recipes or other information from there.

 

3. Unique categories - You could have unique and interesting categories such as 'Street Art' (this is also one of my favorites). Street Art, for instance, never fails to amaze me with the sort of art that nameless street artists around the world come up with. There is truly so much talent in the world! Alongside is my favorite street art portrait from Pinterest -

 

A Note of Caution & Other Comments

 

Pinterest is highly addictive. When I first started pinning stuff, I did not realize that I would slowly yet surely get addicted to it. But then again, this is kudos to the makers of the tool for coming up with something so innovative and refreshing that users (last time I checked they had 25 million users) find time out of their busy schedules to actually enthusiastically use this tool.

 

Another interesting point to note is that the Pinterest App is actually much much better than the web version of this. Maybe another reason why I love this ;)

 

No Spamming - It is highly recommended to not use Pinterest to promote your own blog or such by let's say, providing a link to your blog as a comment on each of your pins :p. Pinterest will suspend Spammer accounts when they come across it.

 

And that's it my friends. If any of you are interested in checking out my pins - here is the link - http://pinterest.com/shrutasatam/. Happy Pinning!