Pinteresting

Pinterest is the newest kid on the social media block. The social networking site is described as "a content sharing service that allows members to 'pin' images, videos and other objects to their pinboard."

Pinterest is all about images, and it's resonating with Internet users. According to comScore, unique monthly visitors to Pinterest have surged from 400,000 in May 2011 to 18.7 million in March 2012.

Here are some of the basics of understanding Pinterest:

• To join, visit www.pinterest.com. Click on "Request an Invite." You will need to enter your e-mail address and will be notified when you can join Pinterest (usually within seven days).
• Install the "Pin It" button to your browser, which will allow you to grab images from websites to add to your Pinterest boards.
• Start to think about what you want to pin, and how you would like to organize your boards. You can pin images and videos. Today it was announced that Flickr has added Pinterest buttons to photo sharing, which will assure that all images will be properly attributed.
• The most popular categories on Pinterest are:  Food & Drink, DIY & Crafts, and Women's Apparel. That being said, pin what interests you. Express yourself.
• To pin an item from a website, click the "Pin It" button (which you installed earlier). It will show you all of the images that can be pinned from a website.
• Your pins can be integrated with your Twitter or Facebook account by visiting www.pinterest.com/settings. Because of the integration with Twitter, the @ sign and hashtags can be used in Pinterest as well.
• Keep captions short. Pinterest users are interested in the visuals. If you have something lengthy to say, include it in the comments section of your pin.

Many people wonder if they should be on Pinterest, considering all of the other social networks out there. Well, Pinterest is driving more referral traffic to websites and blogs than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. When Pinterest users find something interesting, they usually click through to get to the original source -- typically a website or blog. Happy pinning!