subject: Why Pinterest Is The New Top Social Site [print this page] Pinterest is the hot new social site because it is pretty, simple to use and free. It's also a social community with relatively little engagement required. Add to this the fact that you don't need to even know what you're looking for when you land on the site and you are still delighted, and you have a network close to nirvana for most people!
The visual feast that is Pinterest delights each user every time they head on over for a visit. It is also what keeps a "pinner" (the Pinterest term for a visitor who pins pictures onto their board) there for quite a while, as they graze about, gazing at all the pretty pictures. The fact that the images have been laid out by others for your enjoyment merely adds to the experience. Like a giant buffet of all of your favorite things, Pinterest will always offer you something fun to look at.
Pinterest is the easiest to use of all of the current social networks popular right now. There is no character limit; in fact, it has been reported that comments of about 200 characters generate more interest than those with merely one word, like "cute". The like button is a fast way to connect on the fly, and once you repin an image you will always find it wherever you've put it. This can not be said for Facebook or Twitter!
There are no ads on Pinterest. It is completely free to use. No matter how active you are there is always something new to see. There is a news ticker of sorts on the left hand margin, that alerts you to your friends' activity and who has liked various of your boards or pins. It will tell you who has recently followed you, too. That is the only distraction from the great visual stimulation the social community offers.
As you can see, Pinterest is popular with good reason. It is simple and straight-forward to use. It is not obviously commercial, although there are more people trying to sell items there with each day that passes. And it's pretty. Plus, it can be about anything that piques your curiosity. There are limitations about nudity, and adult content, but other than that, you can pin away to your heart's delight.
It is more effective to narrow the focus of each of your boards, however. This way you can establish your authority on that subject with greater clarity. Like so much of social media today, no niche is too narrow.
