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Name any hobby, sport, interest, or diversion, and you'll find out more about it than you ever dreamed possible on the Pinterest app. Not so very long ago if you wanted to find guidance for your latest woodworking project, some fresh new garden ideas, inspiration for a unique vacation destination, or an exciting new craft idea, you'd have to pore over books and magazine articles or spend tons of time surfing the web to find all the most helpful links. Now, though, your search can be much more quick and rewarding; you can look to Pinterest as a clearinghouse for pictures, videos, and information about over 100 billion different topics ranging from wildly popular to extremely obscure, right on your iPhone or iPad. What's more, you can share your favorite Pinterest categories and findings with friends and family who are also using the site or app, and keep all your best pins (saved posts) for whenever you'd like to go back and refer to them. Let's get started learning about everything Pinterest now, so you can start pinning with the best of them!
Related: How to Create an Instagram Account on iPhone
Pinterest (Free)
What It Does
The Pinterest app is a social networking platform centered around interests, ideas, and activities. Anyone can download the free app, then create a Pinterest profile and begin to explore content that other Pinterest members have uploaded and shared on the site. Once you've found a pin you'd like to refer back to, you can create a board about the topic, where you can also save future related pins. Your pin and board preferences help to personalize your Home page, which is where you enter Pinterest every time you open the app. If you searched and pinned some good books to read this month, you'll find some new reading suggestions the next time you go to the Pinterest app. Likewise, if you were hunting for a new pair of glasses and the best online vendor to purchase from, you'll be offered more suggestions for new frames and lenses on your Home page. As your interests evolve and change, your Home page continues to shift its suggestions and offerings.
Here are a few glimpses of my home page; now you know that I'm really interested in Beatrix Potter, medieval history, gardening, and new recipes!
Also, as you can see from the picture above, Pinterest does include targeted ads on your Home page; ad revenue is what pays to keep the platform up and running. Since I've searched for crafts and activities to do with my preschooler, Pinterest includes ads from Disney, as well as from lots of car companies trying to sell me a minivan. If you don't like a particular ad, you do have the option to let Pinterest know that you don't want to see content from that advertiser in future. All you have to do is tap the three small dots by the ad description, then choose Hide; Pinterest will select different ads to send your way in the future.
Why We Love It
I love Pinterest because it's a way to feel surrounded by inspired, excited people. In day-to-day life, things can get into a bit of a rut, but a quick Pinterest break is a way to branch out and find ideas that you may never have encountered in the three-dimensional world. For example, I've been thinking about building a greenhouse to extend my growing season and decided to pop over to Pinterest and see what other members have found about that topic. I type "greenhouse" into the search field and find lots of auto filled options to complete my search. I wouldn't have thought to enter DIY (do it yourself), but I am wanting to build rather than purchase a greenhouse, so this is the perfect search term. I tap greenhouse DIY, and there are hundreds of pins to choose from.
Another enjoyable aspect of the Pinterest app is the ability to look through all my previous pins when I have just a few minutes to decide on something. Say I'm at the library or bookstore and want a book, but not just any book, something special that I'll be really happy I invested my time in. I can just tap on Saved at the bottom of my Home screen, and I'll be on my personal page, where I can tap on my Books board and find some options that I pinned so I could remember to pick them up later. Some of those pins are even lists I found of books recommended by historians and librarians, so I know the recommendations are coming on good authority and will be worth the read.
One last thing that makes Pinterest one of my favorite apps, I love that I can follow friends, family, or even strangers on Pinterest and that they can follow me. Following just means that if you come across someone who shares your interests and curates really great boards, you can receive updates about their pins, then save them on your own boards if you'd like. If you find an entire board you love, you can follow that as well! These suggestions are located in a section called Notifications, where you'll see new pins that the people you're following have chosen, as well as recommendations from the Pinterest app for additional boards you might like to peruse. Right now I'm following 17 people, so my Notifications have a nice variety of pins to inspire me.
In case all of this sounds like too much sharing and not enough privacy, Pinterest does offer the option to keep one, a few, or even all of your boards private, so you'll be the only person who knows what you've pinned and where.
I hope you'll give the Pinterest app a try, and find many new ideas and projects to keep you busy there!
