What’s this Pinterest thing? I’ll explain.
Being the big food lovers that you are, I would not be surprised if many of you are already using Pinterest, the hottest new social networking tool on the Internet. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of folks out there who don’t know what it is or have not had a chance to check it out.
Pinterest is, essentially, a virtual bulletin board where you can “pin” images of all sorts of interesting things, from recipes to works of art to pieces of furniture. These pins almost always include a link back to the original source. So if I pin a photo of a delicious stuffed pork tenderloin, it really isn’t going to do anybody else any good unless it links back to the recipe for said delicious stuffed pork tenderloin. Because of these attached links, Pinterest is a great way to create and maintain a collection of visual bookmarks, so to speak, that lead you back to information you want to save.
I love Pinterest, and here’s why:
1. Because it is like eye candy, and I find it very pleasurable and stress-relieving to peruse the boards and look at all those pretty images.
2. Because I can share links with others, learn what interests others, show a bit of my own personality all WITHOUT having to read stupid comments, status lines, arguments and more. I am all for promoting the written word (obviously), but sometimes you have to tune that out. While commenting is possible on pins, I have yet to see anything insulting or offensive. Now, I’m sure the trolls will get there eventually because they’ve slithered into all kinds of nooks on the web. But Pinterest comments usually are along the lines of: “Ooh, that’s a pretty wedding cake” or “Oh, I can’t wait to try this recipe” or “Hahaha!! That just made me almost fall out of my chair laughing!”
3. Because I am able to pick up all kinds of REALLY cool ideas. Pinterest is full of organizing tips, recipes and advice. For example, today I learned that you can bake two Bundt cakes and then flip one over on top of the other and frost them to make a pumpkin-shaped cake. I’ve seen a lot of ideas for repurposing old objects, too. It really inspires me to be more crafty and straighten up the spaces in my life.
There are other reasons, but those are the big ones. Pinterest is still primarily a tool being used by women, but there are plenty of men on Pinterest and more and more are joining every day.
I am currently involved in Pinterest in two ways: I have my own personal Pinterest page and I am helping The Roanoke Times to build a company Pinterest page. But you will not find pictures and links to stories about school bus crashes or Virginia Tech athletes-turned-criminal-defendants. Not that those stories don’t have their place, but Pinterest is more visual. We have boards for food, art, community happenings, cool local real estate, editorial cartoons, photographs, contests and promotions, fashion, gardening and sports. And here’s another neat thing about Pinterest: You don’t have to follow all of those boards; you can pick and choose what interests you and ignore the rest.
If you’d like to check out our Pinterest page and/or follow The Roanoke Times on Pinterest, click here.
If you would like to follow ME, Lindsey Nair, on Pinterest, click here. But please remember that is my personal Pinterest page, and while I am not generally an offensive person, I do sometimes have a quirky sense of humor. If you don’t like one of my boards, the solution is simple: Don’t follow that board!
I hope this has been helpful and/or interesting to some of you. I also hope you have a WONDERFUL Memorial Day weekend filled with friends, family, and FOOD! I’ll see you on Tuesday.
May 24, 2012 - 5:50 PM
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S’mores martini … aw, no no no!
There is, of course, a male counterpart to Pinterest. It’s called Gentlemint (http://gentlemint.com), and it’s along the same lines as Pinterest. It’s not lad-mag skeevy, though it can certainly contain some things that are not for all tastes. And a surprising amount of expensive wristwatches. But also an interesting variety of food, beer, whiskey, and wine.
Not to be too skeptical, but what keeps Pinterest from evolving into something similar to lots of other internet sites?
What is Pinterest other than a highly photo oriented site? I’ve actually never heard of it before now, so please educate me.
I LOVE Pinterest! I’ve found wonderful recipes there that I have been able to use to accomodate my sons food allergies.
@ Tass, is that a good “aw, no no no” or a bad “aw, no no no?”
@ Jeff, you just blew my mind with Gentlemint. I totally thought you were joking.
@crooked road, I don’t know what lies in the future for Pinterest. It is still a fairly small company and they continue to make changes, but I am enjoying it so far. My explanation for what it is, other than photos, is that it’s a place to share and bookmark links in a fun way.
@ Crooked Road
I love Pinterst as an alternative to the favorites bar. I am a teacher and am constantly looking for new ideas in my classroom. I can pin a picture of an activity I might want to use while teaching a unit later in the year and then easily find it again when I need it. So much better than printing it out and wasting paper or having to figure out which web link it is in my favorites list. Same for recipes. Great for us organizationally challenged types!
S’mores are a beloved classic, a rustic dessert, cobbled together by children’s dirty hands, and a deliciously sticky mess.
Martinis are a beloved classic, an elegant cocktail custom-crafted by a (preferably sexy) bartender, and a crisp and clean experience.
Combining the two is a hubris that creates an abomination in the eyes of God (and James Bond).
Amy’s right, Pinterest is GREAT for teachers. And parents, too.
@Tass, I guess I figure combining the two might be like someone accidentally dropping their chocolate bar from the balcony of a movie theater into the open jar of peanut butter someone is holding below, resulting in an even more amazing treat. But the honest truth is that I will never in a million years make a s’mores martini, which is a fine example of the fact that Pinterest is often a place to collect pipe dreams, too.
Sidebar: Did anyone besides me ever wonder what kind of weirdo would eat straight from a jar of peanut butter at the movie theater? Apologies to any weirdos who have actually done that before. I love weirdos.
I love the commercials for the cheapy egg cookers and different kitchen tools, that show people making these horrible messes while preparing food. I’m a klutz but I’ve never been as uncoordinated as folks in those commercials.
Pinterest is great for social bookmarking, but what about personal bookmarking – the bookmarks for the sites you visit over and over? I use iCrumz.com.
Say what you will about the silliness of those old commercials, but you must admit, it speaks for how well they worked that we now remember them decades later. And I guarantee, most of us will now buy a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup (or, as we called them back in the day, Reesie-Cup) sometime in the near future just out of pure nostalgia. Think about the Mad Men science that went into that one, creating an ad that could still sell on memory alone almost 40 years later.
@tass –
I’m pretty sure that after a busy day (eternity?) God relaxes with a Martini…
I would say the old commercials that are remembered are remembered because of nostalgia more than effectiveness. Also, if you consider how many commercials there were back then, and we only typically remember a handful.
I remember a Maxwell House commercial from watching Gunsmoke when I was a child over forty years ago. I’ve never bought Maxwell House as an adult, so it was memorable, but didn’t ‘convert’ me. I also remember the horrid ‘Where’s the beef?…’ commercial by Wendy’s from about three decades ago. I remember it because I hated it. I loved Wendy’s despite the bad commercial.
So, I make some purchases for nostalgic reasons, but I can’t think of a time I’ve bought a product because of the memory of a commercial.
Should have added above, I do love the memory of some of the old commercials, just like everything else, it is nostalgia.
Bom ba bom ba bom bom – Maxwell House
Zoom zoom zoom zoom, Valleydale
See the USA in a Chevrolet
I can’t believe I ate the whole thing. You ate it, Ralph – Pepto Bismol
Silly rabbit, Twix are for kids
Double your pleasure, double your fun, with Doublemint gum