Privilege Blog

In Which I Eat My Words About Pinterest

AmidPrivilege Pinterest boards

The other day I had a discussion with a former boss about the online world. We talked about all sorts of things, but I wanted to bring one back here.

We are not alone.

Wait. That sounds scary and such is not my intent. I meant to point out that in discussions of style, we take our cues from each other. Nowadays, that’s often online. We trust the recommendations of those we have come to know, especially when they share our taste.

So I’m pointing you all to Pinterest, for both recommendations and simple shared aesthetic. It may be familiar to many already. It’s a site where people “pin” images from around the web, or their own digital storage, and display them in “boards.” I finally joined, after great resistance, and find it quite helpful.

I use Pinterest primarily to collect stuff for the blog. You can find me here, for example, with possibilities for the Weddings on a Farm post. As I am a veritable delicate flower, visually, I don’t spend much time there browsing. The undifferentiated stream overwhelms. But I do like to see what gets pinned by those whose taste I know and appreciate.

Today, I’m looking at boards by Jane Potrykus, of simple+pretty, and Lisa Porter, of The Lisa Porter Collection.

If you have no interest in additional online territories, no need for regret. For me, personally, this blog is the primary point of communication. Anything really fantastic I “pin” will most likely wend its way over hear. But if you like behind-the-scenes machinery, or you’re simply in the mood for more pictures, fewer words, it’s a worth yet another password.

By the way, I’ve given up the Tumblr account, continue making sets on Polyvore,  post a few photos to Flickr (but little you won’t see here), and blab away on Twitter. If you want to join Twitter, by the way, let me know and I can offer up some nice people to follow and banter with. I will update the blog sidebar soon to reflect all this..

43 Responses

  1. i may soon give in to pinterest.

    {by the, *i’d* like to see you on instagram. LOADS of baby photos, if that is any temptation…}

  2. I did not know about Pinterest till it appeared on my stats page, several of my photos were saved there.
    I’ll check it out thanks to your recommendation.
    Always enjoy your posts!

  3. I am completely addicted and have many, many “boards” that I use for inspiration for a myriad of things – new home + decor, fashion, recipe ideas, travel ideas… The other day I was pinning and saw a neat “gadget” that inspired me to write a memoir-based post about the typewriter and what it meant to me as a child. Pinterest is pure eye candy!

  4. Hmmm … I’m not sure I can cope with another “clip’n’stash” site at the moment. I was playing with Boutiques.com for a while and while I loved the fashions, the site was not flexible with how I wanted to manage my stuff. I found Polyvore (through you and the lovely Une Femme) and love the flexibility but find the fashions skewed more toward young set and seems a bit of a competitive popularity contest in some ways. However, I do plan to give Pinterest a whirl in a couple of week based on your recommendation!

  5. After clicking over and scrolling down..down…down… I sensed the oxygen in the room vanishing lol at a speed I could hardly bare! However, I loved the tiny, leather iPhone wallet that dashed by. That one, got book-marked for further investigation. Thanks for the recommendation!

  6. Pintrest is also a huge boon to those who search for recipes online, but I’d never even heard of it until I began getting traffic from the site. As of right now, I bookmark recipes I find online, but I really may have to rethink that.

    The idea of Tumblr makes me cringe. Between the blog (which is also my main outlet) and Facebook, I can barely remember to use Twitter. Google+ has also been neglected, but I have a feeling that will change soon. That it MUST change.

  7. i love pinterest! and am glad that you’ve embraced it, too. i find it easier to use it as a collection board and really strictly limit following boards. too overwhelming. but as a virtual filing cabinet, it’s most excellent.

  8. I’ve been wondering whether I should venture into the world of Pinterest or not. It seems like a really cool tool. Maybe I’ll get there at some point…

  9. I love Pinterest. I use it to keep track of so many fun things. The only fashion related boards I have though are an inspirational board of clothes that I would want to wear when I am down to goal weight, and one on which I’m trying to define and explore my personal style identity, which I’ve called 70s Romantic/Hard Rock/Ladylike Grunge. Yeah. I know.

  10. Yes, love Pinterest! I use the iPhone app and find myself just scrolling through stuff at night in the bed! It is so addictive! But it’s great for party planning, recipes, style, home decor inspiration and so much more!

  11. I recently sinned up but have yet to do anything with it. Of course yours looks great!

  12. Having, as you know, recently joined Twitter (and thanks so much for your support in that community), I’m wary of subtracting more online time from a rapidly-shrinking dayplanner. Still, I’m intrigued by the possibilities you point to here and might check it out.

  13. hi lisa,

    i barely have time to keep up with my blog. but i am all for more pictures and less words since i can barely speak english correctly much less write it. i’ve been considering stopping my blog and switching to tumblr which is more conducive to that. i’ve always loved the outfits you post so keep it up whichever way you want.

    xo

  14. At first I just thought of Pinterest as a play thing, but then I started getting traffic from the site and now I think twice.

    It is a good place to bookmark outfit inspirtation, food recipes, or anything like that.

    I don’t know if it is a way to meet new people, but it is a visual way to share ideas.

  15. If I were willing to do without breakfast, I’d probably have a few minutes for all the wonderful websites and social networking facilities I’m missing out on, but as it is, I have to hope that your warm analytic bent sees to it that I have at least a superficial awareness of what I’m foregoing, as well as what I should be wearing.

  16. You are a bad person for leading me to this website. I will likely fall in and never be heard from again…..

  17. I’ve tried to avoid Pinterest because I’m so immersed in other forms of social media, but I caved in earlier today at my daughter’s request. I seriously think you need to add a section of style for the beachy woman …!

    : )

  18. See, I initially avoided pinterest because I need to set limits on the number of online venues vying for my time. That’s still true, but I’ve since also come to the conclusion that the materialism of pinterest isn’t what I need right now. Don’t get me wrong, I love a cute outfit or an afternoon of window shopping, but a site that essentially exists for the purpose of making one wish for more stuff (or feel bad about the stuff one currently owns) is at the bottom of my list of priorities.

  19. I was all gung-ho for Pinterest after reading this. I signed up for an invitation, and got one about two mintues later. Not bad!

    Then I saw that you can only sign up if you have Facebook or Twitter. I don’t do either one, so I guess I can’t do Pinterest. Oh well. I will enjoy vicariously!

  20. I enjoy Pinterest, but it is at the very bottom of my social networking…something I do about once a month when I am caught up on ALL other social networking activities. I do like to pin favorite looks from personal style bloggers.

  21. Thanks for the mention. I like your pins too! I’m bad though, my Twitter told my face book that I’ve been cheating on Pinterest with Tumblr and so now my blog is getting suspicious as to where I’ve been.
    It’s all in fun!
    xo Lisa

  22. I’m terribly jet-lagged and don’t understand this site (Pininterest) at all. What do you sign up for? Are things for sale? Hopefully I’ll sleep tonight and be more coherent and bright tomorrow. I’ve missed your blog, and look forward to catching up on the posts I missed while gone. However, it was nice to take a break from the internet.

  23. Oh, Pinterest. I love it! I am afraid, however, that one day I’ll be nosing around only to look up and find a week has gone by! That, or I will have mindlessly agreed to who knows what by simply uttering “mmmhmmm” though not really paying attention. I think it’s my equivalent of Sunday afternoon football watching.

  24. I use Pinterest, but only as my own personal board(s) for collecting images. I don’t really participate in the social part of it, at least not deliberately.

    I much prefer it to Polyvore. I’m not sure why; but I just find it more user-friendly for the types of things I want to keep track of.

    I do use it as a wish-list for stuff. I’m not an over-shopper so it’s not really a problem for me. I don’t feel the need to buy everything that I pin.

    I do enjoy looking at all the images I’ve collected, seeing them together, and getting an idea of my style aesthetic.

    1. P.S. I avoid pretty much every type of “social” online activity, except for blogs and YouTube. It’s way too much to keep up with, otherwise!

      I do have a Facebook page, but limit my interactions there to a few well-respected friends and family members.

  25. jamie – I can’t figure Instagram out other than posting pictures and playing with filters. How would I follow you?

    sarah g – See you there:).

    Sandra – Thank you so much. I can imagine your photos showing up on Gardening boards. If you are still on a waiting list, let me know, probably I have invitations to use. Somewhere:).

    Lori – I think many designers live by it.

    Jessica – So that’s where you got the typewriter!

    beautifuldreamer – I find it to be a simple, clear clipboard.

  26. Mags – Oh nooooo! That’s browsing. I don’t do that. Exactly.

    Jan – I didn’t know that people used it for recipes too. Hmm.

    Jane – My only issue is that they signed me up to follow a bunch of people and now I can’t remember who I chose to follow and who came with the registration click:(.

    Ally Bean – Great minds:).

    TPP – Hehehehe;)

    Jen – I have to say, I do not use the community aspect yet, just the functionality.

  27. Marj – I love your style identity. How Artsy is that?

    Wendy – I wonder if the iPhone app scrolls in a more restrained mode:).

    Mary anne – Why thank you ma’am.

    TNMA – Yes. Well. There is that.

    Mater – It may not align with your mode – I don’t see you using clipped images so much.

    Janet – I can certainly see you on Tumblr, but in your case you have unique stuff so I don’t think it matters where you put it.

  28. Natalie – You are now the 3rd commenter to say that. I suppose I should check to see if I’ve had people show up here that way myself!

    Susan – I promise.

    Mise – My warm analytic bent is going to join you and Jean S. for breakfast.

    Stephanie – Do you pin your own photos?

    Lara – Hold my hand. I’ll be waiting when you reemerge.

    RoseAG – It’s like a really well-designed “My Items” part of Polyvore. I do think Polyvore ought to buy Pinterest, in fact.

  29. Twenty Four – Hey! Good idea!

    craftosaurus – Yes, I just use it to keep track of what I’m doing for the blog.

    GBBB – The way of the world, these days, the almighty registration.

    Terri – I think that’s a good way to look at it, a pyramid. As I have said, my blog is at the top of what I create – at least I hope I create- while I probably do the bulk of my chatting on Twitter.

    Lisa – My pleasure.

    Madeline – again, email me and let me see if I can find an invite.

  30. Kathy – Ha! No. It’s just a way to clip images and find them again easily:). Glad that you are back safe.

    Town and Country – Everyone needs something mindless, no?

    Mrs. M – Yes, I do as you do on Pinterest. My Facebook is very minimal, my interactions are here and on Twitter.

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