The world of social media is constantly growing and expanding — there are new updates for Facebook practically once a week. And even though Facebook and Twitter dominate the social media world, other platforms are waiting in the shadows — including Stumbleupon, Tumblr and now a new site, Pinterest.
Pinterest is a sophisticated website on which you can browse anything and everything. Basically, it’s an online scrapbook that allows users to bookmark their favorite ideas, recipes, photographs, books, movies … and the list goes on. Users document these “pins” on different “boards.” Through my own browsing, it seems the most popular boards include crafts, food and celebrities.
I created a Pinterest account last year, after my bosom friend Chelsea showed me some crafts she had found. I didn’t use it much, only to peruse Do-It-Yourself pages and save the links for crafts and ideas I wanted to try. A few months ago, much to my pleasure, I discovered that I can “like” pins other people repost — to save them for later. Now, I have 82 items “liked” on my Pinterest account and a few boards with pins of things I’ve already tried, including bracelets made out of a baseball, colorful string-wrapped headphones and newspaper nail art.
Pinterest is growing fast — practically every week a friend from Facebook starts to follow me on Pinterest. According to The Wall Street Journal, Pinterest’s user base has grown to 10 times its size in a short amount of time — just six months. Part of the reason there are new followers joining the site so often is because Pinterest requires an invitation request. After the request is approved, the user is put on a short waiting list, and then they link their account to either their Facebook or Twitter account. A smart move on Pinterest’s side, linking their site with two of the most popular social media sites in the world. Once the user is linked to their new Pinterest site, they can search for their friends on Facebook and Twitter and begin following them.
Colleen Davis, a freshman art and education major at Hartwick College, uses Pinterest to find knitting patterns. Davis is an avid knitter and has sold many pieces at fairs, to her friends and on her Etsy shop, “Colleen’s Knits.”
On the other hand, Morgan Schuman, a freshman exploratory student at Ithaca College, uses Pinterest to record all the places she wants to visit. Schuman is fairly new to Pinterest and admits she finds it almost as addicting at Facebook. She also uses it to find cute, new hairstyles — something I occasionally attempt.
Pinterest is used for other things besides beauty inspiration and travel wish lists. Chelsea Hartman, freshman communication management and design major, loves to keep a list of ideas for her latest project: redecorating her bedroom. Hartman calls this board “My New Room” and keeps her pins organized and neat. Another creative board is called “My Peeps,” from Tyra Mazzer, a freshman integrated marketing communications major. This board sounds like it’s a collection of pictures of friends, but it’s not — it’s actually pictures of her favorite celebrities.
I love Pinterest because I have found so many awesome ideas. I unearth hairstyle tutorials, crafts, DIY everything you can imagine, organization tips, photography tips, etc. I don’t post many pins that have to do with celebs or movies; I mostly use it for inspiration and projects. Ever since I discovered Pinterest, I have been more organized with my ideas and have expanded my DIY repertoire.
Alexis Lanza is a freshman film, photography & visual arts major who plans to try every mason jar craft idea on Pinterest. Email her at [email protected].
Top 5 Coolest Crafts on Pinterest
1) Cable Spool to Library Table: This cool craft takes an old widen cable spool — can be found in a commercial salvage yard, or eBay — and transforms it to a coffee table that can act as a rolling library. Plus it looks so darn cool!
2) Filing Cabinet to Kitchen Cart: Tiny kitchens are something common in first apartments. So why not add some counter space and extra storage? This craft project re-purposes an old filing cabinet into a rolling cutting board and kitchen storage unit.
3) Wood Palette to Vertical Garden: The most difficult part of this craft project is deciding what plants to grow. This is a great idea for having an herb garden, without the actual garden.
4) Thrifted Painting to Song Lyric Art: Not all Salvation Army or Goodwill paintings are beautiful, but they can be made into personalized wall art. Take a thrifted piece of art, or even a paint-by-number, and turn it into a cool lyric or quote graphic with just some tape and white paint.
5) Mason Jar to Anything: A cliché Pinterest craft, but cool nonetheless. It is impressive just how many things a jar can be used for. Jar chandeliers are especially cool; all that’s needed is a tea candle and some string.