The latest service on the block is Pinterest, which has been getting a lot of buzz in tech circles off-late.
The web is full of irrelevant information. This affects our online behaviour in two ways. First, we want services that act as filters, letting in only the most relevant information. Second, we want to curate information, sharing the things we find cool. After all, the things you share says something about the person you are.
Tech companies know this, and there are a whole range of online services that take different approaches to fulfill these needs.
Services like Digg and Reddit allow their community to rank articles, and the ones with top rank get pushed up the list. On social networking sites like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter, you get links recommended by your friends. At the same time, you can share the articles or videos that you think are great. Then there is Tumblr, a cross between a full-fledged blog and social network — if you come across a great blog post, you can simply re-post it on your own Tumblr page.
The latest service on the block is Pinterest, which has been getting a lot of buzz in tech circles off-late. It is an invite-only service right now, but you get the invite within a day of signing up for it.
Pinterest is unlike any other social networking site I have used. While others emphasise on text, Pinterest is all about the pictures. You won’t find any headlines screaming for attention. Instead, there are pictures of varying shapes and sizes, which gives the page a busy look without being overwhelming.
You can follow your friends or other people with whom you share common interests. And with that your page gets populated. Scrolling through the contents is quick since there is nothing to read. When you like a picture, click on it, and it is presented in full size. You can then ‘Love’, ‘Repin’ or ‘Comment’ on the picture. If you click on the picture again, a new window opens up, taking you to the original website.
Another way to browse through Pinterest is to go by category. There’s everything from ‘Humour’ to ‘Architecture’ to ‘Women’s Apparel’.
My first impression: the site was, well, cute. There were pretty pictures every where I looked — of food, lamps, gardens, soft toys, more food, etc. Some I got genuinely interested in, but it all felt like I was window shopping for information — see the most attractive bit, smile, move on.
Another problem, I realised, was that the stuff I liked to read about wouldn’t have great pictures; certainly they couldn’t compete with that gorgeous picture of a blueberry cupcake. I had almost given up when I noticed a keyboard for the iPad that looks like a typewriter. Cool. Repin. Then there was the Star Wars bean bag. Repin. A Lego monkey sitting on an office desk. Repin.
There was no analysis or insight in the information I was accessing. It was pure fun. A perfect way to kill time, if you will.
Pinterest is not an alternative to Twitter or Facebook. We use Twitter for real-time news, follow celebs, etc. Facebook is used to keep in touch with family and friends. Pinterest then is not about sharing what we are doing right now, but sharing the things we find cool. In a world where there is too much information Pinterest carves a niche for itself.
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