A simple concept that involves pinning ones “interests” onto a personal, online board is swiftly capturing the attention of social media users worldwide.
Pinterest is an online and mobile service that is quickly gaining popularity by allowing its users to create online pin boards and share their interests with other people.
Pins can range from home decor, bridal fashion, foreign cars and electronics. With a simple click of a button, users can showcase the things they love to friends, family and other users.
With over 2.2 million users signing in through Facebook, not even including the thousands who sign in with their personal emails, the attractiveness of Pinterest is skyrocketing.
4th-year biology student Reema Savani has been using Pinterest since last spring and cannot get enough of the joy she gets from being able to learn more about what interests her and how it broadens her knowledge.
Savani has boards that consist of cars, fashion, and her favorite, exterior and interior design.
“I love interior design, it is a hidden hobby of mine,” said the 21-year-old. “Pinterest allows me to share that love with other people throughout the world.”
The website allows its users to create their own visual collections or “boards” that hold their set of pins, which are images re-pin from someone else board or uploaded themselves.
Following someone’s board allows an interaction that enables you to see their pins on your timeline and comment on a pin that grabs your attention.
“Pinterest is my way of self expression,” said Savani. “When you make one you can really expand what you know in almost any subject.”
A few Pinterest users go on the site as a gateway to other blogs and websites. For example, Kameron Green, 20, enjoys using Pinterest for his liking in men’s fashion and the high volume of it he can browse through online.
“The main thing I look at on Pinterest is men’s fashion,” said Green. “I like it so much because it actually gives you the website for the majority of the stuff you see, so you can just buy it on the spot.”
Pinterest has also attracted the attention of many celebrities and public figures like Katy Perry, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Kors, Anderson Cooper, Jessica Alba and President Barack Obama.
Unlike the growing number of people hopping onto the Pinterest “bandwagon,” Orze Killgo, a 20-year-old hospitality management student from Morgan State University, does not really understand the hype behind this new trend.
“I have heard the name a couple of times, but it does not matter to me because its just like taking Tumblr to the next step with the way people define themselves with these pins, ” said Killgo. “I generally dislike it when people take other people interests and photos and use it to describe who they are.”
The success of Pinterest is continuously growing as more and more people online are enjoying this new trend.