Update on Pinterest - My New Obsession

I have been using Pinterest for about a month and find it fascinating.  Not only do I get some really good ideas supporting my furniture refurbishing passion, I find it exciting to see what others have found and how vibrant of a community it really is.  I have learned some things about Pinterest and am still exploring others.  One of the things I have not learned how to do is to connect my pinterest boards directly to my blog which seems like it should work.  I've seen others do it but have not been successful so far.

I checked out the pinterest website and found a few helpful tips - link to pinterest website - including this nice description of what pinterest is and does:

Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.

I also  like the user guidelines: 

Be Nice

Pinterest is a community of people. We know that tastes are personal, but be respectful in your comments and conversations. 

Credit Your Sources

Pins are the most useful when they have links back to the original source. If you notice that a pin is not sourced correctly, leave a comment so the original pinner can update the source. Finding the original source is always preferable to a secondary source such as Google Image Search or a blog entry. 

Avoid Self Promotion

Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion. 

Report Objectionable Content

We do not allow nudity or hateful content.  

I am still in the process of creating (and revising) my basic organizational scheme but it seems to be working for me.  Since I am most interested in home decor, I am breaking this category down into usable parts - e.g., by color schemes.   I am still lumping together all recipes, all things French and Italian (my favorite travel destinations) and all Do It Yourself (DIY) projects.  The challenge is not to have too many categories and yet have them be meaningful.  I am not doing the best job of describing the "pins" or "repins" often using overly simple language like "yellow bedroom", "living room", etc.   The images do help a lot so sometimes that is all I need.  I do worry a little about how this could get out of hand and become less meaningful if I just keep adding both images and categories at my current rate.

I will have more "lessons learned" as I continue to discover this fascinating method of finding, sharing, and tracking. I have noticed that it appears to be a "girls" thing - I have yet to see a male "pinner" but I am sure there are some out there!