3 Things to Know About Your New Pinterest Profile

Pinterest began rolling out new profile pages today (March 16) that put more emphasis on the people behind the photos. If that makes you feel a bit self-conscious about your "pinning" expertise, we've got some tips on how to get your new profile in shape for pinner scrutiny.

 

Who are you?

 

The new profile page moves your name and description up to the top where it's far more visible than the old version. You can easily edit or add a description to help others get an idea of your interests. You will now see the three people whose photos you most frequently re-pin. Pinterest says it added the feature to help you discover new people to follow.

 

Tweak your boards

 

The order of your boards — collections of photos with common themes — has become more important, but it's easy to rearrange them. Further, the photo you most recently pinned is displayed much larger than the others in each board. Four thumbnails, ordered by how recent each is, appear under the large photo. You can rearrange your boards from this page by clicking on the board graphic next to "edit profile." You'll want to put your most interesting boards at the top. Be sure to click the red check mark to save your new arrangement.

 

Unfortunately, you cannot rearrange the photos themselves. If you don't like the featured photo, which was your most recent pin, add a new one or re-pin your favorite from your board. Here's hoping that Pinterest  will add the ability to rearrange pins soon.

 

Follow more pinners

 

Pinterest said in its blog post that even seasoned pinners had trouble finding out who follows them and who they’re following. This information now appears in a navigation strip that also includes a count of your boards, your pins and "likes" from others. An "activity" button reveals a pictorial summary of your recent pins and new people you followed. Next time you're pinning and see a photo you like , click on the names of the pinners to see their profiles. Adding new people will add their pins to your home page.

 

Pinterest says that when you’re browsing profiles, you can see all the things pinners have been doing on the network.

 

True. Pinterest is open to all. Unlike Facebook , you can follow anyone you like. There are no privacy options on Pinterest. Use the new profile to see how others view you. Your pictures tell a story — make sure it's the one you want to share.

 

Original post here.

 

 

Pinterest: the new hit social network explained

Pinterest has been the most talked about social network of recent weeks but what is it for and who is using it?

What is it?
Pinterest provides virtual pinboards onto which members can 'pin' collections of images. These can be pictures they have taken themselves or images collected from around the web. There is no limit to how many boards you can have and users are collecting all kinds of things, from clothes they want to buy to possible paint colours for a decorating project.

Once something has been pinned, others can re-pin it, making it possible for an image to spread throughout the social network. Though the buzz around Pinterest has only just begun, the site launched in 'closed beta' almost two years ago.

Who is using it?
The stereotype has it that the site is being used overwhelmingly by women, whether to collect images of craft projects or this season's fashions. In the US, the stereotype seems to be broadly true: 83 per cent of Pinterest's US users are female. In Britain, according to figures from Compete, Pinterest's membership is 56 per cent male.

The average US user is aged 35-44, while the average British user is 10 years younger. Pinterest's user base is overwhemingly American though, with around 12 million members, compared to 200,000 in the Britain.

Will it be the next Twitter or Facebook?
At this point it is difficult to predict whether Pinterest will continue to grow at a phenomenal rate or whether this current wave of interest will subside. At the beginning of last year there was enormous interest in Quora, a question-and-answer based social network that many people thought would be the new Twitter. Though Quora continues to be popular, its appeal has not been broad enough for it to challenge the social media giants. What happens to Pinterest will be determined by its ability to meet a need that is not met by the existing players and to keep users coming back day after day.

How will it make money?
One way that Pinterest already makes money is by converting pins into affiliate links with ecommerce sites. That means that if you post a picture of a sofa that you are thinking of buying, Pinterest could add an affiliate link to a partner retailer so that the site gets a cut of any subsequent purchase. The site's Q&A says "We might also try adding advertisements, but we haven't done this yet." Other ways that the site could make money include selling additional tools and features for brands or high-end users or charging for 'sponsored pins'.

How can I use it?
Membership is invite-only at the moment so you will have to know someone who is a member or request an invite from Pinterest and then wait a day or two.

Reference: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/social-media/9111278/Pinterest-the-new-hit-social-network-explained.html