Let’s start with the basics. What is Pinterest (the short version)? Pinterest is an online platform for creating vision boards or interest boards. Some people call it a visual bookmarking site. You start by creating a profile on the site. Once the profile is in place, you can create “vision” boards on any subject. Now that you have a board in place, you can start “pinning”! A “pin” can be created from a photo, a graphic or anything visual.

You can pin something to a board by uploading a file from your PC or smart phone. You can also pin something interesting you see on a blog or website to one of your boards. For example, let’s say I’m cruising around the internet and find some great photos of Pluto on the NASA website. I can pin the photos to my Pinterest board called “Planets On The Go” or “Dwarf Planets in Space”. I can call the board anything I want.

The thing that gives Pinterest its social appeal is “re-pinning”. You can follow people on Pinterest and see what they’re pinning to their boards. If you see something interesting, you can “re-pin” it to one of your boards. Of course, others can follow what you pin and re-pin to one of their boards as well.

With anything social, as more join in, cultures and sub-cultures start to form. Pinterest is no different. Pinterest tracks patterns among users as they create boards and add pins to those boards. Before long Pinterest will create categories and sub-categories for a subject as more people pin about it. Pinterest has 70 million users worldwide so new  categories and sub-categories are created daily.

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