Pinterest: Social Scrapbooking on Overdrive (Part 1)
The name still barely makes any sense to me, but the concept has hit me in full throttle. Say hello to Pinterest, the social media scrapbooking tool that has taken over the world by storm, and created a new addiction.
Pinterest has been around since late-2011. Boiled down to its simplest parts, the website is a digital scrapbook of photos, laden in everything from infographics to meme-based photos to sites and sounds that people simply want to remember. My Pinterest, seen above, is somewhat underdeveloped, as I am not all too addicted to pinning items, but users who have been on the site for months have boxes and boxes filled with their most memorable and favorite items.
The Pinning Phenomenon
The idea of pinning items to a wall is not new. At its even greater core, its social sharing but with an even greater visual appeal than Facebook. Svpply and Tumblr, both of which has been around longer than Pinterest, have been long used to share, respectively, wishlists of things one wishes to buy and photos/music/video/audio. Pinterest has however, struck a chord and taken it up even further. Even though the tool is in early beta and accessible on by an invite, those who are invited post an immense amount of content (which as you know, is a very important part of social media).
Perhaps what makes Pinterest so addicting is the fact that it takes the scrapbooking activity to the next level. Scrapbooking, long done in books bought from Michael’s and other retailers and held together by love, tape and paper has now been made more efficient, automated and digital, which as people know, is the future of how most technology is done. But even more so, Pinterest takes scrapbook parties to the next level as well. If I, for example, see that a friend’s social media infographics album is worth sharing or taking images from, re-pinning is relatively easy. No need to ask to borrow glue, take or the photo for a photocopy.
In closing, I definitely see Pinterest as something that is here to stay. Its a first mover in the industry and means something to social media in terms of sharing and scrapbooking. It won’t take any other sites down, that is for sure, but if anything, tells a story as much as your Facebook profile does. Join me on Pinterest today, and let’s pin something together.
Coming Friday: How Pinterest can be used for branding.
Pin with me on Pinterest today. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below or send me a tweet @albertqian.
