pinterest

I <3 Pinterest But ….

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / Leave a comment

But it’s not right for everyone.

It pains me to say that – but it really isn’t perfect for every company.  I know, I know – I’ve said it a million times how much I love Pinterest, how excited I am that I get to use it every day at work for clients, how I use it to find and share great recipes, and how awesome it is that I’ve even been interviewed, and quoted, on the topic in Crain’s.

So how do you know when NOT to use Pinterest? That could be a whole other blog post – or even a blog post series – but here’s a great infograph I found today that lays it out nicely – enjoy! (click on image to view original source and make it larger)

How I Changed my Mind About Pinterest

/ Melissa (I Crashed the Web) / 3 Comments

There’s been a lot of buzz flying around about Pinterest over the past few weeks, and I hate to contribute to it – but I’m in love.

It wasn’t always the case. I got my invite to join in February (8 months ago, which as you know, in social media years might as well be 8 year ago) and really didn’t see the point. I logged in, visited some other boards, and logged out. I really didn’t see its purpose in MY life and didn’t think I needed it. Here’s why:

  • I was feeling social media fatigue. Doesn’t it seem like we’re getting invites for all the newest, greatest social media sites all the time? Take Google+ for example. I’m still working on using it – I understand its value and check in every so often, but for me, most of my friends/connections/etc. are on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, so that’s where I spend most of my time right now.
  • I already have a bookmarking site! Why would I need ANOTHER site to keep track of my favorite blogs, recipes, news articles, etc. when I’m already such an avid user and fan of delicious? Why would I need another site to keep track of my favorite blogs/rss feeds when I’m such an avid user and fan of netvibes?
  • I already have a site where I keep track of things I love/want/that inspire me. It’s called my blog or my tumblr site! To me, tumblr seemed to have everything I wanted and could ever get out of Pinterest.
  • Nobody I cared about was using it. Back in February, the people whose ideas/opinions/styles/etc. I cared about were simply not on Pinterest. And as a social site, I wanted to try out the social aspect – if I couldn’t find any users or boards to follow, what was the point?

Well, I’ve been swayed. I joined Pinterest in the essence of seeing what it was about, connecting with others, getting smarter about social media, etc. And now I’m hooked. Why did I change my mind? Well, I learned that it’s NOT the same thing. What do I like about Pinterest that the other sites don’t have?

  • It’s pretty! It may sound superficial, but I love the clean way it looks. Yes, tumblr is pretty but Pinterest lets me see my bookmarks at a glance (like netvibes) but is visual (unlike netvibes). And it’s so much easier to find my favorite recipes by just looking at the pictures, as opposed to just searching my delicious keywords (which I’m horrible about keeping consistent). So what does this mean? It’s NOT the same as all my other favorite sites – it’s got aspects of all the sites that I love.
  • I was wrong ... my friends ARE on it! Okay, not all of my friends are on it (most of my real-life friends aren’t social media users) … my coworkers, social media friends and some of my favorite bloggers are there, which means every time I log in, there’s something new and cool for me to see.
  • There are so many ways to use it! Not using it yet? Still on the fence? Well, here are just some of the awesome ways I’ve seen people use it: Crafting/DIY inspiration; Fashion and style trends; Cool products you want to remember / inspiration for the upcoming holiday season; Virtual recipe book; Home décor inspiration; Inspirational quotes, photographs, sayings, and so on; collaborating with others on any of the above – you can change your settings so your boards can accept pins from multiple contributors

Once you join, be sure to check out my ever-growing collection of boards and pins: http://pinterest.com/koskim