Pinterest...You have to have heard of it. But in case you haven't:
Pinterest is a social networking site that centres around 'pinning' images to pinboards that you create. And these boards can be as random or specific as you want.
Now you might be wondering why I'm talking about Pinterest on a book blog. Well! I think Pinterest can be a great tool for writers and readers. And here's why.
As a writer, we often take inspiration from a number of different things. One of which can be pictures or places. Instead of clogging up your blog or twitter feeds posting pictures of things that inspire you, you can pin them to a board on Pinterest.
For example, I might want to write a story set in Paris. So I make a board dedicated to Paris and while I'm scouring the net for pictures, I can pin them into my Paris Board for a) one place all these pictures are stored and b) somewhere readers interested in knowing what inspired me can go to for these pictures.
You can pin anything with an image. Recipes. Clothes. Furniture. Decoration ideas. Tourist locations. And wherever you find the original picture, the pinned image will take you back to that website.
It's good for promotion too. Others can pin your book cover from your blog, Amazon or Goodreads, driving traffic towards your book. And who doesn't want promotion? You can use it for self promotion too. Posting pictures from your blog so when people click on it, it'll take them right to your site.
Writers can use Pinterest to post pictures of their writing life too! The computer they use to type. Their desk space. Places they go to write. Contracts. ARCs in their boxes. Which links in to readers.
Want to know what a new author is up to? Or your favourite author? If they have Pinterest you can see what motivates them, see images of things mentioned in the books, places, fashion of characters, movie actor choices etc. You can comment on these pictures and get into dialogue with other readers too!
There is so much to do with Pinterest. I think it's a great tool. Not only for writing/reading, but to be social. I've found so many great recipes I want to try! And I've found other books to read on there too.
Any questions about Pinterest? Ask in the comments and I'll try to answer. Also, if you're already on Pinterest, check me out too.
Pinterest is a social networking site that centres around 'pinning' images to pinboards that you create. And these boards can be as random or specific as you want.
Now you might be wondering why I'm talking about Pinterest on a book blog. Well! I think Pinterest can be a great tool for writers and readers. And here's why.
As a writer, we often take inspiration from a number of different things. One of which can be pictures or places. Instead of clogging up your blog or twitter feeds posting pictures of things that inspire you, you can pin them to a board on Pinterest.
For example, I might want to write a story set in Paris. So I make a board dedicated to Paris and while I'm scouring the net for pictures, I can pin them into my Paris Board for a) one place all these pictures are stored and b) somewhere readers interested in knowing what inspired me can go to for these pictures.
You can pin anything with an image. Recipes. Clothes. Furniture. Decoration ideas. Tourist locations. And wherever you find the original picture, the pinned image will take you back to that website.
It's good for promotion too. Others can pin your book cover from your blog, Amazon or Goodreads, driving traffic towards your book. And who doesn't want promotion? You can use it for self promotion too. Posting pictures from your blog so when people click on it, it'll take them right to your site.
Writers can use Pinterest to post pictures of their writing life too! The computer they use to type. Their desk space. Places they go to write. Contracts. ARCs in their boxes. Which links in to readers.
Want to know what a new author is up to? Or your favourite author? If they have Pinterest you can see what motivates them, see images of things mentioned in the books, places, fashion of characters, movie actor choices etc. You can comment on these pictures and get into dialogue with other readers too!
There is so much to do with Pinterest. I think it's a great tool. Not only for writing/reading, but to be social. I've found so many great recipes I want to try! And I've found other books to read on there too.
Any questions about Pinterest? Ask in the comments and I'll try to answer. Also, if you're already on Pinterest, check me out too.
I'm having the same thought right now! I really want to make a pintrest, but I don't want to get caught up in another social networking site...
ReplyDeleteYou make a lot of good points, so I think I'll make one tonight :)
This is so great, I never considered using Pinterest for writing before! My friend got me signed up on it, but I haven't taken the time to look over it much at all!
ReplyDeleteYou guys definitely should! I'm officially hooked haha.
ReplyDeleteWatch out for their guidelines, especially if you're posting completley random images you don't own (which duh, is probably the whole point). The fine print gets pretty dicey about who holds responsibility for reposting unlicensed images. Also if you own the image and post to pinterest, they now have partnership to sell it. Maybe worth reading!
ReplyDeletearticle on technorati
article from examiner.com
I should add the licensed part doesn't matter.
ReplyDeleteFrom the examiner article:
Pinterest relieves itself of all responsibility and the onus falls on the user, which means even a casual Pinterest user can be sued and made liable for fees incurred by themselves and Pinterest for litigation regarding copyright violation
I've got Pinintrest, but I find that I use it very sporatically. Not hooked...yet.
ReplyDelete