TK1 Blog From Tracy – Pinterest: Inspiring or Overwhelming
I’m sure that by now, you’ve heard about Pinterest, the virtual bulletin board that allows you to “pin” or bookmark your favorite things from the internet to the boards that you create such as recipes, crafts, music, pictures and so much more. Look at the word – it means pinning YOUR interests. The choices are limited only by your imagination. Have you jumped on the bandwagon yet? If not, does it seem overwhelming or just a waste of time?
After spending some time on Pinterest creating my own boards and then helping Tony and Kris set their boards up, I’ve come to appreciate what Pinterest has to offer. Let me help you understand the craze that’s sweeping the internet and see if I can get you interested in it just a little. Here are two of the most common words used in reference to Pinterest; pinning and Pinners. Pinners are the people that set up boards (that would be you) and then pinning is the term used when you bookmark something that you like and it goes on to one of the boards that you created. You get to choose which one. You can pin from a website (like tonyandkris.com) or from another pinner. You can add a pin button in your favorites bar so that when you find a page on a website that you like, you can pin it to your boards. Most websites make the PIN IT button available.
Pinterest has been around since 2010 and had been gaining in popularity as the word spreads. You must request an invitation from Pinterest or you can receive an invitation from a current “pinner”. If you have a friend that’s on Pinterest already, requesting an invite from them is the easiest way to sign up. You must have a Facebook account or a Twitter account. It makes it easier to share your interests and for your friends to find you. When you go to the site, look for the ABOUT area in the top right hand side of the page. You will get a drop down menu when you hoover your mouse over it, click on HELP. You will have all the information that you need to get started. After you get accepted, you can log in with Facebook or Twitter. You can still look at things while you’re waiting, you just won’t be able to save. I recommend cruising the site to get a little comfortable with it.
I know that Pinterest can seem overwhelming when you see all the pins that come up from everyone. Don’t freak out! Just do some deep breathing and relax. I promise this will be fun! Choose your boards. Pinterest is about personalizing so name your boards anything that you want. Pick a topic. Just about everyone has a Drinks and Foods Board so that’s a good one to start with. There is a search area in the top left hand corner. Type in whatever you want. It will give you a choice of Pins, boards or people. Pinterest will also “assign” current pinners to you. You don’t have to continue to follow them but it will give you an idea how to set up boards and pins. If you find a board that you like that someone else has set up, you can choose to follow that one board or you can choose to follow all their boards. Keep in mind that you don’t have to pin. You can just be a member and have access to all this wonderful information that’s on Pinterest… just print out what you want. Think about it this way, when you go through cookbooks you pick out your favorite recipes and save them in a recipe box… all your favorite recipes in one place. Pinterest boards are like that. You save all your ideas, thoughts, music, books, things that touch your heart, projects that you might want to try, sports, helpful information or just silliness in one spot. You know where you will be able to find the information, right there on YOUR boards. You can always go back and delete a pin or board or rename a board anytime you want or change the title of the pin. The edit button is awesome! Nothing’s forever. You can also rearrange the order of the boards. I like to put them in alphabetical order…that’s the way MY brain works. Some people have boards by a color theme. You can create a board at any time and move a pin from one board to another.
I’m gonna be honest, it will take some time to do this…AT FIRST. It’s like any other social media outlet…don’t let it take over your life. Moderation is the key. With that being said, I’ll catch ya later…got some pinning to do!
Tracy
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Tags: Blogs, Chicago, Gamboe, Lexington, Nashville, PINTEREST, san diego, Tony and Kris, Tracy
