If you’re like me, you’ve heard the term “Pinterest” bandied about the internet in the past few months, but have only a vague understanding that it might possibly be a website that has something to do with photos…maybe? As it turns out, we were totally right about that photo website thing. Pinterest is a social networking site that allows users to collect (or pin) and share groups of pictures and other visual content. Items that are pinned may be commented on by anyone. The name Pinterest is a combination of the words “pin” and “interest”. Pinterest. Get it? Yeah, totes nailed that one.

 Now that we’ve established that we’re pretty savvy when it comes to deciphering social media da Vinci codes, let’s beat the e-streets and see what our friends (color-coded by gender) think Pinterest is about.

 Q: What is Pinterest?
Erin L: “It’s like an online cork board that you can pin stuff to. At least that’s how I think of it.”
Bill C: “From what I understand, it’s a place to save pictures and links online. More like Twitter in the social way- you can follow people and their boards, but it doesn’t have the complicated friending system that Facebook uses.” 
Amanda B: “It’s a good tool for [collecting] ideas and things to do or make. A resource for finding things that would otherwise be scattered across the internet.”
Scott C: “It’s a site that ladies use. They add things that they think are cute or neat or funny.”
Lindsay M: “It’s an online bulletin board where you can gather ideas. Instead of ripping things you like out of a magazine, you can use Pinterest to share the ideas with friends and not clutter up your desk, drawers, and bookshelves.
Terry J: “Bull[stuff] hipster photo sharing iPad app.”


 Q: Who uses Pinterest?
Adam R: “It’s for girls.”
Erica J: “Girls my age [30-something]. People who scrapbook. People planning weddings.”
Scott C: “People who want to keep links around to things they like and share them in a better way than straight-up bookmarks.”
Erin L: “My lame fashionista cousins in their late 20s. 50+ year-old women who can’t figure Facebook out.”
Bill C: “Seems very popular among women planning weddings.”
Lauren W: “Soccer moms and 23-year-olds planning their weddings. And my roommate who is neither of those things.”
Morgan B: “20- and 30-something women.”
Lindsay M: “Right now I see a ton of moms using Pinterest.” 
Terry J: “Bull[stuff] hipsters.”

Q: What kind of content is on Pinterest?
Jacob L: “It appears to be primarily visual content.”
Erin M: “I think mostly girls are on Pinterest, pinning outfits they like, wedding plans, and things that they think are pretty.”
Morgan B: “Decorating, design, food, clothing.”
Lauren W: “Photos, instructions, recipes, etc…”
Amanda B: “Pretty much anything- mostly I see recipes, photography, wedding stuff, all kinds of info for kids. Lots of recipes involving cream cheese.”
Scott C: “Pictures of puppies, curtains, furniture, food.”
Lindsay M: “I see a lot of recipes, photo ideas, party ideas, decorating tips, wedding ideas, and clothing/style tips.”

Q: Would you ever use it? If so, what for?
Laura R: “I mainly use it for recipes, kid stuff, and home project ideas.”
Chris W: “I use it to desperately fish for compliments about my internet links. ‘Share’ and ‘Likes’ are the new ego boosters.”
Erica J: “Um, I think if I had a task to collect ideas for, or a hobby that I needed to collect ideas for. Like, I could see myself collecting recipes or fonts or something for reference.”
Scott C: “Unlikely.”
Erin M: “I just joined the other day so I could look at my friend Jenny’s wedding pins or whatever.”
Morgan B: “Maybe if the user demographic changed a little. The only thing I’d currently consider looking for there might be food stuff.”
Lauren W: “I guess I might use it to look at jewelry because I make jewelry.
Jacob L: “I might potentially use it for creating groups of clothing, or if it were useful for music.”
Amanda B: “I mainly use it for recipes and every-day kind of ideas. Cleaning tips and what not. Also cute pictures of animals.”

Based on the feedback from our friends, Pinterest seems to have established a fairly well-defined niche for itself. While people don’t necessarily understand how it works, almost everyone understood who and what it is for. Pinterest is a site used mostly women, most notably; brides-to-be, moms, scrapbookers, and DIY (do it yourself) types. While any media can be pinned, the four major content categories are: weddings, food, fashion, and decorating. Pictures of baby animals also seem popular.

So now that we have a pretty decent idea what Pinterest is all about, maybe it’s time to try it out? I may create a board of my favorite Lerner books! Which, of course, is all of them. (My boss reads this blog)