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
  Source: pedlars.co.uk via Sian on Pinterest

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.