Thursday 2 June 2011

Are You Pinterested?

Come join me on Pinterest!


And if it's as new to you as it was to me a week ago, I have some tips:
  • Stop! If you were about to say But Sian, I don't need another time waster - think again. This is such an easy, painless way of gathering together everything you've ever seen and wanted to try. It doesn't take up room on your computer and Pinterest adds the original source right in there for you. Simple.
  • Ignore the waiting list and ask a member you know for an invite. (I have some - email me if you are interested). And don't take the "invitation" thing personally - it's not about being exclusive; it's about stopping the site from crashing. You do need Facebook or Twitter to join, but you can disconnect it from your account once you have signed up.
  • Now, set up your profile page. To find your way around, remember to click on the "Pinterest" logo on the top left which takes you to your home. From there, click "everything" to see what has been added all over Pinterest.
  • Before you do any pinning, have a really good browse. Get an idea for the kind of pinboards you can create, how you can make them look, what you would like to pull together.
See how I've made a start on this one:


  • Pinterest starts you off with a selection of boards, but you are free to delete them and use any titles you like. Or keep them until you get the hang of it. Some of the most interesting boards keep to a very narrow subject - not just "old children's books", but "favourite Dr Seuss titles", for example. But you can make a collection of anything. You can see mine so far in the first picture.
  • Install the "Pin It" bookmark using the instructions here
  • Pinning is addictive, but you do need to play fair. Just as you do when you blog, you need to give credit where it is due. See something on a blog you want to pin? Make sure you go right back to the original source and pin from there. Include details in your description.
  • Check you are pinning from the actual link and not just the picture - again, as you do when you blog, use the unique URL. To pin from a specific blog post, click on the post title and then use the bookmark.
  • Now, find some boards you want to follow! If someone's taste catches your eye, check out all their boards - remember you don't have to follow them all, you can click "unfollow" for any you don't want. See something on a board you like? Click "repin" and it's added to your board. Pinterest will automatically add the original description, but you are free to delete that and add your own.
  • You can "like" pins too - they won't be added to your boards, but if you click on your likes you will see what you have admired.
  • Want to make a blog post of your favourite finds? Use the "embed" button to the right of any pin, copy the code, and add it to your post whilst in "edit HTML"mode
Like that!

Finally, want to see if anyone has pinned anything from your blog? Use this:

http://pinterest.com/source/fromhighinthesky.blogspot.com/  replacing my blog name with yours.

Try it - I think you'll love it. I have some invites ready if you need one. See you there?

With thanks to Jennifer who sent me an invite in the first place.



    37 comments:

    Anonymous said...

    Hi Sian - please oh please invite me! Love this idea and you have totally sold it to me with your blog post.

    Do you need my email address - karen.moss2@btinternet.com.

    Can't wait to start pinteresting

    Lou said...

    Great post Sian, I only started pinning this week and it is very addictive, but I like how you can keep everything together rather than saving and using bookmarks.

    I'm still learning so thanks for all your pointers...a real help. I have some invites too if you run out and need more!

    Happy pinning.

    Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

    You've made it sound much less scary and technical than I thought it was Sian, thankyou for that x

    Jimjams said...

    As it's YOU recommending it - I'd like to give it a try please - look what happened to me and blogging!

    Lizzie said...

    Okay, I confess I'm a naughty blogger... Not realising that you had to have an invitation to join Pinterest, I thought that one I received was some kind of spam, so I deleted it!
    Now, of course, I've read your oh-so-interesting-and-excellent article... and I wish I didn't delete the invite!
    Sian, if you have a spare, please invite me. Otherwise, I will be a good girl and wait until someone else does!

    Thanks for this great post. I learned a lot that I didn't know. I had assumed Pinterest was "just a time-waster", but now I see it isn't at all!

    Sandra said...

    Yes I am, and I love it. As yet I'm still learning my way around it - so thanks for your article :)

    Miss Smith said...

    I LOVE pinterest, it's fab!

    Amanda said...

    For a while I really didn't think I needed Pinterest but just recently I've changed my mind.

    Your tips are excellent and if I ever get myself sorted will come in very handy.

    Abi said...

    oooh! this looks so exciting! I think I may wait till after my exams before I sign up though because I could be seriously addicted! ha ha! xxx

    alexa said...

    Great post with lots of useful info - most of which I didn't know, even though I have an account. Thank-you!

    JO SOWERBY said...

    im sad no-one has invited me............i'm obviously not interesting enough ;)
    jo xxx

    Sian said...

    Jo, I'll send you an invite right now!

    Scrappi Sandi said...

    I love the idea of this & I'm all signed up there, but every time I try to acces or 'pin' anything my PC freezes, so if you have any advice.....?!!!

    Sian said...

    Sandi, I've heard that Chrome is the best browser to use with Pinterest. It struggles with IE

    Rebekah said...

    I love Pinterest!! Just added a "follow me" button on my blog for it!! I'm slowly adding to it, but your right, it's so easy and painless to get it up and running!

    Jennifer Shaw said...

    What a terrific post Sian with so much information for anyone starting out. I really love this idea but the word "addictive" is what worries me. I do tend to get on tangents with these things! ;) I think I had better stick to my Smash book for now. hee hee

    WendyB said...

    Great post Sian, Only spent a little while on it so far but already its kick started me into a photo challenge. Have re-pinned a couple of things and suddenly I have two followers - whats THAT all about lol

    Carmen said...

    As you know I am TOTALLY addicted. Good advice to have a nose around as I really didn't 'get' it when I received my invite and it sat there unloved and ignored. It was only when I saw a couple of other twitter peeps raving about it I wondered what I was missing. Oh my word, it's fabulous. I so love that you can pin something and instant credit is added too. Like you I tend to go back to the original source and pin from there if I can find it.

    Love it! Never knew you could see what people have pinned from your blog... I kind of look like your stalker. Oops! Can't deny it though :P

    Cheri said...

    I joined a few weeks ago, but am really slow getting started. Computer problems made me even slower. Now that you've removed some of the mystery, maybe I'll get on the ball! In the meantime, I'm starring this post so I can come back when I have time to implement!!!

    humel said...

    I've been resisting it for a while but I think that's because I didn't properly understand it! Having read a post by Linda yesterday and now yours today, maybe it is something I'd like to explore :) I have IE though, so maybe my computer won't like it? If you have any invitations left then I'd love, one please! If not, maybe Linda does.... Like Lizzie, I deleted one that I received (think it was from Sandra, oops) not properly understanding what it was!

    Unknown said...

    oh Sian, isn't pintrest fab! I love it xx

    Lou said...

    Sian, how did you add your red sign "follow me on pinterest" to your blog? I've given up trying to work it out and thought i'd ask instead...hope you don't mind xx

    Anonymous said...

    Just signed up yesterday. Great post, Sian!!

    Clair said...

    You may have just convinced me. If I can have an invite...I'll have a weekend project! x

    Miriam said...

    Yes please, if you have an invite going spare Sian, I have been looking over the last couple of days but your post has answered a couple of questions I had...Thanks

    Sue Althouse said...

    I'm already on Pinterest, so don't need an invite. Just started following your boards. Now I need to take some time and look and see what's been going on there!

    Anonymous said...

    I got an invitation a while ago, but struggled when I tried to set up an account. Now with all your helpful advice, I'll see if my invite is still good! Thanks!

    Gem's Crafts said...

    What a fab and helpful post! When I have some more time, I might just pop over for a look :)

    Mandy @ Polka Dotted Forest said...

    Please send me an invite! I've been on the waiting list forever! mandypandy_77@Yahoo.com

    Sandie said...

    A great blog Sian (as always!) I joined Pinterest a few weeks back but have been too busy to explore or add many images. It has great potential though and your information will be very helpful. I couldn't see how to follow you so sent you an invite instead. Hopefully I can add you and it will be another place to meet up!

    Beverly said...

    oh I do think it is another addiction for me but one I can rationalize that I am able to have all those things that inspire me and make smile/laugh/think in one location. I feel so inspired after spending some time pinning :)

    Anonymous said...

    It's looking great Sian. Wish I'd read your post before I set mine up a week or so ago. :)

    Anonymous said...

    Sian, if you've run out of invites I have some I can offer your readers.

    Anonymous said...

    Sian, if you've run out of invites I have some I can offer your readers.

    Micayla said...

    Oh dear Pinterest......how I love you. I think it is pure genius and I cannot get enough, perfect for storing all those pretties and tutorials I am too busy to read/try!
    Have a lovely weekend.
    xx

    Susanne said...

    Yes, I'm loving Pinterest too, and I'm working on a group post of pictures from one of my boards. Do you think it is okay to post the pictures and instead of embedding info for each one which takes up a lot of room, I could just give the link back to the board where they can find the links. Also I've noticed some links are defaulting to the home page of the website instead of the original page - I wonder if that determined by each site's preference. Any idea?

    Ginger said...

    Ah heck, I've avoided it long enough! Got any more invites?

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