By: Sofia Jesani
Major: Pre-Journalism/advertising, '14, pursuing Spanish minor and New Media Certificate
Twitter: @sofiaj91
Fun fact: My friends refer to me as "Nugget" at all times, but that's probably because I am a total of five feet tall.


What exactly is Pinterest?  Pinterest is a virtual corkboard that allows you to bookmark and share your online interests by "pinning" them to your boards.  They can be used for a variety of things such as planning a wedding, decorating your future home or saving your favorite pumpkin spice recipes!  Although it is super addicting and helps you avoid your homework for a few hours, it is a great tool to organize things you like and share them with your friends.  Tech Crunch, a blog centered around technology start-ups, claims that "Pinterest Joins Twitter And Facebook As The Newest Self-Expression Engine."

One of the greatest things about the website is that, like Twitter, you can follow other peoples' boards and get real-time updates of what they pin and re-pin. You also have the option to post your pins onto Facebook.  Seeing how females are the majority of users on Pinterest, it is a fantastic way to reach women and market towards them. 

Pinterest can also be utilized as a public relations tool. One way is through Tastemakers, which are the people who get re-pinned most often, making the biggest impressions. Another way people can utilize Pinterest for PR is if brands were to create their own pinboards.  Some fashion brands, such as Nordstrom and Katie Smith, the graphic designer at Kate Spade, have already began to take advantage of this virtual scrapbook. It will be interesting to see how PR and marketing will be incorporated in this new sharing platform.