Have you jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon yet?
I have had my Pinterest account for nearly 6 months but had not done much with it until recently.
For those of you who don’t know what it is, allow me to give my Cliff’s Notes version.
First, it’s sort of like one big cyber wish list.
Every time you see something you like, you can pin it (virtually) on one of your pin boards.
I created these boards: Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Desserts
You can also re-pin other people’s pins on your boards. Basically liking what they liked and pinning it up on your own board.
People pin everything from cool tattoo pictures they’ve seen to glass accessories for the home that catch their eye to favorite thrift store finds to decadent desserts to DIY projects and craft ideas to recipes to beautiful artwork or inspirational photography or cute puppies with pink collars.
I love old, rustic architecture. Weather-beaten windows, shutters, doors, old colorful buildings and created a Rustic Architecture board.
You name it, pretty much everything that you can think of under the sun can be pinned. And has been.
Some people have hundreds of boards (i.e. categories) and each board has dozens of pins in it. It’s mind-boggling, actually.
There’s also ways to follow others and you can follow all their boards or only certain boards.
You can leave comments or “like” their boards or like items on the boards
I think it’s one of the hottest and most fun pieces of social media that’s come around in quite some time.
It’s like your wedding registry, baby registry, Christmas Wish List, recipes you want to make, vacation destinations you have on your life bucket list, and every list of items and things you’ve ever wanted, liked, or dreamt about all in one place. Or haven’t even dreamt about but someone else has and you now like and want things you didn’t know existed.
The bright side to wasting time pinning things is that if someone ever asks you what you want for your birthday or a holiday of any kind, you have a built in and ready to go Wish List.
No need to say, hmmm, let me think about what I want.
Tell them to go check out your Pinterest page. And there will be an easy 417 options and gift ideas for them to choose from.
Not to mention, it’s really fun for me to look at things other than food blogs. I like reading about food, recipes, and drool-worthy desserts but it’s also fun to see some of the awe-inspiring boards that others’ have created that showcase their passions, hobbies, and interests.
Questions:
1. Do you have a Pinterest account?
2. How many social media accounts do you have? Do you use them all? Why or why not?
I am really digging Pinterest because it’s…
less random than Stumble
far more visually interesting than Twitter
more universally accessible than Instagram (not everyone has an iPhone)
more inspirational than Facebook
That said, there is so much social media!
There are so many ways and methods in which to communicate and forms of communication to check. Overwhelming much?
Between email, blog reading, (my Google Reader is the both a blessing and a curse at times), and keeping up with personal Facebook accounts, fan page accounts of your friends, Twitter, text messages, phone calls and voicemails, there are days I want to just chuck my computer, phone, email, and every other form of communication out the window.
Until I realize that I think I’d miss it.
Being in touch (electronically) with others in this very cyber-focused world in which we live is simply a part of our lives. And for better or worse, I think we’re all a little hooked on it. Not necessarily a bad thing, just a thing.
As long as technology isn’t cutting into other aspects of your life, i.e. family time, work time, workout time, pleasure-reading, cooking, keeping up with just life’s details, etc. I think it’s fine to enjoy technology and all the social media avenues. They have their place and can be wonderful but of course only each person knows if she’s on cyber-overload. We’ve all been there.
Everyone’s threshold is different but once you hit it, you know it. And just repeat the mantras, Step away from the screen and no one gets hurt.
A little unplugging can be fabulous. And necessary. Fresh air, exercise, reading a book, walking around, no Wifi, no phone, no computer, ahhh, deep breaths. Freedom from it all can be just what the cyber doctor ordered if that omg one more thing to check and respond to feeling hits. And then I find that after a little break, even two hours or 24 hours, I am craving it again.
What’s your take on social media and being connected vs. unplugging? Do you ever experience social media or cyber overload? What do you do about it in our very tech-oriented society?
Thanks for the NotNuts! Giveaway entries
Remember myspace? That used to be my site. My MAIN site. I used it for family, friends, keeping up with people, finding jobs, comedians and musicians and definitely BLOGGING. I had a long standing blog there. Eventually I left it as the grad school I was in “frowned on using Myspace”. Since that time, I’ve used them all and the only that have really stuck have been having a Wordpress blog and Twitter. LinkedIn just has never worked for me and never really held my attention. Maybe it’s just my friends list but absolutely no one is using Google Plus. I’ve never used Pinterest but I have a friend who swears by it and actually uses it as her picture blog. I would prefer to use Tumblr to WP but their server issues have long been a nuisance to me. I started out on Tumblr but the very next day, their servers went down for like 22 hours and this is common. Twitter is LOADS of fun for me and has far been a better source of marketing the blog than Facebook has ever been. Finally, there’s Facebook, which I don’t really like anymore. The plugin has crashed my WP blog. Also, I’ve got in trouble on there many many times (I don’t understand the privacy settings to save my life. Posted something I thought someone couldn’t see…they saw it). Plus I knew it was curtains for me when I got into an actual ARGUMENT with someone b/c I didn’t notice their FB Status that morning. And that is not the first time that has happened. I’m not yet brave enough for a Youtube. I prefer to hide behind the written words of my blog!
I love Pinterest!!! When I first discovered it a month or two ago I was sucked into a Pinterest black hole for about a week. I pulled myself out and now I think I use it a reasonable amount and as it should be used – I love using it as a visual recipe box, and I also agree with you that I love seeing other perspectives and interests besides food. I also use Facebook (a lot – both personally and my fan page), Twitter (which I find so overwhelming!!!), StumbleUpon (I Stumble sometimes, mostly I give the thumbs up to pages I like), and to a very minor degree Instagram (I have an ipod, not iphone). I do love the connections I’ve made through all these different avenues, but I also find it incredibly overwhelming at times and value unplugging. Looking forward to a trip to Greece (leaving tonight!) to unplug this week!
I love pinterest! I have to limit my time on there, or else I would be on there all day!! But I’ll go follow you and see all your cool and exciting friends!
haha not friends…PINS! :-)
As a visual person I am naturally drawn to Pinterest and I think it’s easy to use and a great source of inspiration.
i have heard such fun amazing things about pinterest but I already find so many ways to procrastinate on the web Im almost afraid of getting into it! lol
I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest, but I’ve found that while I’m really into the first two, Pintrest isn’t quite holding my attention. It’s somewhat fun, but once I pin stuff I rarely go back to it. So I think I’ve lost some of the point!
I love pinterest and I’m going to send my mum a link to your camera bag wall so she knows what to buy me for my birthday!
I’ve had a Pinterest account for a few months now, I haven’t done much with it except pin some of my recipes and a few of my favorites from others. I could see myself getting sucked in though.
I am so in love with my Pinterest account; but what I like more about it is that I feel as though I can leave it for a while and come back to it. It’s not something I HAVE to check on every day, unlike other social media. So yeah, it’s a win for me!
Thanks for the Pinterest tutorial. I’ve been hearing a lot about it and wondering exactly what was going on, but after cancelling my Facebook account I just couldn’t get motivated to investigate another social media outlet.
I am obsessed with Pinterest. The first day I got it I was home sick with a really bad flu and I just spent hours looking at stuff and pinning it. I use it mostly for fashion, I love how people put together outfits then say which store they bought it at and how much it was. I have copied a few! Recipes are great also and wedding ideas!
I’ve recently gotten into pinterest as a way of saving things I find online that I want to get back to – recipes are the most common for me. I’m not really following people yet (as you said, so many things to keep up with), but maybe that’s something that will evolve for me. I am currently really using google reader, twitter, and a little of facebook (don’t check that as often anymore).
I don’t have a pinterest account, but MAN people love that site– I might have to get one!
oops! my info was wrong in the comment above… reposting!
i do have a pinterest account, but go in and out of my obsession one night i will spend HOURS pinning and re-pinning, but then will forget about it for a few weeks. it definitely is my go-to for ideas about almost anything, though — recipes, gifts, home decor, etc.
i am on the twitter bandwagon, but phasing out facebook, at least as far as my personal account is concerned. i think it’s a great tool for blog exposure, but my own account is just making me feel a little “high-school” (for lack of a better term!)
i do have a pinterest account, but go in and out of my obsession :) one night i will spend HOURS pinning and re-pinning, but then will forget about it for a few weeks. it definitely is my go-to for ideas about almost anything, though — recipes, gifts, home decor, etc.
i am on the twitter bandwagon, but phasing out facebook, at least as far as my personal account is concerned. i think it’s a great tool for blog exposure, but my own account is just making me feel a little “high-school” (for lack of a better term!)
I don’t have a Pintrest account but I WANT one :( I can’t get a code to save my life!