"What is Pinterest? I've never heard of that before." I asked my friend. My friend mentioned that she found this new website that was totally different from anything she had ever used before. I was immediately intrigued. Five minutes later, I set up an account. I couldn't tell you exactly when I created my account, but I think it was perhaps at the beginning of my senior year. After I created an account, I still asked, "What is Pinterest?" After a few weeks or so of forgetting about Pinterest, since I didn't really understand how to use it, I came back to it to explore more territory. After viewing other profiles that I had stumbled upon, I finally started to understand what the website was all about, it was a visual scrapbook of sorts. It seemed to me that Pinterest was your personal curation of ideas, images, and inspiration.
So, more in depth about what Pinterest really is… What can you do on Pinterest? It turns out that there are a lot of things you can do on that nifty site. You can share pictures of your own, or share pictures that you might have found on another website, not belonging to you. Don't worry about plagiarism. Pinterest has created a special way of posting photos that you found on another website. All you have to do is click "Add +" in the top right hand corner, click "Add a Pin," and then just enter the URL where the image you want to post is. By doing this, if anyone that sees your pin is interested in finding out more about the image, they can simply click on the image and it will take the straight to the website where you got it from. Giving credit where credit is due. If you want to post an image that you've just seen on Pinterest that another user posted for you, all you have to do is click "Repin." Pinterest makes it really easy for their members to share. You can also add a caption to your original pin, or you can change the caption to a repin that you found from somebody else's pin. Not only can you repin, but you can also like people's pins! I don't prefer "liking" pins, because you have no way of organizing the things that you like.
You may be wondering, why should I actually use Pinterest? Other than the ease of sharing, of course. Well, for me, I really enjoy using Pinterest because it's a place where I can organize images that inspire me. On Pinterest, most of my compiled images consist of hair, architecture, home decor, beauty, and fashion. Although all of these sound girly, and some are to an extent, there are also many other popular categories that Pinterest has chosen for you to browse. Some categories consist of animals, cars, art, food and travel. With so many images to compile and gain inspiration from, how is one to organize these images?
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| Just a few of my own boards. |
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| My "Home on Heroin" board. |
So, now that you're learning more and more about Pinterest, it might still be a little confusing as to why this would be categorized as a social networking site. Well, on Pinterest, like on many other social networking websites, you can follow people, and have followers of your own. Also like most social networking sites, when you follow someone, you've gained a "subscription" to their pins. One of my favorite things about Pinterest is that it's socially acceptable to repin pin's from people that you don't know! This may seem weird, but you might lose some followers if you retweeted all of Kim Kardashian's tweets. With Pinterest, it is socially acceptable to follow and repin as many pins from anyone you would like. It's basically complimenting the person you repinned from, saying that they have great taste. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Not only can you follow and repin, but you can also comment on pins if you'd like. The only negative about Pinterest is that there aren't many settings for privacy.
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| My timeline of pins from people I follow. |
When I first made my Pinterest account, I was kind of afraid to pin. I know it sounds kind of lame, but I was afraid people would judge me because I'm not exactly interested in what my followers might have been interested in. Lame, right? All I would do, for quite a while, was "like" pins. I realized one day that liking pins gives you absolutely no way to organize them. Then I posted my first pin. I think it was a picture of a bathing suit. After pinning a few more times, I was realizing more and more that I shouldn't be afraid of what people think of me through the internet. Either they'll like what I do, or they won't. Pinterest has helped me, in a way, break out of my shell.
Alright, so you know how to use it, and why I use it. But really, what is my connection to Pinterest? Why do I spend so much time pinning? Well, Pinterest has definitely become an outlet for me. Almost comparable to a diary. It isn't private, but sifting through the pins of people I follow and repinning them sort of releases stress. I find it very relaxing, to have so many images of things that I love and find beautiful, right at my fingertips. It's almost like having something, but not really. I still get some satisfaction from the image, without the price tag. Pinterest is another form of media that helps me individualize myself, out of the billions of people on earth. Even if not everyone sees my Pinterest account, I still have something to myself that makes me feel different from other people. Not everyone is going to pin the same thing, simply because not everyone is interested in the same thing. If I'm ever feeling lost and I have a hard time remembering who I am, I can just get on Pinterest and I am easily reminded of the person I am, and the person I want to be. Pinterest inspires me to reach new heights in my life. It gives me goals to set, and incentive to achieve them. Although I did say that I do gain some satisfaction from looking at images of things I want, but I'm not completely satisfied from just looking at pictures, so pinning helps to remind me to stay true to myself, and to stay ambitious.
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| My "Outfit Inspiration" board. |
Sources:
All photos provided were made by me, except for this one:
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