You're already on Facebook. You have a Twitter account. You check in on Foursquare. Maybe you do Instagram or Google Plus too. Who has time for yet another social website?
Well, apparently millions do as Pinterest.com is now the next free site to become intensely popular--it's the fastest website in history to eclipse the 10 million-visitors-a-month mark.
Pinterest is an online scrapbook/bulletin board which allows you to customize your board based upon interests, e.g., "favorite Italian recipes," "cool craft ideas" or "home remodeling ideas." The site is easy to use--as you surf the web and see something of interest, you can click the "Pin It" button on your bookmarks bar. The whole process is like making a virtual scrapbook.
It's also easy to repin items that you see on a friend's board, or to find people to "follow"--those who have tastes like yours.
The appeal of Pinterest not only is due to its simplicity, but also that it's uncluttered. There are no ads and nothing pops up like on other social media sites. And, unlike Facebook and Twitter, you're not broadcasting out--you're creating boards for your own use based upon your own interests and inspiration.
While not a user, my experience with the site is that it also is far less self-absorbed than Facebook or Twitter. As a Huffington Post columnist wrote, "Facebook and Twitter posts tend to come with the silent subtext, 'Here's how great I am.' On Pinterest, the tone seems to be 'Wouldn't this be great?'"
Is there room for yet another successful social media site? Apparently, with Pinterest, the answer is "yes."
(Source: New York Times)
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