What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a new kid on the block of social networking. And it is buzzing the Internet with its relatively new concept of sharing lives.
Pinterest is essentially a photo-sharing service which allows its users to “pin” the photos on their Pinterest pin boards. It’s just like making status updates on Facebook and Twitter. People can “re-pin” photos from their friends’ pin boards (this is “sharing” in terms of Facebook)… and of course you can like a photo.

How to Register

At present, registration on Pinterest is via invitation only. You go to Pinterest website and show your interest in registering an account. Pinterest will take your request and send you an invitation email after a few days. The invite email contains a link that will begin the actual registration process.
You can log into Pinterest using your Facebook or Twitter account. Caveat is that if you choose to use Facebook –your FB profile will automatically be upgraded to Timeline format. So, if you don’t like Timeline –it’s better to use Twitter for Pinterest sign up.
Once signup is done, you will be asked to selected one or more fields (like Technology, Cooking, Fashion etc.) in which you are interested. Based on your selection, Pinterest will offer you to connect with people having similar interests.
Then you will be asked to create pin boards. You can create as many boards as you want. Each board has a title. Once you’re done with creating boards –you can pin photos either by uploading them from your computer or by providing a URL (Pinterest will find images on that URL).

Visual Social Networking

Pinterest’s social networking is more visual than text based. While Facebook and Twitter are essentially made for making textual status updates –Pinterest puts emphasis on visual elements like photos and videos.