Who doesn’t need a little inspiration? If you’re the type who tears pages from magazines to put in some folder thinking you’ll get back to them, plugs things into iPhone notes, or has random stickies of great ideas all over creation, it may be time to join the Pinterest world.

 

By Caitlin Brown

 

Who doesn’t need a little inspiration? If you’re the type who tears pages from magazines to put in some folder thinking you’ll get back to them, plugs things into iPhone notes, or has random stickies of great ideas all over creation, it may be time to join the Pinterest world.

 

While most social media sites say, “Look at me,” this one says, “Look at this!” Pinterest is the most ingenious way yet to store, organize, and collect ideas. Whether its ideas for your home or garden or art that makes you happy, the site is there for you to save what inspires you, and perhaps, inspire others.

 

Pinterest is a community of sharing. It’s a place where like-minded people find each other — animal lovers, fashionistas, art enthusiasts, gadget fans, recipe hunters. This is a site designed to help users catalogue their passions, likes, and interests whether for themselves or to share with others from around the world.

 

And, it’s easy to use. All it requires is an interest to “pinspire”, and with a few, easy steps you can begin. Pinterest allows you to collect images from sites on the Web, and also to upload your own. You create boards to categorize your interests and events you’re working on. Say you’re planning a Fourth of July party and want to create a board of ideas. Whatever your desire, all it takes is signing up.

 

To go through the sign-up process, the site requires you to follow some boards. You don’t have to continue to follow them (click the “unfollow button” and you’re no longer following them). This may intimidate at first, but really it is just a way the site tries to acclimate new members and optimize their use.

 

After selecting some boards, the site will ask you to verify your account. When this is done, you can search things that interest you (pins); people, publications, companies, or friends on the site who have boards (pinners), or boards of interest. These three options will appear under search to help you navigate.

 

Whomever you choose to follow, their pins will appear in what is called your “home feed.” Any pins of those you follow will immediately appear when you get on the site. They may compel you to repin. In case you didn’t know, there are Pinterest apps for your iPhone and iPad.

 

For pinning on your own, there is a great tutorial in the Help section of Pinterest, which shows you, step-by-step, how to download what is called the “pin it” button. Once downloaded properly, this allows you with just a few clicks to pin anything you like and would like to go back to from the Web. And, your pins do not have to come only from the Web. You might have a photo from your phone or camera you’d like to pin, and you can upload it easily.

 

Initially, I was trepidatious of Pinterest, as I am of most social media sites, but it has me hooked. I have learned things I never knew before, found amazing recipes, set up a board to help a friend of mine decorate the home he’s building, found products and things to admire, words to inspire, and places to aspire to go one day.

 

What Pinterest does for me, and so many others, is remind us that the world is big, that we can all learn from and inspire each other, and aspire to greater things.