My Addiction.

My Weakness. One word. Pinterest. The main founder, Ben Silbermann, had quit Google because it didn’t allow him to have creative freedom and that’s what he really wanted in a career. A week or so after he quit, the recession hit. Ben knew he needed to take some chances and create something that was going to get people interested and something that was going to last. Ben met two other people that liked his idea and were willing to try this concept of an online collection board out. Pinterest was launched in January of 2010. The very first pin to ever be on the site looked like this:

Fast forward 4 years later and Pinterest has 70 million global users. The site has completely changed the online world. Its goal is to inspire people to get offline and do things they love. Pinterest inspires me and probably millions of other users around the globe. With Pinterest, I feel like I can do anything. Need to make a nice meal for entertaining guests? Pinterest it. Need to find the best way to deep clean your house? Pinterest it. Need to find out how to control crazy toddlers? Pinterest it. Need to get some motivation to go to the gym? Pinterest it. You can literally find ANYTHING on Pinterest.

Besides being an information monster, Pinterest allows you to get personal with your pins. YOU get to choose what goes on your boards and how you want to organize them. You get to choose what’s good enough to be re-pinned or what’s cute enough to be liked. It gives you a complete sense of ownership over online material and that feeling is addicting. Users thrive on that. Users also love that Pinterest is pretty. Ugly things don’t get pinned. Whether it’s food, travel destinations, home décor or fashion, Pinterest pins are visually appealing. The site is also easy to use which keeps users coming back time and time again. Pinterest is an escape. Life these days is stressful for most people. Who wouldn’t want to spend an hour away from the real world dreaming about vacations you could take or home improvements you could make.

Pinterest isn’t just for personal use anymore either. Many business are using it to gain brand awareness and get their products and ideas circulating in the Pinterest world. It’s a great resource for product based companies and it’s beginning to gain steam from other types of companies as well. If a company isn’t on Pinterest, it is definitely missing out on an incredibly easy marketing tool.

I absolutely love Pinterest and have since day 1. I think it’s a genius concept that is not only helpful but fun. It is relevant for everyone and I think it will continue to gain followers. However, like most innovative online tools, Pinterest will probably make some changes in the future in order to increase profits. Until then I will be its biggest fan.