Is Pinterest for me?

I've never been a Pinterest user because I'm a bit of an anti-consumer. My only glimpses of the site have been through my friends, who collect and share pins that translate to particularly delicious Thanksgiving dishes or unique wedding reception centrepieces.

Pinterest seems to me to be one of the more passive social networks, with fewer opportunities to really discuss one's pins—and thus one's interests—with followers. You simply upload something of interest with a comment and then it's left alone to be watched, perhaps commented on. Not my kind of network, and not one I would have thought would be worthwhile for a non-profit organization.

But the Edmonton Public Library, purveyors of all things exciting and creative in Edmonton, have a Pinterest worth looking at. Their 18 boards are all thematically linked to libraries, while branching off to explore the various components that prove that libraries are more than just a collection of dusty books. They reflect on their history using images and anecdotes, promote the local art they have on hand, help you decide what to read next, and leave a place for staff to offer their favourites.

For an organization as diverse as EPL, Pinterest seems like the perfect visual outlet for all it's endeavours. But for somebody who prefers the written word, I would be hard pressed to find a place for it in my busy social media arsenal.

A screencap of EPL's Pinterest page at http://www.pinterest.com/EPLdotCA/.

Pinterest Assigment by Sandra Cuadra

In my opinion, Pinterest is a visual social tool where you can have a visual look at the things you are interested in, is like an images bank of your favorite information where you can easily create collections and organize your pins. For me Pinterest is a source of inspirational ideas for my personal and professional life.   I follow different boards from cooking ideas, travel landscapes, educational sites, social causes to marketing companies, packaging and branding ideas.  

One of the NGO that have an excellent use of Pinterest is PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) http://www.pinterest.com/officialpeta/.  Through their Pinterest boards they not only create social awareness, but also they create solutions and alternatives to help people support their cause.  They interconnect all their social media channels, have a good use of hashtags and post frequently.  They also interact not only with their followers but with the “outside community” audience as well and have a large list of ambassadors.  

Well done PETA!