I’m a visual kind of guy. Faces I remember, names not so much. As a freelance writer and a photographer I tend to get much more work as a writer but reckon I’m a better photographer. I certainly get more joy out of photography and find it to be one of the very few things in life that allows me to completely lose myself. Besides, when I am writing what I’m actually doing is accessing mental images floating around in my head and trying to transcribe those pictures into words. So for me, Pinterest is a handy dandy resource for sharing, accessing and compiling all sorts of visual information.
Pinterest? It’s an image-based online “tool for collecting and organizing things you love” with as many ways to use it as necessity and creativity can allow: mood boards, wish lists, portfolios, recipe collections … you get the point. It’s really popular in the US and especially so with women. I’m not really sure why that’s the case. Ladies ain’t got no monopoly on enjoying nice pictures. But I think it might have something to do with the sharing and social aspects of Pinterest. Whatever the case, there are still plenty of manly reasons to join in on the fun. And to any of my single guy friends looking for a better half or simply to develop a deeper understanding of the female psyche, Pinterest gives you a view to what its female members love most – their favourite movies, food, destinations, brands, etc.
I’m on Pinterest daily. No, I’m not trolling for dates or trying necessarily to get a gripe on what makes a woman tick. I’ve learned that as a blogger, Pinterest is invaluable for sharing my content and tapping into the inexhaustible enthusiastic inspiration of the community. My most popular board is my London Daily Photo (yeah, like on my blog). I use it to ‘broadcast’ my photography to a wider audience and drive a little extra traffic to my blog. It seems to be working. But I like clicking on the site in search of new recipes and to see what my friends on there are up to as well.
The folks at Pinterest have recently started to focus their attention on growing their presence here in the UK (Pinterest is a San Francisco start up). I don’t really have a problem with how things have been, but I suppose seeing more British and London relevant pins on there and not feeling that the site is so heavily skewed toward Stateside stuff could be pleasant change. And if any of the UK tweaking will result in more Brits and Londoners coming across my pics, that would be swell too.
So, yeah. Pinterest. It’s cool and definitely worth taking a look-see. And in the spirit of its “Pin it Forward UK” campaigin, I’ve been asked by the Pinterest peeps to introduce you to active community member, Chris Booth, who likes to write “about the places you discover after you’ve seen the ‘big names’ of world travel” at his Expatior blog. He also likes to share plenty of pics on Pinterest from his own exploits around the globe, including some pretty awesome shots he took while in Mexico.
