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I love Pinterest. There, I said it, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Love isn’t really a feeling that I throw around when it comes to social media sites – do I love Twitter? Or Facebook? Certainly not. I use both of those sites, of course, to stay updated on friends, family, news and blogs. But I can honestly say that right now, Pinterest is the only social media site that I’m using on a daily basis to share content that is actually important to me. Content that is worth collecting in a treasure box of sorts, to be visited and revisited. I can’t really say that for the status update I posted yesterday on Facebook about sour gummy bears.
So what is it about Pinterest that has it generating so much buzz and, more importantly, so many pins? The power of Pinterest lies in its ability to keep it simple.
Simply Pinning
Just one glance at a Pinterest page, and the main point of the site is pretty obvious: to collect visually appealing, inspiring images and ideas from across the Web, and keep them all in one place. It’s refreshing, especially when sites like Facebook and Google+ are offering so many ways to share that it can get overwhelming – sharing links, posting photos, updating statuses, creating life events on a timeline, adding a location. With Pinterest, the only way to share is to pin an image, “repin” an image or “like” an image. Pins are displayed on a virtual corkboard, with little room to manipulate the data. A pinboard. That’s all there is to it.
It’s All About the Images
A powerful image can often strike a chord much more effectively than a block of text. This is particularly true for the Internet. As a Web writer, I’m constantly formatting my words to appeal to Internet readers by using headlines and subheads, avoiding big chunks of text, bolding and italicizing, linking to other sources. People don’t want to read too much on the Internet; they would rather look at a page and get the basic gist before clicking on. Just look at the rising popularity of infographics to convey information that is typically boring, like stats, charts and graphs. Pinterest does a great job at keeping text to a minimum (a short description, if any, is all the image needs), keeping the focus exactly where it is supposed to be: on visually powerful ideas.
Easy to Learn, Easy to Use
There is no copying and pasting URLs, or writing long descriptions so you can remember why you bookmarked a certain page in the first place. The image says it all, and takes you directly back to the original source. With just a simple drag and drop of the “Pin It” button to your browser toolbar, you can pin from anywhere on the Web without ever having to open the Pinterest page. Because the site is based around the simple act of pinning an idea to a board – something that everyone has done in real life, whether through Post-It notes or bulletin boards – it’s easy for anyone to learn and understand. To use Pinterest, there is just one question to ask: Do I want to save this image? If the answer is yes, then pin away.
The bigger question, however, is whether or not Pinterest can (or will) keep it simple. Facebook started off with just a short profile and a wall, but it eventually grew to become a multifaceted networking tool. If the power of Pinterest is in its simplicity, can this new social media site afford complexity?
Jacqui MacKenzie is a writer for Straight North, a Chicago marketing firm with clients that range from disposable rubber gloves manufacturers to specialists in automotive and truck lifts. Check out the Straight North Blog, follow @StraightNorth on Twitter or see what’s inspiring us on Pinterest!
