Chances are, you’ve heard of the hottest new social sharing channel called Pinterest. If you’re not familiar, it’s a virtual pin board where users are encouraged to (virtually) “organize and share things you love.” From a traveler’s perspective, I see it useful for establishing a bucket list of places to visit, sharing places I’ve been, and stalk where others are traveling.
Yes, I do have an account and honestly, I haven’t taken the time to establish my pin boards and pin as I should. When I talk to other pinners, they say they’re “obsessed” with Pinterest. Are you?
Web and social media pioneer Aliza Sherman’s “Pinning Our Lives” presentation during the SheCon 2012 New Media & Brand Expo last month, offered some great insight into Pinterest including reasons why you and I should pay more attention to the site.
Stylin’ on Pinterest
Aliza, who’s presentation was courtesy of the Wine Sisterhood, shared 10 things Pinterest is showing us and why we’re enchanted with it. Primarily, the site demonstrates what a picture is worth, ranging from food we wish we could make to fashion styles we’ll never be able to rock. Pinterest is allowing us to collect what we like, express ourselves and connect with others.
“Don’t be a pin bomber,” Aliza cautioned. Perhaps you’ve already met one yet don’t know it. A pin bomber is someone who is pinning and repinning and filling up your feed with pins. Just relax and don’t over pin.
If you’re geeky like me, check out Pinterest stats on www.repinly.com/stats.aspx. (As you’ll see, pinners really like to eat and drink – example, have you ever gone out to dinner with someone who has to snap a photo before dining? Yeah, that’s me!)
How Pinfluential Are You?
If you’re a pinner and curious about your “pinfluence” there are a few sites you can see how “pinfluential” you are, but as Aliza said in her presentation, don’t take your numbers personally as you may rate high on one and low on another.
Beyond Pinterest – Two Travel Resources
Technology is making travel planning easier. One of those resources Aliza mentioned is Trippy.com. Similar to Pinterest, users create travel boards such as where they’ve been and where they want to go then it collaborates with your Facebook friends who either have been where you’re going or traveling to where you’ve been. This allows users to access resources they may have been unaware of.
The other resource is the travel app Trover.com (available for iPhone and Android) which allows users to share and find hidden gems. Wish I had that during last summer’s trip to Alaska.
The Great Time Suck
Are you wondering when people have time for this? I’ve abandoned my MySpace account yet that’s not enough to meet the demands of our instant society. Technology has turned our lives into a 24-hour workday, as described in the May 2012 Marie Claire article, “The New 24 Hour Workday.”
I took Aliza’s words of wisdom to heart.
“You don’t have to be everywhere,” she said, “life is happening off the phone, life is happening off the computer,” and focus on what’s important in life. She added, “Life is too short to pin, tweet and post it away.”
Amen.
Resources
“A Few Good Pinterest Tools, Tips, and Resources,” Beth’s Blog,Beth Kanter
“Pinning Our Lives: Pinterest and Beyond,” SheCon 2012, May 26, 2012, Aliza Sherman
“The New 24 Hour Workday,” Marie Claire, May 23, 2012, Elisabeth Eaves
Very educational! People have been telling me to use Pinterest for ages but I new even really knew what it did.