Clean
and simple to use, Pinterest attracts people who need to organize the
chaos of Internet-age information overload. It serves as an online
scrapbook of images they find on the Web, a place to post fashion
inspirations, decorating aspirations and more. It's a digital dream
collage, a recipe box and a corkboard full of magazine clippings all
at once.
The
site's popularity has exploded in recent months, making it one of the
fastest-growing websites in history. Its ascent to 10 million monthly
visitors happened faster than Facebook, Twitter or any other site
tracked by comScore.
What
makes Pinterest's surge unusual is that it's driven not by the usual
geek crowd of young men but by women, that use the sleek,
photo-heavy website for fashion ideas, wedding planning and home
design, or just to share photos of puppies.
Steve
Jones, professor of communication at the University of Illinois in
Chicago, likened Pinterest to a bulletin board in a bedroom or dorm
room.
Access
to Pinterest is currently by invitation only, so those looking to
join need to request one from the company or ask a friend already on
it.
Once
you're in, you can create a board and name it "recipes,"
"weddings" or anything else. As you find images you like on
the Web, you "pin" them to your boards to share with
others.
Pinterest,
like game maker Zynga and many others before it, likely wouldn't have
grown as popular without the help of Facebook, the world's largest
online social network. Facebook said last month that the number of
its users visiting Pinterest every day grew by 60 percent after it
was integrated into the site in January.
In
another sign it's made a mark, Pinterest has already spawned parody.
The gender discrepancy is probably why someone thought to create
Manteresting.com, a site that looks just like Pinterest – but for
dudes.
Instead
of pinning images, you nail them. Instead of puppy photos and
cupcakes, there are Star Wars references, beer and sneakers. Instead
of willowy dresses and floppy hats, the women of Manteresting wear as
little as possible.
