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Pinterest: What Is Pinterest?

Imagine a giant digital bulletin board where you share ideas and resources with your friends. That's Pinterest! Ready to learn more?

Your Techpedition:

File:Pinterest Shiny Icon.svg - Wikimedia Commons

What Is Pinterest?

The Internet's a vast pool of resources. Keeping up with them all has always been a challenge. Historically, bookmarks were a way of remembering all of those great sites you found and frequented, but they were not easy to share with others. Later, social bookmarking tools like del.icio.us and Diigo came along making it possible to share your bookmarked resources with others. Today, however, one of the most popular options for collecting and sharing resources from around the Web is Pinterest.

Unlike its social bookmarking predecessors, Pinterest focuses on a visual approach to bookmarking and placed a heavy emphasis on following other users. It has since become one of the most popular resource sharing tools on the Web.

More than just a great way to find new craft ideas and recipes for bacon maple cupcakes, Pinterest is a powerful curation tool for educators to collect and share ideas and resources.

Here's a brief video to explain further:

How It Works

You can use either the web version of Pinterest on your laptop or desktop or you can use the mobile app on your phone or tablet. If using the web version, you'll need to add button to your browser (Yes, that's a future quest). Find a great resource online? Pin it! "Pinning" a resource allows you to create a visual bookmark to that resource on your pinboard. You can have any number of boards dedicated to any number of topics you choose. You can also "re-pin" resources shared by those in your network.

Yes, there's a social side to Pinterest. You can find and follow your friends and colleagues on Pinterest. As they pin things you can see it. You can manually connect to others or connect to other social tools like Facebook/Twitter to find your friends who are already using Pinterest.

There you have it!

Pinterest: Create A Pinterest Account

It's time to start collecting and sharing resources! Let's create a Pinterest account.

To get started, you'll need to visit: http://www.pinterest.com.

You'll be asked to create an account and can either use your email or use your Facebook account to do this. It's up to you.

Pinterest will then ask you a few basic demographic questions and then ask you to select some topics that interest you. You'll be required to select five before moving on. (You can always undo this later.) On the next screen, Pinterest will ask you to connect to your social networks. You're given the options of choosing Facebook or Twitter, but you can SKIP this part if you prefer at the bottom of the screen.

The last step will ask you to install the Pinterest button in your browser. This button will allow you to save resources from around the Web to your pin boards. When installed, it should look something like this:

Setting Up Your Profile

The next thing you'll want to do is set up your profile. Now if you've connected with Facebook, some of this has probably already been done for you, otherwise, you'll need to set it up. Click on your name in the upper right:

Now, if you haven't done so already, you'll probably be reminded to confirm your email address. This allows Pinterest to verify your account.

Let's update the profile! Click the Edit Profile button:

On the window that appears, fill out any components that you wish. As always, it's recommended to upload some sort of profile picture and use your real name (if you're comfortable doing so). This makes it easier for your friends to find you.

Creating A Board

Next, you'll need to set up your first Pin Board. Click on the Create Board box.

The window that appears will guide you through setting up your first board. Be sure to give it a good name and description. The better detailed it is, the easier it will be for others to find it. If you want to collaborate with someone on a board, you can add them at the bottom of this window.

Start Pinning!

Now, it's simply a matter of filling up your board(s). One good activity to get you started is to transfer some of your favorite bookmarks into a pinboard. Simply visit the site and click your newly-installed Pin button!

Submission Details:

To complete this quest, you'll need to share a link to your Pinterest Page. Simply navigate to it in Pinterest (click your name in the upper right). Then copy and paste the address (URL) into the Google Doc Below. Don't forget to complete the Google Form.

Once you've done so, return here and complete the Techpedition!

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