OK, so we all know about Facebook. For all you Facebook virgins, the way I describe it to my 89-year-old mother is, “It’s like a bulletin board. You post things you want to share on YOUR bulletin board, and those who you have chosen as YOUR Facebook friends can see what you’ve posted. And it’s updated 24/7.” Hard to believe, but I have many friends and business colleagues who are NOT on Facebook.
It’s not until they want to share some good news, photos from a trip or reconnect with friends from high school that many take the leap into Facebook. I’ve heard that the biggest users of Facebook are the over 50 crowd – even thought it was started by a Harvard student to connect with other students. If you haven’t seen the movie The Social Network, it’s a great and mostly factual story about the creation of Facebook, and founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Some of you may have heard of a social network called Pinterest. I’ve heard rumblings of Pinterest (pronounced “Pin-trest”) for a couple of years, but really didn’t know a lot about it or even understand it.
Pinterest wasn’t on my radar until I attended an industry luncheon last week, at which several local Southern California food bloggers spoke.
Unfortunately, many of the produce folks in the audience did not have an interest in blogging, nor did they realize the positive impact it can have on the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
But when asked what the number one way people find their blogs was, all three blogger panelists shouted out “PINTEREST!”
Although I set up a Pinterest account for myself a few months ago – and my company, Frieda’s, has been on Pinterest for a while – I haven’t been personally active.
According to its website, Pinterest is an online pinboard. It allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse boards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests. People use boards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.
Bingo – sharing favorite recipes.
No wonder Pinterest has become so popular. Instead of having to thumb through cookbooks looking for photos of recipes that look good, you set up your own Pinterest account, search for photos that look yummy, and like them or pin them! As you click through the photos, sometimes you get recipes, and sometimes you are taken to another website or blog that has a recipe.
Like any new site, you have to spend time exploring it. And because Pinterest has become so popular, you get new content each day. If you want to know about the viability of Pinterest, which at this point has no income, check out this article about their latest round of fundraising, generating $100 million.
Of course, during my first exploration of Pinterest, I searched “Recipes Vegan,” and I was thrilled to find hundreds of photos and recipes.
Check it out!
Karen