When I was growing up, scrapbooking was what mothers and grandmothers did to preserve the memories in a family. It was a crafty way to enhance a photo, or relive a moment in their loved ones life. I remember having scrapbooking parties at my friend’s house – decked out with the latest in polka-dot stationary, crazy corner hole punches, and cheesy stickers.
Since those days, the scrapbook era has long faded. That is until a few months ago when a new social networking site popped up and spurred the interest of scrapbookers and vision board makers across the globe. Pinterest has become Scrapbooking 2.0 – and it’s reign has just begun.
What is this site all about anyways? Pinterest offers users the joy of “pinning” photos found on the web or other users boards to a plethora of personal boards (board = online scrapbook category). These boards can contain anything from recipe ideas, clothing ideas, DIY projects, places you want to travel to, and more.
The social aspect comes in as you pin items and other people can comment on your photos or “repin” your photo to their boards. You can even follow other users to get instantly inspired each time you log on.
To get started, you will have to get an invite to join. Here are some tips on how to get an invite quicker, in case you don’t want to wait the several days it usually takes to get one. Once you get an invite, decide what boards you want to start collecting, and start pinning!
You can find items to pin by looking through the Pinterest web site, or by surfing the web. They offer a browser toolbar “Pin it” button that makes it quick and easy to add something to a board. There is even an iPhone app that allows you to take photos and pin them to your boards.
I will forewarn all you eager to get started with using Pinterest. It is a bit of a time sucker and is very easy to get addicted to. But that’s not always a terrible thing, right? 🙂
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