Pinterest blasts onto virtual screen

Posted By Lindsay Schaefer on Sep 20, 2011

As if Facebook and Twitter are not time consuming enough, Silicon Valley has given us yet another tool for procrastination – Pinterest. It is a virtual board that allows members to pin things they are interested in and share them with the rest of the community.

A pin is simply a picture of anything that shows up under a certain category. Once users see something that interests them, they can either repin it onto one of their boards or like it.

Time magazine recognized Pinterest on its list of the 50 Best Websites of 2011 for its innovative technology.  It offers users a Pin It button that lets them grab pictures of their favorite things as they browse the Web.

Senior elementary education major Taylor Tyre uses Pinterest to gather ideas for crafts and random things.

“I love it because you can find and save your ideas all in one place,” she said. “Everyone’s creativity shines through one website.”

Topics that members can browse are food and drink, travel, design, photography, fashion, wedding, do-it-yourself crafts, technology and many more.

Senior elementary education major Miranda Moon was first attracted to Pinterest because of a pin about decorating classrooms.

“It’s a money saver with all the DIY (do-it-yourself) stuff, and it also has really innovative, out-of-the-box ideas,” she said. “I just want to keep looking for more.”

To become a member on Pinterest is fairly easy. Just find a friend who is a member and have that person invite you. Sign up with an email address, and your life will never be the same again.

Junior accounting major Audrey Ohendalski has used Pinterest for decorating her bedroom and also to gather ideas for gifts to give her family and friends.

“Pinterest is addicting because as you scroll down the page, you find more and more new ideas that you like or want to repin …. It is also addicting because it is so convenient,” she said. “You can easily see an item you love and post it in your personal online memory board.”

Although it may seem that Pinterest is a female-dominated website, six out of the seven employees at the company are males, including the two co-founders.

Guys, if planning your dream wedding or browsing photos of fashion does not sound appealing, how about starting a conversation with a girl like this, “So, yesterday on Pinterest….” No doubt  she’ll fall head over heels for you. 

“I think Pinterest is definitely more of a girl-friendly website, but people can use it if they want to be more crafty or are looking for some original and thoughtful pieces ….,” Ohendalski said.

One of the concepts of Pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting. Because  millions of pins are added every week, Pinterest is constantly linking people based on a variety of shared tastes and interest.

Moon said, “It has such great ideas that I just want to keep looking for more.”