I’ve been adding social media to my life for a few years. Some types or platforms I find more useful or more appealing than others. While I have not gotten excited over Instagram, I do love Pinterest. I rarely think about the social aspect of Pinterest. I’m simply infatuated with the intriguing photos that lead to stories, more images, or recipes.
As a collector, I find it addictive to add to boards that categorize some of my favorite subjects, and I’m grateful to other Pinterest collectors for providing pins and for the ease of adding my own contributions.
Something about Pinterest reminds me of sorting M&Ms by color before eating them. And collecting shells on the beach and sorting them by shape or color. Simple and therapeutic. Sort of puts me at the emotional age of a toddler.
Some of my boards are writing and reading related, as you might expect. Check out Writing, Scribbling, and Jotting for an idea of my boards. If you have a particular blog post (written by you or someone else) that you would like me to pin onto the board, type the link into the comments here, and I’ll check it out!
I have boards for that ever-present child in me (I linked to Dollhouses in case you want to see a sample):
- Dolls, dolls, dolls
- Dollhouses
- Tiny beauties (miniatures)
- Vintage toys
- Kestner dolls
- Children and dolls
- Puppetry pins
- Paper dolls
- Doll art
- Antique, Vintage and Old-fashioned Nurseries
- Dionne quintuplets
I’ve got fairy tale boards called Red in the Woods and A World of Snow. The former is one of my best boards, mainly because so many artists have a version of Little Red Riding Hood! I don’t usually pin the highly sexualized ones, but there are a ton of those, too.
For my love of textiles I have Hankies and History, Lace and other fun textiles, and Buttons buttons. Really all these textiles and trimming are related to history.
For history I cultivate these boards:
- Family Stories and Geneaology
- Kalamazoo Area History
- Gravestones
- Still life after death
- Historical Zeeland
- Antique, Vintage, and Fun Aprons
The apron board is new and was inspired by blogger Sheryl Lazarus here and here.
I’ve got animal boards like Beasties (just because I love that Scottish word), Black Cats Rule, and Children and Animals.
Speaking of black cats, Kana is doing well! Here she is enjoying a little box. No box too small for this girl!
Art-themed boards include:
- Art of the Scrapyard
- Revision Art
- Translucent beauties
- Scrapbook and paper crafts (woefully in need of work–just like my own scrapbooking!)
Most of my recipe boards are gluten-free. I’ve even got a couple of secret boards. Subjects? Hah, that’s why they are secret.
Some people (read: hubby) might think I’m wasting my time on Pinterest, but it sure seems fun to me. And I only “play” over there for a couple of minutes almost every day.
What about you? Are you on Pinterest? Why or why not?
I only recently got on Pinterest, Luanne. Now I’m questioning that decision…it’s so addicting! It is a great inspiration for story ideas.
It IS addicting and it is inspirational, too. The key for me is to limit the time to about 5 minutes. I try not to spend more time than that so if I’m reading an article that’s all I can do. But most often I’m pinning images only. Or articles after I’ve read them outside of Pinterest and just want to share/save them.
Once again I’m in awe of your ability to manage so much information without being overwhelmed. I was on Pinterest (and Twitter) but have left them both (again) because I can’t seem to shut it off once I’m in there. Same with Facebook but I persist there because of a few close friends although I’m going “dark” until Easter just so I can concentrate without mindlessly scrolling. I love your analogy of the Pinterest boards being like sorting M & Ms. It does appeal to the list maker/organizer in me, too. My scrapbooks are also neglected…
Susanne, hah, I think it’s because I flit around from thing to thing so I don’t stick with much too long. Instead I sort of checking in like a hummingbird or butterfly and then move to something else. VERY SUPERFICIAL of me, I know. Listmaker/organizer: yes, that’s it!!! Lists also keep me on the path so I don’t stay on anything too long.
Re Facebook: I’m on there to share about the shelter cats, to keep on my friends’ kids activities, and for the occasional relative/friend important update. But I’m kind of sick of FB . . . .
I wish I was as superficial as you. You get a lot done!
Fascinating, Luanne! Your collections sound wonderful. I spend so much time outdoors… hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, labyrinth walking and gardening (in the summer)…I’ve limited my Pinterest time to just a very few boards. It is a fascinating pursuit, however. Maybe I’ll expand my collecting after I finish my current novel-in-progress 🙂
You are doing it right, Elaine! Your labyrinth walking always sounds so fascinating to me. I’m not a very outdoorsy person–a little goes a long way for me–so that is probably why I can handle some of these computer activities, but sometimes I get sick of all of it and go outside and try to leave the phones behind.
I can’t handle more than one aspect of social media (blogging) without being irritated with how much time I am capable of wasting. I looked at your writing board and knew immediately it would be a rabbit hole for me if I even started looking at one article! I’d be sitting here days later, unshowered, not knowing where my kid is and not one word written. I’m amazed at people’s abilities and time in managing all that.
Haha, maybe it’s because I WOULD do that if I wasn’t a list maker (see my comment to Susanne above) that I am OCD about lists. But then time goes by and I don’t write enough, so it might be good to take a break. Absolutely find Instagram worthless, and I’m so glad.
So far I have limited myself to facebook and twitter (which I really don’t do except for my blog). Blogging is addictive enough and I really fear opening more doors. But maybe….
Pinterest is so much more fun than Facebook and Twitter, etc. But then it’s also more of a selfish endeavor than the other social media. I try to limit it to 5 minutes a day at best.
I, too, don’t feel I’m keeping up appropriately with the platforms I’m already on, and I can’t make any sense at all of Pinterest. Maybe I’ll ask one of my teenagers to explain it to me. 🙂
(By the way, I’m a bit of a button nut myself. Maybe if I just focus on that…)
If you want to try Pinterest, you could join and just start one board of buttons and then follow only button boards, but I predict you will get lured into other subjects once you feel the least bit comfortable. Buttons are wonderful on Pinterest because they are often the best part of antique clothing because they survive better, but museums tend to monopolize them. But on Pinterest it doesn’t matter because we can collect them anyway haha.
I’ve got my hands full with WordPress 🙂
As well as that little ole thing called a camera, Derrick!!!
I am on Pinterest, but I seldom use it. The women in my family seem to have Pinned tens of thousands of Pins and I’ve Pinned about 40. It seems to please them as much as you, but I only Pin things I want or projects I’ll do.
And when people ask me for my Pinterest, all I can think is “Why on earth would anyone want to see my Pins?” LOL
I think there is comfort in sorting — yes. (But then I have a touch of OCD too, sooo….)
It is probably OCD, but I feel pretty safe from getting that label because hubby is sooooooooooooooooo firmly in the OCD camp that I figure I can get away with just about anything and not be considered OCD.
I’m not on Pinterest, but I’ve heard many times I should be. I’d like to join, and it’s been on my to-do list forever, but I’m just not sure where to find the time. I can barely manage the sites I’m on. But thanks for the info. Gets me one step closer.
Carrie, if you feel overwhelmed by the sites you’re already on, I wouldn’t add it because it could feel overwhelming to you. And while I think it can be a bonus for a writer to collect thoughts and images for writing, I don’t think it’s necessary as part of a platform at all.
Thanks for the info. Good to know.
I love button collections!
They are the best!!!
I have a Pinterest account, but I’m never on it. Your boards sound fun. I never really quite understood what to do with it, and I never seen to have the time to get on it. I don’t really “get” Twitter either. 🙂
I think Twitter is a whole nother can of worms. I like the immediacy of Twitter, but I don’t use it as I “ought” to. It’s not possible to do all this and live, too, not to mention any actual writing. heh
Yeah. I can’t even keep up with my email. 🙂
WOW, you’re sure hooked.
Sheryl’s blogs are inspirational, I always think.
I love Sheryl’s blogs. I usually read them “through” my family history blog, so I hope I didn’t confuse her. haha Yes, I’m hooked. But in a good way. It’s a very positive feeling, unlike an actual addiction.
I got so addicted to Word Press, that I’ve been afraid to try other things!
LOL. That cracked me up, Elyse.
Nice photos, Luanne! I am not yet on Pinterest, but I may try it soon. I also marvel at your ability to categorize and manage time! Brava!
I don’t spend too much time on Pinterest, but it is sure fun time!
I thought I could give Pinterest a miss in my already cluttered social media toolbox, but now I see how you are using it, I’m not so sure…
I may need a second look.
What Pinterest is best for for a writer (IMO) is to collect images, articles, thoughts, any scraps found floating online, in fact. You have a place to find what you want. So you can make secret boards just to store materials you plan to use in your writing. For you, since your writing tends to the research-driven, you could save a lot of these materials on Pinterest.
Hmmmm…Good ideas here, Luanne. I will definitely take another look!
This sounds like a lot of fun. Your board on dollhouses is really neat. I’ll have to try Pinterest when I’m less overwhelmed by all the social media options I’ve still to try.Your post was a great intro for me. 🙂
Carol, I think for me Pinterest isn’t really social media. It’s more like a fun game, if that makes sense. Rather than seeing it competing with Twitter and WordPress and Facebook, I do it instead of something like Candy Crush or Sukoku.
It’s so pretty in the pinterest world, but after I spent over 3 hours looking at pins of pretty older women sporting grey hair (as inspiration for quitting dying) I knew I couldn’t handle being on pinterest and get other things done. 🙂
OK, this made me laugh, Adrienne. So funny. You’re not going to do it, are you? Quit dyeing? My mother wants me to. That’s easy for her to say. She has pure white hair with body, a perfect face shape, and is 81. Not so moi. Because I’ve been sick my roots grew and grew and I found that my hair was limp and unmanageable.
Yep, I’ve been growing it out since I think last April and I realized I wasn’t quite as grey as it seemed when I had those nasty roots growing in. I just got so sick of keeping up with them. I think I’m just going to get face framing highlights (professionally since I just tried to do it and my hair turned green/orange).
BUT the real hair discovery was giving up shampoo and conditioner. After a month of hell, my hair was suddenly shiny and a different texture!
I love your hair in pictures and hope you feel better soon.
No shampoo and conditioner? How does that work? The one time I did that I was in high school, it was summer, and I turned my hair into hippie pseudo-dreadlocks.
LOL. Can we see pictures?
My husband gave up shampoo and after a month his hair was shiny and gone was his dry scalp. I took up the challenge and months later my hair’s in better shape than ever. After the first month of greasy limp hair the scalp gets used to producing the right amount of oils. Now I can go a few days without rinsing it with water and it still looks and feels clean. I do a bi-weekly “scrub” with water and diluted baking soda followed by a rinse of diluted vinegar and it’s amazing how shiny my hair turns out–even the texture is better!
I highly recommend it.
I could never get through that first month!! And, no, no pix haha.
My mother tried it and hated the month so much she gave up and cut her hair into a pixie cut. 🙂
I’ve had a few bloggers suggest that I go onto Pinterest but I’m just so cautious about getting side-tracked by yet more social media while working on the second draft of my memoir (I’m barely managing to keep up with blogging, Facebook &Twitter. I know I would love it, especially the Black Cats Rule board, I could get my Eddie up there with your beautiful Kana 🙂 So glad she’s doing well! xoxo
I could pin Eddie to my Black Cats Rule board if you like. Post a link to post of yours with Eddie in it and I’ll pin him :). xo
Ahh…that’s so cute! I’ll be back with a post link in a mo! Eddie pinned…lOL 😀 xo
I’m back at last..phew, where did the day go? It’s not far off midnight here, yikes! Here’s a post from my very early blogging days, only a couple of months in would you believe! Thanks so much Luanne, I hope your followers enjoy the pic of Eddie 🙂 xoxo http://sherrimatthewsblog.com/2013/02/16/a-black-cat-reads-the-news-sweet-robin-says-hello-a-happy-yesterday/
I pinned him! hahaha, he’s so handsome!
LOL! Thank you!! Do I have to sign up to see your wall?
Gosh, I don’t think so. See if you can follow the link?
Oh I went over there from the link and how adorable are all those darling black kitty cats? Just so gorgeous! Loved seeing Eddie pinned there…LOL…love that…pinned 😀 I’ve been thinking about getting on Pinterest, but I can barely manage to keep up with any social media at the moment. Maybe when I’ve got further on with my memoir…so I keep saying, ha! Thanks again Luanne, Eddie says ‘Meow’ and sends you love-eyes and purrs 🙂 <3
I do have a Pinterest account but I haven’t added anything to it in ages. It can be highly addictive 🙂 The most fun I’ve had on Pinterest is when a friend on the west coast was on it the same time I was and we wound up sharing photos with each other for a few minutes. What I enjoy most about Pinterest is that it’s all (or at least mostly) visual … a nice break from words 😉
I’ve never had such a social experience on Pinterest like you had. Mainly I view it as a fun game, not really social media. It isn’t very social for me, I admit. And I so agree about the break from words!!!!!!
I think it was a fluke that my girlfriend and I were on at the same time (we have 3-hour time difference). It was fun because it was unexpected and spontaneous and brief. Like you, I just enjoy going through all the pictures and taking a word break 🙂
It sounds like a lot of fun!!
I do have an account which I’ve rarely used, but when I went over there just now to peek at some of your boards, I got sucked in for half an hour! I can’t keep up with all the types of social media 🙂
I’m so sorry at doing that to you, Andrea! Haha, I’ve just been saying (above) that I don’t think I really see Pinterest as very social. It’s more like a game to me. Something fun to do instead of mindlessly playing Candy Crush or something like that.
I love Pinterest too! Way more than is sane. But it somehow makes me cherish pretty useful things. I can have them all and yet not be called a hoarder! 😀
Saloni, I much prefer collecting on Pinterest to collecting at home. Probably one reason is that I don’t want to be called a hoarder either! And it’s kind of burdensome to deal with large collections of actual objects, whereas on Pinterest there is no limit to the number of pins one can collect on a board (that I know of, at least). It’s really interesting to me that you said that about cherishing pretty useful things. I’m not positive what you mean by it, but you used pretty and useful in the same sentence and my Pinterest bio says: “Pinterest–the intersection of beauty and practicality.” hah!
Oh. Yay!
I just meant about beautiful furniture, or a pretty lace. Now I have a ton of those at home but finding such pins on Pinterest makes me happier somehow! I can’t believe how similar our reasons and excitement for Pinterest is 🙂 It is so great to have found you!
I know what you mean. Also, I almost notice things more on Pinterest where it’s not as overwhelming for me as in person. Pinterest versus antique mall, for instance.
Absolutely! 🙂
Luanne I think Pinterest is great, although I can get caught up in there just being inspired by all that imagery. Its also a great place to collect ideas for story characters and the best xmas recipes ever.
It can be an overload of gorgeous imagery if you stay at it too long!
I join these things and then do my best to ignore them, Luanne 🙁 Twitter I use to promote other people’s posts FB’s mostly social. I have to admit PInterest are persistent. Every week they send more stuff to delete. 🙂 I suspect I’m following the wrong boards/subjects but I’m happy to keep it that way. WP has devoured a huge slice of my life. 🙂 Serves me right!
I’m using Pinterest to plan our beach house, and several weeks ago, my Pinterest account went dark. I did not handle it well–everything I’d sourced for every room, gone. But it came back up, and all was fine. I also use it a lot to research projects (how does one dye wood?) or get images for clothing during the period of my novel (“the well-dressed 19th century pirate”) or lots of other things. The down side is finding a pin that’s EXACTLY what I want, then, after many hours, concluding the thing no longer exists in the world, if it ever really did . . .