What is Pinterest?

March 8, 2012 4:32:46 AM PST
Pinterest has more than 14 million users; a year ago it had 400,000 users. So what exactly is it?

It is estimated to be 82 percent female users largely between the ages of 18-35 and in the Midwest.

Consider it a bulletin board meets a social network. Some people are calling it a virtual pinboard.

How it Works: A user signs up for an account and can then create "boards." These boards can be named anything they want and are usually grouped around a topic, like home decorating, wedding planning, ideal vacations, spring wardrobes. A user can then "pin" images they discover across the Internet to their boards. They can also directly upload their own images right to Pinterest. If other users like an image they can then "repin" that image on to their own boards--this is how images go viral.

Brands like Whole Foods, Real Simple and Kate Spade have very large pinterst presences. What's great for them is they can share images from their websites directly on Pinterest and then include a link with their image that takes the user back to their website.

If you're on Whole Foods' Pinterest board, you can find a recipe there to make for dinner tonight, say scallops. Click on the image on their dinner board, then you're taken directly to the Whole Foods website where you can get the recipe. There are now copycat sites created specifically for men. The most popular is GentleMint. Because of the high demand for Pinterst, users need to request an invite, and it can take a few days to get access to it. Once they do have access, they can share their Pinterest boards directly on their Facebook profiles and on Twitter.

Visit http://pinterest.com/

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