In the interests of continued learning, being open to new experiences, and needing something to write about for this Thing, I joined Pinterest. I can't say as it has won me over yet, although I haven't deleted my account either.
Okay, so Pinterest is still yet another way to save information. Saving information is a good and wonderful thing, but I don't need zillions of ways to do so, any more than I need three digital personal assistants, because then I have to remember which service is storing which bit of information. If I were more primarily visual, though, Pinterest might be my favorite information saver. The pictures are the focus and there's very little text involved. I could see using it if I were collecting ideas for a visual project, like how to redecorate a room, remodel my kitchen, or plan a wedding. But generally, I save things for the text more than the graphics, and I find Evernote or even Springpad better for that. Also, I think Pinterest is just messy. Faced with a screen of small pictures and little text, I can't find a focal point on the page and I mostly just want to click away from it, not use it. This is a service in desperate need of more white space.
Like Zite and Springpad, Pinterest wants to send new ideas my way. Since signing up, I've been getting regular emails from Pinterest encouraging me to follow some boards and find more things to pin. I'm becoming increasingly curious about what this says about people generally. Do we feel we don't know enough? Are falling behind somehow and need to catch up? Are just really curious about what the people we follow are up to? Anyway, even though this doesn't interest me, I'm sure it's a fine feature for those who want to take advantage of it.
I don't see myself using Pinterest professionally in the near future. I work at a law library: the kind of library infamous for having lots of books that look exactly alike. With Pinterest's visual emphasis, I don't know what exactly we could show off. An entire board devoted to books with tan covers and red and black stripes on the spines—ooh! :)
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