Monday, June 11, 2012

Writerly Tools: Pinterest

Yes, this is a Pinterest post.

If you've been following pretty much any blog for the last six months, you've already seen at least one version of this post, so you're welcome to move on. If not, stick around an I'll tell you how Pinterest can be useful to you (and your writing).

Now the idea behind Pinterest was to create virtual pinboards for everything that you as a user thinks is worth pinning. Get it? Pin + Interest = Pinterest. Haha.

At first glimpse, Pinterest looks a whole lot like Tumblr because the entire website is an explosion of pictures. This is why it took me so long to get interested. What was the point of dealing with another social website when it was so close to Tumblr? The answer to that question is because Pinterest is a bit more self-centered than Tumblr.

At its core, Tumblr is just another blogging platform, though it does have a huge emphasis on sharing content. Pinterest, on the other hand, is an easy way to organize online content that you enjoy. Tumblr uses want followers because they want to share their content, while Pinterest users seems a bit more focused on collecting things they like.

Make sense? Maybe a little interested to hear more? Good, since this is the part where I cut to the chase and tell you five reasons why using Pinterest might be in your best interest:
  1. Pinterest is your inspiration board
    Remember when I did a WIP picture spam post? Well Pinterest allows you to easily cultivate images and ideas for your writing . . . or anything else really (and if you're curious, here's a link to my WIP board).
  2. Pinterest is a haven for writers
    So many authors have Pinterest accounts that it's not even funny. Want to see what kind of things that Laini Taylor associates with Daughter of Smoke & Bone or Beth Revis's with her mysterious new WIP? Well now you CAN.
  3. Pinterest lets you organize like a champ
    You can definitely have more than one pin board, which allows you to organize everything your heart's content. Want a board for every WIP? For the tastiest looking recipes? For everything related to comics books? Totally doable.
  4. Pinterest makes browsing easy
    Of course Pinterest has the standard search function, but you can also scroll through pins based on genre/category. Better yet, you can follow other people's boards and let them find all of the best content online.
  5. Pinterest is only what you let it be
    Maybe you'll use it for WIP inspiration, or maybe you'll use it to procrastinate from working on your WIP. Maybe you'll get some new hobbies or save every beautiful picture you find online. If nothing else, Pinterest is versatile.