# Anybody here experienced with Pinterest?



## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

I'm new to it and have questions. I'm all signed up and have an initial board. I've found the basic info to be adequate on the mechanics of it, but I'm puzzled by a few things. Can't find the advice I need on their site.


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

I use it a little bit, so there is a slight chance I can help.


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

AngieM2 said:


> I use it a little bit, so there is a slight chance I can help.


Thanks for the reply, Angie. Okay, well...

Is there a way to *search*, within the Pinterest system, for boards related to (i.e., of a similar interest) to my own interest?

Another thing I wonder is: how do I let other Pinterest users know about my board, if I think they'd be interested?

Is there any aspect of Pinterest that let's a user (like you or me) know about similar boards that _we_ might be interested in? or about new boards?

I got a message (on day one of putting "pins" on my board) that I could now establish "a map". When this message would come up, _as it did repeatedly_, I could not exit it, but it also led nowhere! - did not provide any info. So I'd log out of Pinterest, then log back in (which got rid of it). What is a map, and how would it be of value to me?


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Hi Joel! I'm not Angie, but I might be able to answer most of your questions. 

When you're on your main screen, up in the lefthand corner is a little magnifying glass in a box. You can type in anything you want to look for and click on it. Also, to the left of that is a little square box with three horizontal lines. If you click on that, it will pull up a bunch of options to give you some ideas.

Once you've clicked on it and a subject comes up, then at the upper left are three tabs, Pins, Boards and Pinners. Pins is for all individual pins on that subject regardless of who pinned them, Boards is for particular boards of people who like that subject and have multiple pins, and Pinners is for the individual people who have pinned items. You can check out other Pinners to see if they have other boards that you're interested in.

You can "Follow" other boards that you like. When you're on their board, there's a button at the bottom to click on to "Follow". As you post more pins to your site, other people will see them and start following you.

In the upper right corner of your screen is a bar that has a plus sign, a push pin with your name, and then a button with a pair of push pins. The plus sign will let you add a pin or add from a website or create a board. You can also go to "Your Profile and Pins" and it will show all your boards, and you can create more boards from there too. You can also rearrange your boards to suit you (I have mine in alphabetical order). Just right click on one and drag it to where you want it and then drop it. It will stay there.

The push pin/your name will pull up your profile and settings, allow you to find friends (through Facebook which I don't have so can't help you there) and follow boards. It also has a link to the Help Center for questions you might have.

The far right button with two push pins will show your notifications. If someone likes your pin or board or follows your board, you'll be notified. Other people can ask you to pin to their boards, but I stick with mine...why build up theirs instead, lol?

There used to be a spot that recommended boards for you based on your past pinnings, but I don't get that any more. If it's still there, I don't know how to get to it, sorry. They've made a lot of changes recently, and the map is one of them. I haven't gotten it yet and don't know anything about it, but the Help Center should tell you. It's apparently some way to mark where you've been and places you want to go back to, but that doesn't seem much different from looking at the boards you've followed. :shrug:

I've also found Google extremely helpful. I just type in "Pinterest map" for example, and it brings up lots of info by users or Pinterest techs.

Sorry this is so long, but you covered a lot of ground, lol. You'll get more comfortable as you use it more. I personally don't care about building up my boards (I just use it for my own enjoyment), so I can't tell you the best way to do that, but there are tons of articles on Google about how to increase your followers. Good luck and watch out...it's very addicting!


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

:thumb:That's the kind of stuff I was needing. Great explanation.:goodjob:

Does any of your pinned stuff have to do with what we might call 'the technique and technology of homesteading'? If so, I'd definitely like to see your board(s).

I don't know if you feel like posting your Pinterest user name or URLs here. If you feel like sharing them, but would rather send me a PM, I'm okay with that.

My board is at: https://www.pinterest.com/joelbc/

Anyhow, calliemoonbeam, thanks very much for taking the time and effort to post the above.:cowboy:


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## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

callie, thanks for answering. You know a lot more than I do about that.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Joel, you're very welcome, anytime!  Angie, that's because I'm addicted, lol!  I go long spells without getting on there at all, and then will get on for hours at a time off and on for months, mostly when I can't sleep late at night or am having too much pain to do much else. I kick back in the recliner with my heating pads and my tablet and the time flies, lol. It seems like every time I stay off a while and go back they've made another new round of changes, so it's hard to keep up!

One correction to the above...where I said to right click on your board and then drag it to move it, that should have been LEFT click, sorry about that!! I didn't proofread before sending that post, doh!

I don't have a whole lot so far specifically on the mechanics of homesteading (I've been collecting that kind of info for almost 15 years that I have saved in Word files and printed out in notebooks, so it hasn't been a huge interest for me there yet). But I do have boards like Homesteading, Canning, Dehydrating, Alternative Energy, Livestock, Prepping, numerous recipe boards and craft boards, among others. 

I actually have way too many, lol, and some of them have gotten way too big. I need to go in and break some of them down into smaller, more manageable boards, but when I'm there I just want to drool and pin, lol. 

I don't mind posting my board address, but bear in mind these were all pinned with just my information/enjoyment in mind, not to draw viewers to my boards. That was never my intention, but I seem to be getting more and more followers anyway, ha! My most popular board by far is my Tiny House board. 

For instance, I might have half a dozen different canning recipes for apple pie filling, that's because I wanted to try each and then keep the best. I just haven't gotten around to going back and taking out all but the one I definitely like the best. I'm sure people wonder why I have so many varieties of the same things, lol!

http://www.pinterest.com/calliemoonbeam/

Have fun Joel! Glad I could help. I'll save your board link to my Pinterest favorites and watch as you progress. There, I'm your first follower! 

P.S. If you hunt for something, like dehydrating (just an example), and don't find all the pins you want, try different search phrases, such as dehydrate, drying food, dried food, food preservation, etc., because there are many different ways people name their boards, and they won't all come up on a particular word if they used something just slightly different.


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

The "category" issue... When I was starting my board, I got a prompt to classify my new board under a single, general thematic category. I chose "Technology", simply because nothing else came very close to rural living or country living, etc. The categories all seemed to relate to urban or suburban lifestyles.

"Gardening", "Architecture" (possible categories) and so on are all a _part_ of what I'm pinning - but technologies (water capture & storage, carpentry, household electrical, woodworking, welding, etc) are all aspects of the wherewithal of homesteading.

But Technology puts the board - from the searchabilty standpoint - in amongst boards that are almost entirely silicon & digital gadgetry, software, etc. :doh: (Not that I don't use some of those things myself.)


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

You can change the board name if you want. When you're on the page with Your Boards, down at the bottom of each board is an Edit button. Just click on it and you can change it to anything you want. You don't have to go with their suggestions or names of other boards you've seen. Some people are very original and creative with their names, it's fun to read some of them, lol.

I would suggest that if you plan to pin a lot of different "technology" ideas such as water issues, carpentry, electrical, etc., put each on their own board, then just think of a name that would draw the people you want so you get more homesteader types instead of urban. If you lump more than one category into one board it's going to fill up fast and be jumbled and hard for others to go through. I made that mistake with mine, but I didn't have anyone to give me advice, just jumped in on my own, ha! 

They do say to try to pick a name and stick with it though, because every time you change the name you may lose followers because their Pinterest site will be trying to direct them to a board that doesn't exist any more. They should make that better known right up front, but you've got plenty of time to change yours now before you go any further, if you want to.

One thing you can do to get ideas is to put phrases in the search bar, like the water capture and storage and then pull up boards and get an idea for what others have named theirs, and that might help you decide on names for yours. Or Google "Pinterest (whatever subject)" board names, and you can sometimes get lists.

For an example, with your "water capture and storage", you might find categories such as "rainwater harvesting", "catchment", "cistern", "collection", "filtration", "management", etc. Lots of phrases could fit under that one umbrella, so decide what you think will draw in the most followers.

I hope I'm helping with this part, lol. Like I said, I didn't do it myself, didn't even know I should be doing it when I started, but again I wasn't looking to draw followers. However, when I do break my boards down and rename them I will lose some of the followers I have, so I'm just hoping to help you avoid that. There are tons of articles on Google about this, I'm just quoting from some of them I've read and from what I've seen personally. But always feel free to ask me anything. I know there are lots of other HTers with Pinterest boards, not sure why I'm the only one responding, lol, but I'm here for you...for what that's worth! 

Oh, one other thing...when you're on Your Boards, if you hover right over the middle of the picture, a button will pop up that says "Change Cover". You should click on this, and it will take you through the pins you have already. You should pick your most interesting, provocative, pretty, etc., pin that you have and save it as your cover picture. This is the first thing people will see when they start looking for boards, so your best picture will help draw them in. Okay, shutting up now, lol.


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

calliemoonbeam said:


> I hope I'm helping with this part, lol. Like I said, I didn't do it myself, didn't even know I should be doing it when I started, but again I wasn't looking to draw followers. However, when I do break my boards down and rename them I will lose some of the followers I have, so I'm just hoping to help you avoid that. There are tons of articles on Google about this, I'm just quoting from some of them I've read and from what I've seen personally. But always feel free to ask me anything. I know there are lots of other HTers with Pinterest boards, not sure why I'm the only one responding, lol, but I'm here for you...for what that's worth!


You're helping a lot! Thanks. :cowboy:

With this board I guess I'm trying to _communicate_ - and with Pinterest I suppose this translates into having "followers"? A lot of my career life has been involved with communication and with teaching, so it's a habit. LOL. I always appreciate when people have been good enough to share with me... teach me what _I_ didn't know, or show me where to find something. I want to pass it forward.

For anyhone who's interested and is reading this, my board is found at: https://www.pinterest.com/joelbc/pins/


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Well, if you're talking about communication like the conversations here on HT, that's just not going to happen. The only communication on Pinterest happens if someone replies to the comment someone else made about a pin, but even those are usually brief and short-lived. 

I think of it more like a reference section, where you can see a pin you like and click on it to read more about it or how to do it, but on your own, sort of a self study type of thing. In that respect, it is a "pass it forward" kind of thing, but not one-on-one communication like here at HT. I've always been told I should have been a teacher, lol, so I guess that's where my too-much detail posts come from, ha!

One last tip I forgot to mention...if you want to move your pins to a different board (like if you rename them or get on a roll like I do and accidentally pin one to the wrong board, ahem)...you just go to the board. On the pin you want to move, in the upper left corner is a Pin It button. Click on it and then pin it to the board you want it to be on. Then go back and in the upper right corner is a button with a Pencil. Click on it and then you can delete the pin from the wrong board.

That's about all I can think of, and it should get you well on your way, but again I'm always happy to answer questions. Sorry I drone on so long, but everyone here knows that's just me, lol. I can't seem to condense things without muddying the waters.


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

calliemoonbeam said:


> Well, if you're talking about communication like the conversations here on HT, that's just not going to happen.
> 
> I think of it more like a reference section, where you can see a pin you like and click on it to read more about it or how to do it, but on your own, sort of a self study type of thing. In that respect, it is a "pass it forward" kind of thing, but not one-on-one communication like here at HT.


In my book, reference=communication and pass-it-forward=communication. I've been on a number of forums since the mid '90s, and of course I think of them as communication too.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

I'm sorry if I offended you or something, as I surely didn't mean to. I was just saying that Pinterest is not a back-and-forth communication type place, such as forums like HT. 

You may find it's not the kind of place you're looking for. I know a lot of people don't care for it because of that, men especially for some reason. In the beginning, it was almost all women, though more and more men are joining lately. 

Everyone has to decide for themselves what they want out of a site and whether the site is going to provide that or not. I'm guessing most Pinterest users get about 75% inspiration, 20% information and at most 5% communication/conversation. 

A lot of people are inspired by things they see, but can pretty much figure out how to do it themselves, then some need the actual how to, which is where the back-up information comes from, and again the only communication is in the short comments left on the individual pins. 

I'm sorry if you're finding it's not what you were hoping for. There are more and more places kind of like Pinterest popping up. Maybe one of them would have more of the give-and-take type of exchange it sounds like you may be hoping for. I'm not familiar with any others, but I'd be happy to help you hunt if you want, just let me know.


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## txplowgirl (Oct 15, 2007)

Callie,

What exactly is Pinterest anyway, people ask me if I have a board and I tell them no because I still haven't figured out exactly what it's for.


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## calliemoonbeam (Aug 7, 2007)

Pinterest is sort of like the old Sears "wish book", lol, only with info and instructions on how to do or make the things you see that you like. You can look under any subject that you're interested in and "pin" what you like to your boards so you can go back to them later. It might be something you see that you want to buy or make or a craft you want to learn.

When you have a little time, click on the link to my boards. You don't have to sign up to see them, it won't cause you to get on any mailing list or anything, and it won't benefit me in any way. You can see what kind of boards I have and what kind of pins I've saved. The pin just shows a picture, but if you click on the picture it will take you to the original article that tells you how to do something or where to find it if it's something to buy, etc. (it may take clicking through several times, depending on how many times it's be repinned by people).

Here's a link to the Pinterest main page: http://www.pinterest.com/

Here's a link to my boards: http://www.pinterest.com/calliemoonbeam/

Some people really don't care for it as it's not a conversation/posting type place like HT, but others (ahem, like moi, lol) get addicted to it. It's for wishing (like ideas I'd like to incorporate into building a house), learning how to do things, getting ideas for decorating, new recipes, fun stuff for kids, the only limitations are your imagination. I haven't looked for anything on there yet that I didn't find at least some information on.

It's also just a very relaxing way to spend some time if you need to wind down or relax. Who didn't love looking through the Sears "wish book" as a kid??  You can also hook up with your Facebook friends there, if you do that. I don't do Facebook so don't know how that part works. Hope this helps. Sorry it took me so long to respond, had tons of work today, so took no breaks.

P.S. Joel, PM received and replied to, thanks.


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## Joel_BC (Nov 10, 2009)

calliemoonbeam said:


> When you have a little time, click on the link to my boards. You don't have to sign up to see them, it won't cause you to get on any mailing list or anything, and it won't benefit me in any way.


I have no fear about, or reluctance for, checking out your boards, Callie. Also I have nothing against benefiting you. ha, ha



calliemoonbeam said:


> I would suggest that if you plan to pin a lot of different "technology" ideas such as water issues, carpentry, electrical, etc., put each on their own board, then just think of a name that would draw the people you want so you get more homesteader types instead of urban. If you lump more than one category into one board it's going to fill up fast and be jumbled and hard for others to go through. I made that mistake with mine


I tried to name my first board so the name would encompass a lot of things having to do with "homesteading" or "rural living". I have a typical male perspective on the subject, since - while I do plant some of our crops, prune the fruit treesand grap vines, etc - a lot of my time is spent doing carpentry & repair, maintaining systems and machines, improving water systems, managing firewood, and making useful things. And yes, eventually I may move some of my pins onto other boards, so each will have a separate theme.


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